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(Frisco)— The local citizens group monitoring the clean-up of the former Exide lead smelter site in Frisco released a letter it’s sent to the Frisco City Council citing what they say is a contradiction between the City’s stated goal of meeting strict “residential” standards for toxic contamination removal, and the use of less-stringent “industrial-site” testing being used to identify that contamination.

Instead of testing for toxins eight times per acre, as required under the more thorough residential clean-up protocol, Exide is only sampling twice per acre, a methodology only used for industrial purposes.

“This is a classic bait and switch maneuver,” said Frisco Unleaded Chair Colette McCadden. “While publicly promising one “residential” standard for lead-in-soil clean-up of the “J parcel” that’s more protective of human health, Exide is actually using a much less rigorous testing methodology designed for sites that will see continued industrial activity. This is not an accurate description of future land use in the “J Parcel,” and is at odds with a commitment to a full residential standard clean-up.”

Frisco has committed to buying the outer ring of Exide property, referred to as the “J Parcel,” after a “residential or better” clean-up is achieved. The 2006 Comprehensive Plan for the city, as well as announcements last year from city officials, identified future land uses on the property that included office and commercial development, as well as a greenbelt along Stewart Creek. The site is directly across the North Dallas Tollway from the proposed location of the City’s huge new Grand Park that will host “water features” along Stewart Creek – directly downstream from the smelter site.
 
Frisco Unleaded states that the less protective industrial protocol is also at odds with the findings of a recent city-sponsored environmental assessment of the J Parcel, which reported new suspected contamination sites.  The group linked the change in methodology to Exide’s deteriorating economic condition. Some analysts have predicted the company will file for bankruptcy for a second time in just over a decade.  Last Friday, the company’s stock hit a nine year low of under 50 cents a share.

“We fear this downgrade in sampling protocol is an indication of the inadequate clean up citizens have predicted Exide would undertake because of its on-going financial difficulties. We need the City of Frisco to live up to its promise to provide expertise and oversight to prevent Exide from taking shortcuts that will come back to haunt redevelopment efforts.”

Frisco Unleaded is asking the City of Frisco to resolve the contradiction in favor of the residential standard for sampling and clean up by telling Exide it must abide by the agreements it signed. Frisco must approve the J Parcel clean-up before Exide gets nearly $40 million in cash for the land. McCadden says that gives the city a lot of leverage.

“Frisco city leaders should demand that Exide honor the agreement and work toward a real ‘residential or better’ clean-up of this property. We’re asking that they use that influence on behalf of Frisco residents.”

Letter to City of Frisco on Testing

There's a new short video series called "Retro Report" that the New York Times is producing. Its first effort is about the wayward voyage of the Mobro 4000 –  not a new video game, but a six-million ton floating pile of New York City garbage that captured the nation's attention in 1987. 12 minutes of interesting history on how we got here from there.

Today is the first day of early voting in municipal elections throughout North Texas. Along with some high stakes city council races there are also lots of local propositions. Of course, of greatest interest to our Dallas supporters is the post-election make-up of of the city council that looks like it will decide the fate of the Trinity East gas permits. If you want to make a difference in June, please get out and support the candidates who are standing against irresponsible urban drilling, including longtime Downwinders supporter Claudia Meyer. This time, it counts.

Most Americans assume that by the time a product has made it to market, it must have been tested for its toxicity. Nope. Not even close. Of the approximately 85,000 chemicals available to a consumer in the US, only a tiny fraction have been tested for their impact to human health, or for their health impact in combination with the other 84,999 chemicals.

Or for that matter, their impact on downwind populations breathing their smoldering remains from cement kilns burning garbage for fuel.

This is one reason why babies are born "pre-polluted," hosting a laundry list of synthetic chemicals inside their tiny bodies before they're even out of the womb.

There is a federal law that's supposed to prevent toxic chemicals from entering the marketplace, the Toxic Substances Control Act. But as this article from the New York Times reminds us, it's "the only major environmental statute whose core provisions have not been re-authorized or substantively updated since its adoption in the 1970s," when there were maybe only 25,000 chemicals untested.

There is now a presumption under the law that a substance is "safe until proven guilty." This is exactly opposite of what a logical approach would look like, given all we know about the toxicology of chemical exposure. Indeed, this is why there's an explicit alternative in the form of the "Precatuonary Principle" that says a chemical should not be marketed until it's thoroughly tested for health impacts.

And sure enough, there's some congressional pressure to change the 40-year old law to reflect modern science.

Federal reform of the toxic substances act may be coming. Last week, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, and Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York,  introduced a bill called the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013, which would require the chemical industry to demonstrate that a chemical is safe in order for it to be sold. The bill, which has more than 25 Democratic co-sponsors, would put limits on trade secret practices and requires industry to reduce use of the chemicals designated by the E.P.A. as being of “greatest concern” because they are most toxic. 

There is zero chance of such a bill making it through this House, or perhaps even this theoretically Democratically-controlled Senate, but it's good to begin having the discussion,because even the industry folks are beginning to act a little nervous about the gap between perception and reality.

Tired of fighting a rear-guard battle over 2007 gas leases that should have been dead and buried by now? Us too. And so are Dallas Council members Angela Hunt and Scott Griggs.

Last Friday they circulated this memo to their 13 other council colleagues looking for three – just three – signatures to add to their own in officially calling for a vote on the Trinity East gas permits. They need five members to make sure it goes, and stays, on the council's business agenda. As of Monday, they hadn't gotten any takers.

This is important because right now, with this council that meets until May, Angela and Scott believe they have the four "no" votes it would take to prevent the council from overturning the City Plan Commission's denial. If they're right, such a vote would be the last word on the matter and the permits would finally be history.

A couple of months ago, supporters of the permits wanted a vote ASAP. Now, not so much. That was before citizens won two consecutive votes on the permits before the City Plan Commission despite City Hall and industry's best efforts to try and steamroll them through. Now, supporters say, it's time to slow down and wait for maybe the next council – which could be even more pro-drilling than this one. They say this with a straight face even though Trinity East itself is calling for a vote on the permits now, just like us.

Which is why we need you to once again let your fingers do the protesting and send a quick click n' send e-mail message to all 15 city council members: Vote NOW and Vote NO.

In particular, these current city council members are running for re-election in contested races this year:

Delia Jasso and Scott Griggs are running against each other in District 1.

Vonciel Jones in New District 3, running against gas permit opponent and grassroots advocate Claudia Meyer.

Monica Alonzo in District 6, running against Raymond Salinas.

If you can vote in a contested city council race, please make sure you note this in your message to the council, along with the fact that not signing Hunt's and Grigg's memo will factor in how you vote in that race. And to learn how all the city council candidates responded to the Dallas Morning News's question about gas drilling, please see our Breather's Guide to the Dallas City Council Races.

You've been so good about showing-up when you needed to. Don't think this fight is won yet. The fate of these gas permits is still undecided.

We need all of you to take a minute and send your message to the Mayor and entire council now. We get five signatures and bring this to a vote before May 11th and we'll never have to bug you about going to yet another meeting about the Trinity East permits again.  Do it now: https://www.downwindersatrisk.org/featured-citizen-action/

Thanks.

Is this what happens when all the polluters "move to China?"

Earlier this week, a consortium of entities, including the US EPA , the car industry and an assortment of research institutions released a study estimating that Chinese air pollution caused over 1.2 million early deaths in 2010 alone, or almost 40% of the world's total.

In this case, the villian is Partciulate Matter, seen by scientists as an increasingly serious health threat because of the variety of problems it can cause, from heart trouble to Parkinson's-like brain damage. 

This new study arrives at a moment in history when much of the Chinese population is waking up to how bad their air is. Blocked from discovering official meaurements of pollution, citizens are pooling their resources and buying their own monitoring equipment. Unable to fight permits, residents often turn to direct action to shut down an plant. These days, some of the most radical environmentalists on the planet are often Chinese middle-class parents.

WE WON IN DALLAS: 8 to 7. On to the city council, which needs 12 votes to overide. Thanks to everyone who came.