Hartford Issues
CRRA Committee:
This committee has been involved in a long campaign to make the Connecticut Resource Recovery Authority (CRRA), one of the biggest polluters in the city, provide host community benefits in proportion to the amount of trash they bring to Hartford. To do this HEJN has formed a coalition called The Mid-Connecticut Justice Project (MCJP.) This coalition is made up of several Hartford based organizations. Finally, on February 8, 2007, after several weeks of negotiations, CRRA and the City of Hartford have come to an agreement regarding Host Community Benefits. Unfortunately, no community groups including, HEJN were allowed to be part of the negotiations. However, after looking at the agreement HEJN members and other community leaders are satisfied with the outcome.
To read a more in depth article by The Hartford Courant please click here.
To view CRRA facts please click here.
The Mid-Connecticut Justice Project:
On June 6, 2006, The Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice launched its new campaign called The Mid-Connecticut Justice Project (MCJP). The press event was held at the entrance of the Hartford landfill operated by CRRA. Community leaders carried a coffin with the words HARTFORD imprinted on it and buried it under bags of trash with the names of the 70 towns that bring their waste to Hartford. MCJP is a coalition made up of several community organizations who are dedicated to having CRRA provide Host Community Benefits to Hartford in proportion to the amount of waste they bring to the city. The following organizations are members of this coalition:
· The Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
· Community Health Services
· Hartford Areas Rally Together
· La Casa de Puerto Rico
· SmartPower
· The Hartford Guardian
· Communities Against Drugs
· Men of Color Initiative
· Hartford Organizing for Power and Equality
· ConnectiCOSH
For more information and to view photos from the press event click here.
CCEJ would like to thank CTnewsjunkie.com for the following news article. To view the online news article please click here.
Diesel Committee:
Diesel is an ongoing problem in the state due to its contribution to asthma and other respiratory diseases. So far, we have been successful in getting certain buses in Hartford and elsewhere in the State retrofitted with special filters to reduce diesel pollution. However, getting the school buses in Hartford retrofitted has been a long battle with many obstacles. HEJN asks all Hartford residents to call Mayor Perez and ask him to move forward on this issue!
To view our school bus fact sheet click here.
Legislative Committee:
Right now there is no law that says that polluting facilities can't be concentrated in a particular town or city. For this reason many polluting facilities are located in low income communities or communities of color. We are trying to change this through the legislation with our EJ Bill which will identify the amount of polluting facilities in a three mile radius. CCEJ leaders also work in other legislatives issues such as the diesel bill, and the bottle bills. We need your help and encourage citizens to talk to their representatives about these important issues.
Safer Chemicals Committee:
CCEJ and other organizations have formed The Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut (CHSC), a new coalition of health, consumer, labor and environmental justice organizations. We are concerned that Americans are unknowingly and unwillingly being exposed to chemicals of unknown health effects, including human toxicants. We believe that chemicals should be proven to be safe before being released into the environment. CHSC seeks to educate people about the links between toxic chemicals and our health and to advocate for replacing toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. As part of this effort, we will be coordinating a sampling from certain individuals, to determine their “body burden,” or concentration levels, of chemicals that are under increasing scrutiny for their contribution to a growing epidemic of diseases and disorders. Similar projects in California, Washington, Maine and Canada have provided a new context for examining exposure to toxic chemicals and we are excited to follow their lead and test levels in Connecticut residents. For more information please click here.
Poly-Vinyl Chloride (PVC) Committee:
On October 4, 2006 HEJN participated in the National PVC Day of Action. The campaign focused on Target, which has refused to phase out the use of PVC plastic in their packaging, toys, and shower curtains. Companies including Wal-Mart, Nike, Microsoft, Ikea, H&M and Johnson & Johnson are all phasing-out PVC in products and/or packaging.
PVC is particularly dangerous to human health because when it is incinerated it creates dioxin, which is one of the most toxic substances known to science. Exposure to dioxin can increase the chances of getting cancer, endometriosis, and diabetes. HEJN leaders participated in this event by standing outside the Target on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington and handed out flyers to customers. Here are some pictures of the event:
MDC Clean Water Project
Few people in the Hartford area realize what is happening regarding the Clean Water Project. Right now untreated sewage overflows from aging sewer pipes into our waterways. As many as 50 times a year sewage overflows into brooks, the Connecticut River, and even people's homes. The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) has been working to correct these pollution problems, and has reached a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice and the federal Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate illegal discharges from MDC sewers within 12 years. To view the fact sheet regarding this important issue please click here.