FLORIDA

Pollution Not So Gone With the Wind by Mari Saugier Krueger, Independent News November 9th, 2006 Chasing the wind is exactly what this group of environmentalists is doing. Chasing, bagging and analyzing. Read about environmental monitoring in Pensacola.

GEORGIA

Tales of Toxics Tourists by Denny and Ruth September 18th, 2007 Dateline: Georgia. Taking the Newtown Toxic Tour

Newtown Florist Club hosts National Environmental Justice Meeting and Tour Gainesville, GA--The Newtown Florist Club hosted and toured individuals attending the 2007 National Bucket Brigade Coalition Conference in Atlanta this weekend. Representatives from Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, California

Attend - National Bucket Brigade Conference - Sept. 8 - Atlanta Learn how to do your own monitoring at our Training and Fair - Register Today! What are you breathing? What’s really in your water and soil? WHO is responsible for the contamination? Find out how your group can be empowered to monitor and clean up your community

AGENDA FOR NATIONAL BUCKET BRIGADE COMMUNITY MONITORING FAIR AND TRAININGS

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

More BP refinery doubts: EPA "BP may have begun a project to process Canadian crude oil at the refinery in 2005 without the proper permit.” October 7th, 2008 Evidence that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management did a slipshod job in approving a construction permit for the BP refinery is mounting.

Ripple Effect of Shell Decision: Rising costs present challenge to second refinery in Saint John July 11th, 2008 Shell Canada's decision to scrap plans for a new multi-billion oil refinery in Ontario sheds some light on the challenges facing a second oil refinery in Saint John.

Shell backs out of oil sands project July 11th, 2008 Shell's decision could affect BP Whiting's ultimate fate, said Denny Larson, executive director of California-based Global Community Monitor, who has helped the Hammond-based Bucket Brigade protest BP Whiting's modernization.

Refiners Face Obstacles to Processing Cheaper, Dirtier Crude Oil June 12th, 2008 Refiners faced with rising prices for premium grades of crude oil are rushing to expand their ability to process less expensive, dirtier crudes, but their efforts face concerns about pollution and global warming.

Syncrude ducks tar sands critics at its peril May 2nd, 2008 The most infamous tailings pond on earth is in lockdown. No TV crews allowed, no reporters, no pictures -- nothing. You'd think Syncrude Canada had Chernobyl on its hands rather than a flock of dead ducks.

KENTUCKY

KENTUCKY: One dead, three injured in Rubbertown chemical plant fire by Patrick Howington & James Bruggers, courier-journal.com March 11th, 2011 A worker from Southern Indiana was killed and three other workers were injured in an explosion and fire Monday afternoon at Rubbertown’s Carbide Industries plant, with Louisville police warning residents within a mile to stay inside and close their doors and windows.

High-profile activist Louis Coleman dies by Peter Smith and Andrew Wolfson, courier-journal.com July 8th, 2008 The Rev. Louis Coleman Jr. -- Louisville's best-known activist, who picketed or prayed over three decades in front of nearly every major Kentucky institution to advance civil rights, promote minority hiring or protest police shootings -- died yesterday. He was 64.

Zeon agreement being rewritten: Attorneys lose lead plaintiff's support by James Bruggers, The Courier-Journal November 13th, 2007 "We told them we wouldn't be a part of it with a nondisparagement clause," said Eboni Cochran, a western Louisville resident and lead plaintiff, who hadn't agreed to the proposal. "There are a lot of changes being made. It still remains to be seen whether it will be good for the community."

Odor-rule crackdown urged Activists ask Louisville to step up enforcement by James Bruggers, The Courier-Journal October 19th, 2007 Eboni Cochran was among activists pushing for stronger enforcement of Louisville's odor-control regulations in the Rubbertown area.

LOUISIANA

LOUISIANA: Murphy Oil Agrees to $1.25 Million Penalty by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune Murphy Oil USA entered into a settlement Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency, resolving most of the outstanding concerns in the federal court case brought by Concerned Citizens Around Murphy.

LOUISIANA: Community Group Sues Murphy Oil Over Air Pollution Concerned Citizens Around Murphy seeks justice for 130 violations of the Clean Air Act by the oil giant.

LOUISIANA: Bucket Brigade founder honored: Group keeps pollution in check at local sites Anne Rolfes, founder of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, has beenhonored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her leadership and advocacy in environmental health. Rolfes is one of 10 people across the United States to receive the foundation's 2007 Community Health Leaders award. Recipients receive $105,000 to further their work, as well as a $20,000 personal award, the foundation said in a news release.

Katrina Survivors Fight Murphy Oil Permit for More Pollution & More Tanks After Disaster Insult to Injury - Murphy Oil - Gasoline you buy at Walmart

NEW MEXICO

BLOG: Top Villains of Fracking in the Running for Award March 1st, 2011 GCM awards the first annual Fracky for outstanding achievement in creating unsafe communities in the category of Natural Gas production.

NEW MEXICO: EPA Posts Frack Rules Without Explanation; Oil and Gas Industry Cries Foul by MIKE SORAGHAN, NY Times Greenwire January 23rd, 2011 U.S. EPA, it turns out, can change the rules simply by quietly posting new language on a back page of its website. That is what Matt Armstrong found out. A lawyer who closely follows the issue of "hydraulic fracturing," he was poking around on the EPA website last June and was stunned when he realized the agency had added new language requiring drillers to get permits if they are going to fracture with diesel fuel.

MEXICO

Obtienen muestras de aire en zonas de industrias contaminantes Diaro del Istmo February 20th, 2007 New Mexico Bucket Brigade activity! Article in Spanish

Extenderá 'Brigada de Cubetas' monitoreo en la zona by Graciela Gómez, El Liberal del Sur February 20th, 2007 New bucket brigade activity in Mexico!! Article in Spanish. Extenderá 'Brigada de Cubetas' monitoreo en la zona

Bucket Brigade detects high levels of carcinogenic benzene in Southern Veracruz February 19th, 2007 Air samples taken by community bucket brigades in partnership with Apetac, Global Community Monitor, and Greenpeace showed alarming levels of toxic substances in the populations of Minatitlan, Coatzacoalcos and Mundo Nuevo.

NORTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA: Filling a need: New refinery plan is still in the works A $457,000 federal Energy Department grant to study the feasibility of a new oil refinery in North Dakota doesn't slow down plans already in the works for a 100,000 barrel-per-day plant proposed for Williston.

NORTHEASTERN US

WASHINGTON DC: EPA's tests of air outside schools find problems by Brad Heath, USA Today June 9th, 2011 The federal government's first attempt to assess the dangers from air pollution around schools is nearing completion, and the findings underscore the need for more extensive air monitoring, especially in pollution hot spots.

WASHINGTON D.C.: EPA Exempts Refineries From Hazardous Waste Control Requirements January 28th, 2011 Agency affirms Bush-era loophole exempting refineries’ hazardous waste from public health and safety requirements

NEW ORDINANCE: Train riders may be boarding at roundhouse in Rockland, Maine: "The city finds that allowing such locomotives to idle in the midst of a heavily settled residential area is a danger to the health of the surrounding residents, based upon the experience of the citizens affected by the exhaust"

Rockland, Maine: First Community AIr Tests of Toxic Train Lab results from testing conducted last month by the citizen’s group Clean Air for Rockland indicates that their neighborhood is indeed at risk due to high levels of formaldehyde.

Clean Air for Rockland, others launch community air checks ROCKLAND (Aug 23): Clean Air for Rockland has joined with other Maine community groups to launch community air monitoring in toxic hot spots. For the first time, community members will test the air they breathe, the citizen group said in a press release.

PENNSYLVANIA

Fracking Sand May Pose Health Hazard To Workers, Residents by  Lynne Peeples, The Huffington Post November 16th, 2012 The first time Bill Ferullo saw the white plumes drifting from a natural gas fracking site, he got out of his car to take pictures.

PHILADELPHIA: Air Quality Concerns Threaten Natural Gas's Image by Elizabeth Shogren, NPR June 21st, 2011 Massive stores of natural gas that lie underneath big portions of the United States offer a cleaner source of electricity to a country that relies heavily on coal, but producing all that gas also can pump lots of pollution into the air.

SOUTH DAKOTA

SOUTH DAKOTA: Texas company, opponents to battle over refinery May 17th, 2009 A Texas company looking to build a $10 billion oil refinery in southeastern South Dakota and opponents who say it will emit too many pollutants will face off in Pierre this coming week.

Board listens to pros, cons on Hyperion - Opponents outnumber those who favor April 17th, 2009 A number of speakers opposed to the project demanded the board require the company to produce a comprehensive environmental impact statement

Ripple Effect of Shell Decision: Rising costs present challenge to second refinery in Saint John July 11th, 2008 Shell Canada's decision to scrap plans for a new multi-billion oil refinery in Ontario sheds some light on the challenges facing a second oil refinery in Saint John.

The Hyperion Project: Health risks largely unknown May 25th, 2008 Harland and Arlinda Gylfe stand with their two children, Ashley and Cecil, on May 16 at their farm which will be within a 1/2 mile of the Hyperion site. The couple wonder how affected their ground water they use for drinking will be since some toxins will be produced by the plant. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)

Syncrude ducks tar sands critics at its peril May 2nd, 2008 The most infamous tailings pond on earth is in lockdown. No TV crews allowed, no reporters, no pictures -- nothing. You'd think Syncrude Canada had Chernobyl on its hands rather than a flock of dead ducks.

TENNESSEE

Public Health Benefits of Dethroning King Coal in the U.S. by Robert Bullard, www.opednews.com May 13th, 2011 The movement to renewable energy is the preferred strategy to clean energy future for our nation. However, coal is still king--accounting for half of U.S. electricity in 2009. The time has come to dethrone this dirty king and shift investments to clean renewable energy.

TENNESSEE: NY Times Editorial Calls for National Action to Regulate Coal Ash Disaster in Tennessee helping sway public opinion towards more common sense environmental protections.

TENNESSEE: Reflections on the one year anniversary of the Fly Ash Disaster On December 22, 2008 the largest coal fly ash disaster in the world occurred in Roane County, Tennessee along the banks of the Emory River at the Kingston Electric Coal Plant which is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

TENNESSEE: Video testimony in aftermath of TVA fly ash disaster United Mountain Defense has begun training local residents to use YouTube to document their lives in the aftermath of the TVA Coal Ash Spill. The first such effort is a sobering account of polluted waterways, dead animals and acute health effects.

TENNESSEE: Coal ash spill featured on 60 Minutes (VIDEO) Investigative piece highlight the aftermath of the apocalyptic Tennessee coal ash disaster.

VIRGINIA

Hopewell News - "Petition to Reduce 'Hopewell Smell' is Presented" On Jan. 22, the Hopewell Clean Air Network made its first formal steps to reduce smells and the chemicals that cause them in the city and surrounding area. A petition with about 80 signatures was presented to Regional Enterprise Inc., which produces asphalt, to mitigate smells it releases around City Point.

Hopewell Clean Air Network Bucket Brigade Air Test Results Air tests in Hopewell reveal toxic air in the community.

Report: Hopewell air raises concern A Hopewell citizens group today will release a report indicating that some smells in the city are caused by substances that are harmful to residents.

The smell of asphalt in the air potential health hazard It's a question a lot of citizens are asking it's horrible and then when you walk in your house you can smell about a month so of course it bothers me complaints like these from enterprises prompted hopewell citizen and Sierra Club employee Jim Gould to conduct an air quality study on Water Street

Groups raise a stink over odor:The smell of asphalt is nothing unusual for City Point residents, but it may be more dangerous than expected. Tuesday night, the Hopewell Clean Air Network and the Sierra Club discussed results of an air quality study that indicated six dangerous chemicals are in the air, four of them above “levels of concern.”