A LERT - Missouri Coalition for the Environment
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
M I SSOU RI COA L I TI ON FOR TH E EN V I RON M EN T
M CE Updates.......................................................................................2
A LERT
VOLUME 50, ISSUE 1 / SPRING 2019
50th A nni v ersary................................................................................3
Energy...................................................................................................4
Tak e A cti on.........................................................................................5
Water / Food & Farm......................................................................6-7
Effective Citizen Action Since 1969
MCETURNS50!
By H eather Broulliet Navarro, E xecutive D irector
It was 1969, and while all eyes gazed up to the moon, we were focused on the world immediately around us. As Neil
Armstrong took his first steps on the moon?s barren landscape, we were taking our first steps to care for and protect this
Earth, this place, our home.
Before there was an Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Natural Resources, before there was an Earth
Day, recycling bins, or the Clean Water Act, there was the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, the state?s first
independent, grassroots citizens group fighting to keep our environment and the people of Missouri safe and thriving.
We began this work 50 years ago and 50 years later, our efforts have led to the tools, policies and laws that form the
backbone of environmental protection in our state.
You can draw a straight line from the early
conservation efforts of one of our founders,
Leo Drey, to today?s Food & Farm Program
and MCE staff members Melissa Vatterott,
Rae Miller and Tosha Phonix, whose efforts
are helping make nutritious, locally
produced food accessible and affordable for
everyone, while ensuring that our farmers
can make a living wage producing it.
We?re protecting Missouri?s precious
remaining floodplains and wetlands,
pushing for more rigorous water-quality
standards, and standing up to pollutive
industries that threaten our ecosystems and Former executive director, Roger Pryor, and two of MCE's founders, Leo Drey and Lewis Green, in
jeopardize public health. front of MCE's office in the St. Louis Delmar Loop.
Internally, MCE is actively engaged in identifying, understanding and dismantling systemic racism and implicit bias within
our own organization and throughout the environmental community. We recognize that people of color are
disproportionately affected by public health and environmental threats, and lack equal access to many of Missouri?s
natural resources. We are committed to becoming a more inclusive, diverse organization, and to building a more
equitable environmental movement throughout the state of Missouri.
In 2019, we celebrate these 50 years of educating, organizing and advocating for Missouri?s people and environment. We
celebrate the dedication and passion of our founders 50 years ago and the power of those who support this work all
across our state today. We cherish our legacy and honor our history by continuing to courageously protect Missouri?s
natural resources for the benefit of all and ensure that every Missourian has the tools to hold government and polluters
accountable. We are where we are today because of those first steps 50 years ago. Join us in taking the next steps into the
next 50 years.
Are you a member? Join Today!
Visit us online at www.moenvironment.org.SPRING 2019 / PAGE 2 MCE Updates
STAFFUPDATES
This past fall MCE welcomed another
AmeriCorps VISTA, Emmaline Giles.
To educate, organize, and advocate Emmaline was introduced to MCE as a
in defense of Missouri?s people and volunteer, and when the Food & Farm
their environment. VISTA position opened she was the right
person for the job. Her goal is to expand
M CE BOARD: the St. Louis Food Policy Coalition?s
(STLFPC) reach into low-income
Kally Coleman, President
communities and increase access to
Eric Wilkinson, Vice President
Tom Leb, Secretary healthy, locally grown food from
Steve Brewer environmentally responsible farmers.
MCE Staff ? Left to Right ? bottom row: Maisah Khan, Emmaline
David Garin We made another great addition with Jessie
Giles, Melissa Vatterott, and Rae Miller. Left to Right ? top row:
David Lobbig
Dryden, our rivers organizer. Jessie, based
Jessie Dryden, Ellyn Horan, Ed Smith, Heather B. Navarro, and
Nadim Kanafani, Immediate Past President Laura Lock. Not pictured: Denise Baker and Tosha Phonix.
in mid-Missouri, works primarily with
Steve Mahfood
communities along the Missouri River and its tributaries to offer support on local water issues
Arlene Sandler
Suzie Schmitt and to expand collective advocacy efforts to protect and restore the Missouri River. Jessie is a
Gwendolyn Verhoff seventh-generation Missourian with experience farming and organizing laborers. We are
Bernard Waxman thrilled to have Emmaline and Jessie join the MCE team!
M CE STAFF:
Executive Director: Heather B. Navarro
Executive Assistant: Denise Baker
2019 ANNUALMEETINGRECAP
MCE held its annual meeting in St. Louis on March 10, then took it on the road March 22 - 24
Development Director: Laura Lock
Communications Director: Ellyn Horan
with meetings in Columbia and Springfield. The membership approved the nomination of
Policy Director: Ed Smith Gwendolyn Verhoff to the board and renewed the terms of Steve Mahfood and Bernard
Water Policy Director: Maisah Khan (Buddy) Waxman.
Rivers Organizer: Jessie Dryden
Food & Farm Director: Melissa Vatterott
Local Food Coordinator: Rae Miller
Food Justice Organizer: Tosha Phonix
Food & Farm VISTA: Emmaline Giles
Copyeditor: Bill Rable
THE 2019 ALERT:
Missouri Coalition for the Environment?s
Alert newsletter is published twice each
calendar year. This newsletter is for
informational purposes only. All opinions
Gwendolyn Verhoff, MCE's new Board member, at Heather Navarro addresses MCE members and guests
and estimates in the Alert constitute the
MCE's Annual Meeting on March 10. at Schlafly Tap Room on March 10.
best judgment of MCE and its contributors
but are subject to change without notice.
Reproduction of articles for publication is
prohibited without permission of the
publisher. FOODEQUITYADVISORYBOARD
By Tosha Phonix, Food Justice Organizer
Missouri Coalition for the Environment
3115 South Grand Blvd., Suite 650
St. Louis, MO 63118 We are excited to present the Food Equity Advisory Board (FEAB). FEAB is an engaged group
Ph 314.727.0600 of community champions who advocate on behalf of their peers to help promote a thriving,
E moenviron@moenviron.org local food system that supports the wants and needs of the overall community ? its health,
environment, and economy. FEAB works to ensure every community member has a voice
Follow us on Social Media:
for positive, concrete change. It serves as a resource to connect community members with
Facebook @MoEnviron
Twitter @MoEnviron information and individuals that empower them to take action. FEAB works in partnership
Instagram @moenvironment with the St. Louis Food Policy Coalition (STLFPC) to ensure the Coalition's goals and projects
are aligned with the true needs of the communities they serve and that those communities
Sign up for our e-alerts and stay are being heard by businesses and organizations throughout the city.
current with environmental news.
continued on page 7
Visit us online at
w w w.m oen vir on m en t .or g. THE ALERT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.MOENVIRONMENT.ORGSPRING 2019 / PAGE 3 50th Anniversary
50THKICK-OFFEVENT
By Ellyn H oran, Communications D irector
MCE kicked-off our 50th anniversary year with our Black Tie, Blue Jeans, & Beer
event at Side Project Brewing Company on January 18 where over 80 of our
members and supporters helped us celebrate the clean water we work so hard
to protect and the great, local beer it helps create. Event attendees took home a
commemorative MCE 50th anniversary tasting glass, sipped on beers from ten
Missouri breweries, tasted treats from Bolyard?s Meat & Provisions, enjoyed
samples of Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur, and tapped their toes to live music.
Attendees heard from executive director Heather Navarro, and from policy
director Ed Smith, about MCE?s water protection work, as well as all the amazing
events and celebrations we have planned for our 50th anniversary year. Thank
you to all who attended the event; we hope you will continue to celebrate with us
Left to Right: Pam Todorovich and Rebecca Wright,
throughout the year. Please visit our website at www.moenvironment.org for all
former MCE Board member, enjoy local beers at
upcoming event details. Cheers! Side Project Brewing Co.
Left to Right: Katie and Tracy Stuckenschneider, The crowd gathers to hear about MCE's water Enjoying local Missouri beer and food from
Michael Bauermeister and Gloria Attoun protection work at Side Project Brewing Co. on Bolyard's Meat & Provisions.
Bauermeister at the Black, Blue Jeans & Beer event. January 18.
MCE'SRACIALEQUITYSTATEMENT
Approved by the MCE Board of Directors on December 17, 2018
Throughout MCE?s 50 year history, we have been our best when we have had a diverse staff, a diverse board and worked for
environmental justice for the most marginalized, and while we celebrate those victories we know we have more work to do.
MCE recognizes that people of color are disproportionately affected by public health and environmental threats and lack
equal access to many of Missouri?s natural resources.
Members of MCE?s staff and board have been actively engaged in identifying, understanding, and dismantling systemic
racism and implicit bias within our organization and the environmental community. MCE is committed to becoming a more
inclusive, diverse organization and building a more equitable environmental movement throughout the state of Missouri.
How MCE will accomplish this:
- Increase representation of people of color among membership, staff, organizational leadership, and board of
directors
- Find ways within our work to address the intersection of race, poverty and environmental issues
- Expand our capacity to address more diverse environmental issues
- Engage with organizations that represent the communities most disproportionately impacted by environmental
racism
- Collaborate with other organizations that are addressing other environmental racism issues
- Develop an accountability plan, with concrete metrics and goals, to ensure we are performing the work necessary
to become a more inclusive, diverse organization and build a more equitable environmental movement throughout
the state of Missouri
- Produce quarterly accountability reports and an annual summary of our results for release with our annual report.SPRING 2019 / PAGE 4 Energy
BREAKING: MCESUES
ARMYCORPSANDWINS
By H eather B. Navarro, E xecutive D irector
One year ago in April, MCE filed suit against the Army Corps of
Engineers in federal court after the Corps repeatedly denied
records requests regarding permits for wetlands destruction. A
federal judge found ?The Corps?record of repeated and almost
identical FOIA violations leads to the unavoidable conclusion that
its decisions resulted from a policy or practice to withhold While Kansas City and St. Louis have adopted 100 percent
materials in the application files of pending Section 404 permit clean energy commitments, smaller municipalities, like
Stockton, are also investing in solar energy. Pictured above,
applications . . .? The Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Stockton solar gardener, Cheryl Marcum, and Mayor Mary
Washington University in St. Louis represented MCE in this suit Norell high five Stockton's solar project completion showing
that included claims for withholding documents related to Doe the edge of the south array laid out in three rows, each with
Run's diversion of the West Fork Black River. To read more on this 100 modules.
breaking story visit www.moenvironment.org. To learn more about efforts in Kansas City and St. Louis, visit
www.kcmo.gov/kcgreen and www.stlouis-mo.gov/clean-energy.
MISSOURI CLEANENERGYCOALITION
By Ed Smith, Policy D irector
MCE knows that we need to shift our power production to renewable energy because it will save us money, make us
healthier, and protect our environment. Missourians spend more than $1 billion each year to import coal from other
states when we could be investing that money in clean energy created here. Coal contaminates the environment during
its mining and extraction. Burning coal creates air pollution, causes health problems, like asthma, and contributes to
climate change. After burning coal, the leftover waste is put in landfills, frequently located in floodplains, which
threatens groundwater and surface water with concentrated contaminants, such as arsenic, boron and cadmium.
Acknowledging the need for an energy shift is why MCE helped lead a successful ballot initiative campaign in 2008,
mandating that Missouri?s monopoly electric utilities source 15 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2021.
Proposition C was supported by 66 percent of Missourians in every county. We know that Missourians support
renewable energy, yet we encountered fierce opposition from Missouri lawmakers and utilities during the
implementation process of Proposition C.
Recognizing challenges at the local, state and federal levels, MCE supported the founding of the Missouri Clean Energy
Coalition (MCEC), knowing that shifting the energy landscape in Missouri is going to take a significant effort. MCEC
includes our environmental allies at the Missouri Sierra Club, Renew Missouri, Citizens Climate Lobby, League of Women
Voters, and faith allies, such as the Jewish Energy Initiative, Interfaith Power & Light, and Midwest Coalition for
Responsible Investment.
MCEC will soon launch a new communication campaign with education and action opportunities at the local, state and
federal levels. Look for an update in the next issue on how to find this information. If you are interested in engaging with
the Missouri Clean Energy Coalition, please contact Ed Smith at 314-727-0600, ext. 114 or esmith@moenviron.org.
THE ALERT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.MOENVIRONMENT.ORGSPRING 2019 / PAGE 5 Take Action
YEARSOFADVOCACYPAYOFFWITHEPAROD
By Ed Smith, Policy D irector
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a decision in September 2018 for the West Lake Landfill Superfund site
in St. Louis County. The Record of Decision (ROD) calls for removing 70 percent of the radioactivity dumped at the unlined
landfill in the Missouri River floodplain in 1973. MCE is engaging the EPA during the development of work plans to ensure
the removal process is safe for workers and the community.
While the ROD does not achieve MCE's goal of 100 percent removal of the radioactive contamination at the landfill, it is a
significantly better decision for the St. Louis region than the EPA?s 2008 decision to cap-and-leave all the radioactive
contamination. Furthermore, the EPA announced in February 2019 that it signed the legal documents needed to further
investigate radioactivity in the groundwater at West Lake Landfill through the creation of a new Superfund area below the
landfill. The investigation will include two years of quarterly groundwater sampling to determine the extent and intensity
of radioactivity in the groundwater, and whether it is related to the radioactive material dumped at the landfill, either from
another source or naturally occurring. The new Superfund area investigating groundwater comes with its own
decision-making process that could lead to further removal of radioactive contamination, which MCE will continue to
support.
MCE staff, Heather Navarro and Ed Smith, MCE A view of the West Lake Landfill Superfund site in Eli Chen, St. Louis Public Radio, interviews Ed
founding member, Kay Drey, and founding members St. Louis County where the EPA has agreed to Smith, MCE policy director, following the EPA
of Just Moms STL, Karen Nickel, Christen Commuso, remove 70 percent of the radioactive material. decision signing on September 27.
and Dawn Chapman, attend the EPA Record of
Decision signing on September 27.
THEPEOPLE'SGUIDETOACTION
By Ed Smith, Policy D irector
In January, a group in Piedmont met to address herbicide
spraying. The Wayne Co. Residents Against Spraying Herbicides
(WRASH) is attempting to get Wayne County to use mowing in its
right-of-ways rather than spraying herbicides. With the help of
MCE's People?s Pocket Guide to Environmental Action, members
of the group developed the start of a strategic plan on how to
achieve their goals.
The People?s Pocket Guide to Environmental Action is a document
that MCE created for individuals and groups to use to address
environmental concerns in their community. It?s the same
information and process we use for our work on clean water,
food systems, public land and more. If you would like a People?s
Pocket Guide to Environmental Action and/or if you need help
with strategic planning related to your environmental concern,
please visit www.moenvironment.org or contact Ed Smith at
314-727-0600, ext. 114 or esmith@moenviron.org.SPRING 2019 / PAGE 6 Water / Food & Farm
MCEADVOCATESFORABETTERFARMBILL
By M aisah Khan, Water Policy D irector, M elissa Vatterott, Food & Farm D irector, and Rae M iller,
Local Food Coordinator
In December 2018, ?the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,? otherwise
referred to as the 2018 Farm Bill, became law. Over 600 farmers, consumers, and
other concerned citizens engaged with MCE to make calls, write postcards, and
sign petitions, advocating for an equitable, safe, environmentally responsible
Farm Bill. Thank you to those who took action with us!
We saw many wins in the 2018 Farm Bill: Congress funded our priority programs
for local and regional food systems, beginning farmers and farmers of color, and
food security at levels that will ensure their greatest impact. Unfortunately,
conservation programming had some losses. We were grateful to see that the
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality
Incentive Program (EQIP) both remained intact; however, CSP will see significant
Maisah Khan, water policy director, with Sen. Josh
funding cuts over the next five years. Lastly, we were disappointed to see that
Hawley at the NSAC in D.C. meeting in January 2019.
despite efforts to modernize crop insurance and reform commodity subsidies, MCE also met with Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, as
the 2018 Farm Bill creates even greater loopholes, giving more taxpayer dollars well as staffers from Congressman Lacy Clay; and
to a select few. Congressman Sam Graves' offices.
In 2019, MCE is working with our partners at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and partners statewide to
ensure that the USDA implements our priority Farm Bill programs quickly and in a manner that aligns with the intent of those
programs. So far this year, we have visited D.C. twice to talk with our federally elected officials about these programs and have
signed onto a handful of letters to both Congress and the USDA, urging them to ensure these programs are implemented
successfully. As these programs are implemented and enrollment and application periods open, we will inform our network of
over 200 farmers and food system advocates so they may seek to take advantage of these important programs.
THEFIGHTAGAINSTFACTORYFARMS
By M aisah Khan, Water Policy D irector, and M elissa Vatterott, Food & Farm D irector
There are few topics that raise as many environmental and While we continue to track state-level developments, MCE is
public health concerns as factory farms, or Concentrated also coordinating with other states and organizations
Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). CAFOs degrade water throughout the Mississippi River basin to share challenges
quality, emit noxious pollutants into the air, and increase the and strategies around CAFOs. MCE co-hosted a meeting with
risk and spread of disease in both animals and humans. the Mississippi River Collaborative in March 2019 to learn
MCE?s efforts to fight the influx of CAFOs have picked up in more about how other states are responding to the
recent years, especially following the removal of citizen troubling trend and to explore opportunities for shared
representatives to the Clean Water Commission (CWC), solutions.
Missouri?s body for approving or denying CAFO permits.
MCE was lucky to have Washington University in St. Louis
In January 2019, the CWC approved the Tipton East CAFO senior, Sydney Welter, track numerous CAFO-related
permit near the Cooper-Moniteau County line, enabling projects during the 2018-2019 school year. One of Sydney?s
Cooper County?s sixth CAFO to remain in business despite many projects included sending a letter in December 2018
concerns from many local residents about drinking water on behalf of MCE to the University of Missouri Extension
contamination. Then in early March 2019, the Missouri after they published a very misleading series of cartoons
Legislature proposed Senate Bill 391 to remove the ability for about CAFOs. Part of MCE?s response included sharing our
counties to pass any health ordinances affecting agriculture own video about the impacts of industrial agriculture on our
that are more stringent than existing state law. If passed, SB environment, health, and local communities. You can check
391 would make it even easier for CAFOs to get up and out MCE?s new video on our website at
running in Missouri and would remove local county control. www.moenvironment.org/cafoimpactsvideo.
All of this is occuring while our Department of Natural
Is there a CAFO in your neighborhood or county that you are
Resources has seen dramatic declines in enforcement
concerned about? If so, we want to hear about it. Please
actions, a ?Red Tape Reduction? effort that rolled back CAFO
reach out to Melissa Vatterott and Maisah Khan at
regulations, and a change in mission statement to explicitly
314-727-0600 to share your concerns or get more involved.
include the interests of industry and businesses.
THE ALERT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.MOENVIRONMENT.ORGSPRING 2019 / PAGE 7 Water / Food & Farm
MCESTANDSUPFORHEALTHIERWATERS
By M aisah Khan, Water Policy D irector
One of Missouri?s state slogans is ?where the rivers run? for good reason. Our state is home to over 180,000 miles of rivers and
streams. The Mighty Mississippi River forms our eastern border while the Missouri River runs through the heart of our state. And
just as these rivers run through, connect, and transect every part of our state, so do they inform all parts of our water program
efforts at MCE.
When it comes to our big rivers, n u t r ien t pollu t ion is a key concern in an agricultural state like Missouri. We know that excess
nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, trigger rapid algal blooms in our waterways. Algal blooms quickly deplete oxygen
levels and reduce once thriving aquatic systems to ?dead zones.? The Gulf dead zone is a well-known issue, but the effects of
nutrient pollution have also created dead zones and fish kills in our Missouri lakes.
The state of Missouri has been working on nutrient criteria for lakes since the mid-2000s. As a result of a lawsuit MCE brought in
2016 against the EPA, Missouri?s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) finally put forward lake nutrient criteria last year and
the EPA approved it in December 2018. While we are still analyzing all of the pieces of the criteria, overall it is a big
disappointment. MCE is deeply concerned that Missouri?s lake nutrient standards are unlikely to prevent impairment of lakes and
would instead merely register impairment after the fact. DNR?s rule contains a numeric criterion (or standard) for
chlorophyll-a, but the other parameters, such as total nitrogen and total
phosphorus, are considered ?screening values? only. These ?screening values?
alone do not trigger a finding of impairment. Instead, when a screening value is
exceeded, five more standards are invoked before a finding of impairment can be
made. We are concerned that these additional standards range from the
redundant to the hard-to-document-and-prove (fish kills, for example).
While we are pushing DNR at a state level to protect more waters, we are also
facing an unprecedented roll back of the Clean Wat er Act (CWA) at the federal
level. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new definition of
what it means to be ?Waters of the U.S.? (WOTUS) under the CWA. The proposed
definition would remove protections for wetlands and small streams all across
America. In Missouri, it would remove protections for wetlands behind some 2,000
miles of levees. MCE?s Washington University Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic Members of the Lower Missouri River Coalition (LMRC)
participate in the November 2018 meeting in Kansas City.
team provided verbal testimony at EPA?s public hearing in February 2019, and we
are grateful for the hundreds of postcards that MCE members and supporters completed this spring in response.
MCE benefits from collaboration with a number of organizations protecting the health of the Mississippi River Basin. The
Mississippi River Network (MRN), Mississippi River Collaborative, Nicolett Island Coalition, and our local Sierra Club group are all
important partners of MCE. In March 2019, MCE participated in a fly-in with MRN in D.C. to advocate for conservation programs
in the 2018 Far m Bill and to educate our federally elected officials about state nutrient reduction plans.
We know that we cannot work on improving the health of the Mississippi River Basin without also considering its longest
tributary ? the Missouri River. MCE continues to convene the Low er M issou r i River Coalit ion (LMRC) alongside the Sierra
Club. LMRC held two meetings in 2018, and since last summer has grown to include 20 organizations. Together with LMRC, MCE
submitted extensive comments on the final Missouri River Recovery Management Plan Environmental Impact Assessment
(MRRMP-EIS), voicing our concerns to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it does not do enough to protect three federally
protected species on the Missouri River (the interior least tern, piping plover, and pallid sturgeon) and does not restore the
functional hydrology of the river and its floodplains. The LMRC is turning its sights to the next Water Resources Development Act
and opportunities it may present to advocate for and support the success of the Missouri River Recovery Plan in restoring the
Lower Missouri River and its floodplain.
FOODEQUITYADVISORYBOARDCONTINUED
continued from page 2
FEAB is currently working to host a cooking class in North St. Louis called ?Cooking for the African Diaspora." FEAB will
collaborate with local growers who will provide produce at no cost to keep the class free. After talking with community
organizations that would like to see a grocery store in their communities, FEAB will also be collaborating with community
organizations in the Fairground neighborhood and with neighboring community organizations to bring a small community
market store to residents.3115 South Grand Blvd., Suite 650
St. Louis, Missouri 63118
SAVETHEDATE: 50THANNIVERSARYGALA
By Laura Lock, D evelopment D irector
Join us as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary Gala, Novem ber 2, 2019, at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Guests can
expect an engaging speaker, a very special awards program, delicious food and drink from Catering St. Louis, and the
unbeatable ambiance of our world famous Botanical Garden. We?ll reflect on the fortitude, wisdom, and unwavering
commitment of our founders and their past accomplishments, as well as celebrate the tireless work of MCE today and
reflect on how that work is shaping the narrative for future generations of environmentalists!
Bring your family and friends, and help us celebrate this once in a lifetime moment, as we look ahead to the next 50 years
of protecting Missouri?s environment and the health of our communities.
PAST: MCE's 1983 Alert Newsletter PRESENT: Rae Miller, local food coordinator, FUTURE: Exploring Bangert Island along the
and Tosha Phonix, food justice organizer, visit Missouri River
a cotton farm in Sikeston, Mo. in 2018.You can also read
