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Sign on, Freshwater Symposium, and Funding Opportunities |
In
this message:
Extend
public comment period for West Valley nuclear waste site: Sign-on
Preserving Ontario's freshwater: Symposium
Freshwater Future hosts Webcast on funding programs |
Extend
public comment period for West Valley nuclear waste site: Sign-on
We hope
your group will sign on to letters to legislators (see below)
to request that they contact DOE in support of our request for a public
comment period extension (from June to October), and additional West
Valley hearings in Albany, Buffalo and Rochester. We need to show more
public support for these requests.
Please let us know if you can sign on by FRIDAY, MARCH 6th by emailing annerabe@msn.com Send your name,
group and town. Thanks.
The letters will each be sent to: Congressmembers Eric Massa, Louise
Slaughter, Brian Higgins; U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand;
Assemblymembers Crystal D. Peoples, Dennis H. Gabryszak, Jack Quinn,
Stephen Hawley, Sam Hoyt, Dan Burling, Jim Hayes, Bill Parment, Robin
Schimminger, Mark Schroder, Paul Tokasz and Sandra Lee Wirth, and
Senators Nozzolio, Michael F. , Alesi, James S.,Robach, Joseph E.
,Stachowski, William T., Volker, Dale M., Thompson, Antoine
M.,Ranzenhofer, Michael H.and Maziarz, George D.
Note, that Senator Young and the Governor's Deputy Secretary on the
Environment are supportive of the requests and are contacting DOE. We
plan on sending a separate letter -- in the near future -- to ask all
these legislators to consider testifying or submitting comments in
support of digging up the waste.
Dear Legislator:
The Western New York Great Lakes region is threatened by the state's
largest nuclear waste site, West Valley, located 30 miles south of
Buffalo. We are at a critical juncture in the decision making process
to clean up this leaking site. The public has an opportunity to
comment on the government's final cleanup plans which are described in
a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) by the federal Department
of Energy (DOE) and the NYS Energy & Research Authority (NYSERDA).
We are writing you to ask for your support of improved public
participation measures during this critical process.
Our concern is that DOE and NYSERDA are not providing enough time for
public comment and are not holding hearings in areas where the public
is very concerned about the issue. The last DEIS on West Valley was
issued in 1996. For over 12 years, community and environmental groups
have been waiting for this opportunity. West Valley is a large,
complex site with vast amounts of radioactive and toxic pollution. The
final resolution of the West Valley cleanup plan is an extremely
important issue which will have a major impact on the future of the
Great Lakes and Western New York's environment, drinking water
supplies, public health and economic vitality.
We would appreciate your support of our request to DOE and NYSERDA
to improve their public comment plan to ensure there is adequate and
comprehensive public participation on this critical issue.
First, the clean up of the West Valley site has been a statewide issue
and of interest to statewide, regional and local groups, citizens and
policymakers for many years. Therefore, we have requested that DOE
have public hearings in Buffalo, Rochester and Albany, New York, in
addition to those already scheduled in Irving, West Valley and
Blasdell, NY.
Second, the new DEIS is voluminous and highly technical and citizens
and groups will need time to adequately review it and consult with
experts and their membership, before formulating comments. Therefore,
we have requested that DOE provide an extension on the public comment
period from June 8th to October 30, 2008.
Would you please consider contacting DOE and NYSERDA officials in
support of our requests on the additional hearing locations and the
extended comment deadline?
They can be contacted at:
1) Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, the.secretary@hq.doe.gov,
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC
20585;
2) Bryan Bower, Director, Dept. of Energy West Valley Demonstration
Project, 10282 Rock Springs Rd., West Valley, NY 14171, bryan.bower@wv.doe.gov ; and
3) Frank Murray, President, NYSERDA, 17 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY
12203 and NYSERDA Deputy Counsel Hal Brodie at hb1@nyserda.org.
Thank you very much for considering our requests. You can contact us
through Anne Rabe, Center for Health, Environment & Justice, annerabe@msn.com, 518-732-4538, if
you have any questions. |
Preserving
Ontario's freshwater: Symposium
A
symposium and networking café to tap the wellspring of community
knowledge
8:00 am – 4:30 pm Friday, March 27, 2009, in
Toronto, Ontario
Much has been accomplished in the few years since the Walkerton
tragedy, with more initiatives underway, yet Ontario’s ground and
surface water resources remain finite as:
- our population increases;
- demand for water expands;
- the climate changes; and
- we contemplate greater designs on the boreal and the
taiga.
Please
join us for:
- An address by Gord Miller, the Environmental
Commissioner of Ontario;
- Discussions featuring 15 leaders working on
freshwater issues and,
- A networking café to strengthen bonds and capture the
expertise in the room.
Share
your observations and recommendations as we discuss:
- What is the health of Ontario’s freshwater?
- What are we doing right to preserve our freshwater
ecosystems? and,
- What more needs to be done by individuals,
organizations, industry, and government?
More
details about the Symposium, including registration information, are
available at www.ohwi.ca. E-mail
inquiries are welcome via Andrew@ohwi.ca.
Freshwater
Future hosts Webcast on funding programs
Planning to apply for our Spring 2009 Funding Cycle? Let us help you
with your proposal by identifying the strategic and necessary aspects
of successful projects. Lessons learned will be easily transferrable to
all your group’s projects or advocacy related efforts.
Freshwater Future’s Project Planning Webcast and
Teleconference
Thursday, March 12th, 12:30 – 1:00 EST
Freshwater Future offers two grant programs:
- Project Grants Program provides
grant awards ranging from $500 to $3,500 U.S. dollars (USD) to be used
for specific project expenses such as mailings, printing, and meeting
supplies for river, lake, and wetland protection.
- Technical Assistance Grants Program
provides grant awards ranging from $500 to $3,500 USD to be used to hire
an outside qualified consultant to provide strategy assistance
such as organizational development or campaign development.
Organizations
may apply for both Technical and the Project Grants Program in one
application. Deadline for Spring cycle grant applications is March 31,
2009. For more information, go to www.freshwaterfuture.org/projectandtech.html
To register for the webcast and teleconference, email Cheryl Mendoza,
Freshwater Future’s Policy and Network Advisor, at cheryl@freshwaterfuture.org
by Tuesday, March 10th. Instructions and call in information will be
emailed on Wednesday, March 11th.
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DO
YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT?
If your
organization is a member of Great Lakes United we would be happy to
distribute your announcement. Please contact Brent Gibson at bgibson@glu.org for more information.
Not
a member? Take advantage of all the benefits of being a part
of the region's longest running international coalition and join today!
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