Another Flint? Demand clean water for East Chicago

[ckaihatsu]

Another Flint? Demand clean water for East Chicago


NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)


Demand Clean Water for East Chicago

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Take Action (http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=zk1Nhr8kiAOvTQ8rw_-HAQ)


Help us escalate pressure on the EPA to ensure that the residents of East Chicago, Indiana, get safe, clean drinking water.

TAKE ACTION (http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=zk1Nhr8kiAOvTQ8rw_-HAQ)


Chris,

Last month, we won a long-awaited legal battle in Flint, Michigan.

Residents will finally get their damaged lead pipes replaced — a huge victory for the people of Flint, who after three years, are one step closer to having safe drinking water.

But it's not just Flint. Communities across the country face elevated lead levels in their drinking water. One such city is East Chicago in northwest Indiana — which, like Flint, is a largely working-class community of color.

East Chicago has been plagued by lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil and polluted air from industrial facilities in the area for decades — and the EPA recently notified the community that their tap water is also contaminated. The agency conducted a pilot study and found that water in over 40% of homes tested contained elevated levels of lead.

Last month, NRDC and our local partners served an emergency petition calling on the EPA to take urgent action under the Safe Drinking Water Act to immediately distribute free faucet filters or bottled water to East Chicago's residents.

But we need your help to escalate pressure on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Robert Kaplan, acting administrator of EPA Region 5 (which includes East Chicago), to grant our petition as soon as possible.

Tell the EPA to supply safe, clean drinking water to the residents of East Chicago. (http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=s6a3dK__aB8n5IPJEvgmbg)

East Chicago's contamination problems are well known to one federal official: former Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Just before Inauguration Day, the city desperately sought emergency help from then-Governor Pence before he left office to serve as Vice President in the Trump administration. Pence's office rejected the city's request.

Indiana's new governor, Eric Holcomb, granted the emergency declaration request. His administration is working with city and state officials on a plan to improve treatment for lead and replace corroded lead pipes in some parts of East Chicago — but that doesn't address the immediate need to provide safe drinking water to all residents now.

Please urge EPA Administrator Pruitt and Acting Region 5 Administrator Kaplan to provide residents of East Chicago with free faucet filters or distribute bottled water right away. (http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=Z-9lx4KYup_wNYpPeOdGEg)

Pruitt called the Flint tragedy a "failure at every level of government" and said he'd commit to stronger EPA action if a similar situation presented itself. So what's he waiting for?

To make matters worse, President Trump has proposed significant cuts to the EPA's budget that will leave the agency far short of the resources necessary to clean up drinking water and other contamination in communities like East Chicago.

That's why we need an overwhelming show of force to demonstrate to the Trump administration that we won't back down while thousands of families are drinking and cooking with tainted water in their own homes.

Please stand with me to demand safe water for East Chicago. (http://www.nrdconline.org/site/R?i=FJBcX18VE29f69q632TIrg)

With help from NRDC, the people of Flint petitioned the EPA to take action, fought in federal court and finally got the justice they deserve. And now we will fight relentlessly, for as long as it takes, for the people of East Chicago.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Rhea
Rhea Suh
President, NRDC
Rhea Suh


Photo: Michael Hamann/Flickr

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[ckaihatsu]

8,000 Flint residents could lose their homes.


There is no safe level of lead contamination.

https://d11gn0ip9m46ig.cloudfront.net/images/flint100.jpeg (https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/flint-tax-liens/?t=1&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc)

Tell Governor Rick Snyder to restore Flint's water credits now!

Take action (https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/flint-tax-liens/?t=2&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc)


Dear Chris,

8,000 Flint families are in danger of losing their homes because they won’t pay for poisonous water.1

The water in Flint is still not safe to drink but Governor Rick Snyder just cut off water relief credits which cover the costs of running water in Flint, claiming that the lead in the water is at an acceptable level. Now, because the bills for the toxic water are going unpaid, tax liens are being placed on residents’ property, which will force their homes into foreclosure. You read that right--Flint residents could lose their homes for not paying for water that causes birth defects, seizures, and memory loss.2

Tell Governor Rick Snyder that there is no safe level of lead contamination- restore water credits to Flint now! (https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/flint-tax-liens/?t=3&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc)

The Flint water crisis is one of America’s greatest tragedies—in a depraved effort to cut costs, Michigan’s emergency manager switched Flint’s water source, pumping hundreds of thousands of their mostly Black residents with poisonous water. It’s now been over three years since Flint residents were able to use clean water, and atop of battling mounting medical bills from lead poisoning and purchasing endless bottles of water for drinking, bathing, and cooking, Flint’s residents now have to battle the possible loss of their homes.

Up until February, Flint residents were receiving water relief credits which were applied to their utility bills. But Governor Rick Snyder ended this program, claiming that the water was safe to drink with an acceptable lead limit. But the truth is that there no safe level of lead exposure. Even extremely low levels of lead have been proven to have adverse effects on mental and physical health. And it’s not like Rick Snyder is a trustworthy Governor, with the best interest of Black communities at heart. After all, he ignored the anguished cries of Flint residents for months, as showers left lesions on their skin, and young children became progressively ill from drinking the water. He also claims he didn’t know about the water crisis until October 2015, even though his staffers’ emails show that he was alerted a whole year prior. Rick Snyder's nonchalant governance when Black communities are in crisis is abominable. Now he’s forcing their homes into foreclosure by canceling water relief credits. This assault on our communities must stop now.

Flint doesn't deserve this. Tell Governor Rick Snyder to restore water credits to Flint residents now! (https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/flint-tax-liens/?t=4&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc)

We can’t downplay the seriousness of threatening Flint residents’ homes after years of government failure and corruption. Homeownership has been the primary way that Americans build wealth--and Black folks have historically been shut out of the homeownership process. While white veterans were given government-sponsored housing loans to purchase homes in rapidly growing cities and suburbs after World War II, Black veterans were banned from accessing bank loans and restricted from buying homes in most neighborhoods.3 And after the 2007 financial crisis, when banks targeted Black families for fraudulent subprime loans, Black home ownership plummeted to a level not seen since the 1960s.4

This latest effort to punish Black families and force them to use money they don’t have to pay for water they can’t drink is unthinkable. The city of Flint has suffered immeasurably over the past three years. Don’t let Rick Snyder take their homes.

Tell Governor Rick Snyder to restore water credits to Flint residents now! (https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/flint-tax-liens/?t=5&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc)

Until justice is real,

--Arisha, Rashad, Brandi, Anika, Jade, Evan, Yeshimabeit, Corina, the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:

"Flint Residents are at risk of losing their homes if they don't pay water bills.” ThinkProgress, 3 May 2017. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/7889?t=7&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc
"Lead Exposure Has Terrible Effects On Grown Ups Too." Mother Jones, 7 May 2016. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7890?t=9&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc
"How the GI Bill Left Out African Americans." Demos, 11 November 2013. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7891?t=11&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc
"Are gains in black homeownership history?" Urban Institute, 15 February 2017. http://act.colorofchange.org/go/7892?t=13&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc

Color Of Change (http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3829?t=15&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc) is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong. (https://act.colorofchange.org/go/7581?t=16&akid=7447.872082.v-QTLc)

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