Virginia environmentalists are frustrated by the state Department of Environmental Quality's $27,000 fine of Norfolk Southern for a 2020 train derailment.
The derailment caused 16 boxcars to spill almost 1,400 tons of coal into the Roanoke River. The town of Salem's water plant had to halt intake for about a month over concerns of possible water contamination.
Tim Cywinski, communications manager for the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, said the fine is disheartening because it does not deter derailments from happening again. He feels the state failed to take certain things into consideration while determining this fine.
"I think they should have taken into account that Norfolk Southern is one of the biggest and most profitable train and freight services industries in the United States," Cywinski pointed out. "And to give them a fine that is less than the price of a new car is honestly laughable and just offensive to the fact that it impacted the people and environment of Salem, Virginia."
Cywinski added state and federal protections need to be put in place to better hold companies accountable, and to prevent such derailments from happening again.
Derailments are not uncommon. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were more than 1,100 derailments in 2020, a number which has fluctuated in the few years since.
Since Norfolk Southern first came under fire for a crash involving hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, numerous railroad safety groups have been working to improve the industry's safety regulations.
Ann Creasy, acting deputy director of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, said new regulations need to go hand in hand with levying appropriate fines against companies to deter future incidents.
"It's really about corporate accountability of ensuring that safety and workers and proactive measures are invested in on the front end," Creasy contended.
A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate called the Railway Safety Act of 2023. The bill aims to boost safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials. Hearings have been held, and it is currently under review by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Disclosure: The Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, and Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
Advocates are asking Maryland lawmakers to establish a superfund to help hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the costs of climate change.
Both houses of the General Assembly are debating the "Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather Act." It would establish a Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Fund, targeting the 40 largest companies extracting or refining gas and oil with a fee totaling $9 billion over 10 years.
Sen. Katie Fry Hester, D-Howard, citing the expense of infrastructure upgrades, said the state needs help paying these costs.
"Unfortunately, it has become the responsibility of the Maryland taxpayer to foot the bill for the costs of climate mitigation, adaptation and recovery measures," Hester pointed out. "Not anymore. It's time to ensure that the polluters pay."
The bill would enable the Department of the Environment to use the fund for stormwater and sewer system improvements, bridges and rail infrastructure, flood recovery, clean energy projects and more. In a recent Senate committee hearing, some lawmakers expressed concern about the targeted businesses passing the cost on to consumers.
The Center for Climate Integrity estimated by 2040, Maryland will have to spend more than $27 billion to protect against the possibility of moderate sea-level rise.
Jamie DeMarco, Maryland director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said climate change mitigation is already costing the state hundreds of millions.
"Howard County is spending $228 million to bore an 18-foot diameter drainage tunnel through granite bedrock to prevent flooding," DeMarco noted. "It's the biggest capital expenditure in the history of the county. Annapolis is spending $50 million renovating their dock from nuisance flooding. The same thing is happening everywhere across the state."
Recent polling by Data for Progress found 73% of likely voters support assessing a fee on big oil and gas companies to pay part of the cost of climate change mitigation. Either version of the measure needs to pass one chamber by March 18 in order to have a future in the current session.
Disclosure: The Chesapeake Climate Action Network contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, and Sustainable Agriculture. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
The founder of the Baltimore Compost Collective wants Baltimore to ditch trash incineration, fight climate change and grow healthier food.
Marvin Hayes began composting in Baltimore more than a decade ago and has grown the operation into a collection service picking up around 1,500 pounds of food waste each week. Hayes operates a composting facility at the nonprofit Filbert Street Garden, where the organic material is turned into rich soil for use at the urban garden.
Hayes sees a revolution, a better way of life for Baltimore's Black community to help fight what he calls "food apartheid" and end the city's reliance on a giant, polluting waste-to-energy incinerator and fight climate change.
"People didn't know that the incinerator was causing $55 million in health damages, or they didn't know what the incinerator was," Hayes recounted. "People didn't know that Baltimore County trash gets brought here and burned. Howard County's trash gets brought here and burned."
In September the Environmental Protection Agency announced a $4 million grant as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill to build a solar-powered composting facility in south Baltimore to accept food scraps and other organic material. The agency estimates the facility will keep 12,000 tons of waste out of the city's incinerator.
Incinerators release large quantities of lead, mercury and other harmful pollutants into the air. In late 2020 Baltimore signed a 10-year contract to continue incineration, much to the chagrin of environmental advocates such as Hayes, who have long advocated for composting as a viable alternative to toxic trash incineration.
A 2018 study by the Baltimore Office of Sustainability noted compost-amended soil can reduce contamination of urban pollutants by 60% to 95%, and protects against the danger associated with lead in urban soils.
Hayes' composting facility has a limited capacity. When it is full, he transports the rest of his food scraps to a bigger organic compost facility in Upper Marlboro in Prince George's County.
"If PG County is doing it, why shouldn't Baltimore be following the same practices?" Hayes asked. "Make a large scale composting facility, so when the residents put their recycling out, they'll put their composting out, it'll go to a large-scale composting facility, create four times more jobs than incinerators, two times more jobs than the landfill."
This story was produced based on original reporting by Aman Azhar for Inside Climate News.
get more stories like this via email
Up to $1 million in grants are up for grabs in Los Angeles for local groups to build or expand community parks, gardens and green spaces.
The Bezos Earth Fund awarded the grant to the nonprofit GreenLatinos through its Greening America's Cities initiative. GreenLatinos will now distribute the funds to local community groups who can apply starting Feb. 27.
Jonathan Fajardo, California community advocate for GreenLatinos in Los Angeles, said the idea is to fight environmental inequalities perpetuating systemic health and economic injustice.
"We're looking especially to uplift projects that are creating access to healthy organic foods, like urban gardens and community farms, true communal spaces," Fajardo outlined.
A July 2022 study from the University of Southern California found almost a quarter of households in Los Angeles were food insecure over the prior year, with low-income households headed by young Latina adults hit the hardest.
A community group, called Mujeres de la Tierra - which means "Women of the Earth" - will use funding from the initiative to add native pollinator gardens, interpretive signage, shaded areas, and exercise equipment to Juntos Park in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles. The project aims to promote community involvement and engagement.
Fajardo emphasized they are focused on funding projects springing from local community groups, rather than large public agencies.
"We're mainly looking towards nonprofits, especially grassroots and frontline organizations, community-based smaller organizations that are more addressing, at a hyperlocal level, urban greening and food access," Fajardo explained.
The Sustainable Cities Urban Greening Initiative is offering a similar program in Albuquerque and Chicago for a total of $2.7 million in grants. Groups can apply through the JustFund online grants portal. GreenLatinos also offers training to help groups write their proposals.
Disclosure: GreenLatinos contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Wilderness, and Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email