COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio House committee could vote today to approve so-called "anti-protest" legislation.
The House Public Utilities Committee is holding its seventh hearing on Senate Bill 33, which would increase penalties for those who physically damage or tamper with critical infrastructure facilities.
Randy Cunningham with the Cleveland Environmental Action Network says it is similar to legislation in other states backed by the oil and gas industry after the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
"They have applied it to virtually everything you can think of: railroads, refineries, pipelines, injection wells,” says Cunningham. “The goal of it is to chill the conversation, to chill dissent."
Rob Eshenbaugh with Capitol Advocates represents a group of businesses and trade groups supportive of SB 33. He contends it's needed to protect public safety.
"There have been increased threats to critical infrastructure in Ohio, and the enhanced penalties in this bill (are) hopefully going to be a deterrent for any of those actions in the future," says Eshenbaugh.
The Ohio Senate passed SB 33 in May by a 24 to 8 vote.
Opponents argue the measure would discourage protests by making organizers or groups civilly responsible for the criminal offenses of an individual participant, with penalties up to $100,000. However, Eshenbaugh says organizations would not be held responsible for one person's rogue actions.
"Organizations are only held liable under the bill if they direct or compensate someone to perform an action of intentional destruction," says Eshenbaugh. “It is not simply someone that has gone onto property if they are just at a protest."
Cunningham says the measure is pitting civil rights against corporate interests.
"David vs. Godzilla is what it is,” says Cunningham. “It is about money vs. rights. Maybe eventually the rights win out, but right now I'll bet on the money any day. And they're wasting their time if they think they're going to keep us from protesting."
Supporters counter that SB 33 does not infringe on the constitutional right to protest, but rather curbs intentional acts that one might commit.
This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge.
A court granted a temporary restraining order against Austin Master Services, a fracking waste-storage facility in Martin's Ferry, at the request of Ohio Attorney General David Yost.
Ohio has some of the least-restrictive rules on fracking waste, said Jill Hunkler, director of the local advocacy group Ohio Valley Allies. She said this makes communities "dumping grounds" for the byproducts of fracking, and residents are often left to educate themselves on the risks of living near fracking operations and waste sites.
"We can see firsthand how dangerous these facilities were and how poorly they were operating," she said, "and right within 500 feet of the drinking water supply for 5 million people, which is the Ohio River."
At a city council meeting, residents voiced their concerns about water-supply safety and ongoing health risks for neighboring communities.
In a legal complaint, the AG's office said the Martin's Ferry facility has exceeded the amount of waste it's permitted to store by thousands of tons.
Austin Master Services could not be reached for comment. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources maintains there's no evidence the waste has affected public health.
Hunkler said a judge ordered Austin Master Services to clean up the excess waste at a recent hearing, but the company said it didn't have the money to do so.
"It's just a very good example of the failure here to adequately regulate and enforce and protect the communities from this toxic industry," she added.
According to Food and Water Watch, fracking waste contains a mixture of heavy metals, brines, volatile organic compounds, carcinogens and naturally occurring radioactive contaminants. Yale University research has linked exposure to some of these substances to reproductive and developmental problems.
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Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, say they continue to live with health problems, including rashes, nosebleeds and respiratory issues following last year's massive train derailment and chemical spill.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 177 tons of solid waste of solid waste and 68 million gallons of water have been transported out of East Palestine for disposal.
Jess Conard, Appalachia director for the advocacy group Beyond Plastics, said vinyl chloride is a key ingredient in making PVC plastic. She argued the disaster highlighted the need to reduce production of industrial plastic and better regulate all stages of the plastic life cycle. She added residents still do not have the resources needed to stay safe.
"We are also in desperate need of residential indoor and outdoor air monitoring and air assessments for our homes," Conard contended. "There are residents within the past month that have reported detections of vinyl chloride outside of their home."
Norfolk Southern recently agreed to a $600 million settlement in an attempt to resolve a string of lawsuits involving thousands of people.
If it gets approval from all parties, it would resolve all class-action claims by people and businesses who were within a 20-mile radius of the derailment site, and personal injury claims within 10 miles. In a statement on the company's website, the company stressed the settlement does not constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault.
Conard pointed out the settlement will not prevent another train-related environmental disaster from happening. She noted the amount of money in the proposed settlement will hardly leave a dent in the pockets of a company whose profits topped $8 billion last year.
"If the court accepts this settlement, it sets the precedent that there is a corporate price tag for poisoning communities," Conard asserted. "The court must uphold justice for the people."
Congress has stalled on passage of legislation to boost regulations around inspections and fines for railroad companies violating safety standards. Earlier this month, the Biden administration passed a new rule requiring freight operators to have at least two people on board, in an attempt to increase safety.
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Chemical plants in West Virginia and other states will be required to curb emissions of toxic, cancer causing pollutants - such as ethylene oxide, chloroprene and other chemicals - under a new Environmental Protection Agency rule.
Hundreds of facilities, most located near low-income or communities of color, will also have to collect air pollution data and submit it to the EPA.
The data will also be made available to communities, which Jeremy Symons - a senior advisor with the Environmental Protection Network - said is an important tool for transparency and environmental justice.
"Not only will this action by EPA reduce these dangerous toxic air pollutants by 96%," said Symons, "but they're also going to require chemical plants to install fenceline air-pollution monitors."
Research has shown that long-term exposure to ethylene oxide and chloroprene can increase the risk of certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer and liver cancer.
Children are particularly at risk.
The Biden administration says the rule will slash more than 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year in affected regions.
Symons, a former EPA advisor, said the rules come after years of work by local community members and environmental organizations that have sounded the alarm on the impact of deadly air pollution.
"There's been especially high cancer rates in these communities," said Symons. "So it's really significant that EPA has taken action and gone into the communities that have not been protected as much as they should be in the past."
A handful of companies in West Virginia - including Chemours, Koppers and Altivia - will have to comply with the new rules.
Investigative reporting published in 2021 by Mountain State Spotlight and ProPublica have revealed how toxic chemical pollution has harmed the state's majority Black communities.
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