On December 29, 1999, Diana Bazan
died of breast cancer. She was only 42. Several people at her services came up to the family to
talk about others Diana's age that lived on the Westside community too
that were dying or had
died of cancer. The family became concerned that perhaps Diana's death
and the deaths and
illnesses of others was due to the fact that they grew up sandwiched between old pre-regulation
dumpsites and decided to investigate. Suzie Canales, one of Diana's
sisters, took the lead and placed
ads in the Thrifty Nickel and Adsack asking for anyone that grew up in
the area around Cunningham
Jr. High School and knew of anyone with cancer or who had died of cancer,
to please give CFEJ a
call. Then the group went door to door in the immediate vicinity of the
Westside community and
conducted an informal health survey.
Because CFEJ found a direct link to the oil industry
in their Westside community and because environmental
injustice issues are prevalent along refinery
row too, CFEJ environmental justice work focused
on refinery emissions and health impacts. The
group's mission was to work for environmental justice. read more
In 2006, Motiva (a Shell Oil
subsidiary) applied for a permit from the state of Texas to expand their
existing Port Arthur refinery to more than double its current production
- which would make it the largest refinery in the nation.
Global Community Monitor (GCM)
assembled a national team to work with the local Environmental Justice
group, Community In Power and Development Association (CIDA) to block
the permit and won major pollution reductions, a multi-million dollar
community development foundation and community safety measures.
This model will be made available for dozens of similar refinery expansions
that GCM will work with.
How could a community based
Environmental Justice group block a refinery permit in a state like
Texas and force a major multi-billion dollar oil giant to negotiate?
How could that group win major environmental improvements from the refinery
(many of which were not required by law) and force Shell to set up a
community-controlled foundation to improve the low-income fenceline
neighborhoods?
The story started 6 years ago
when the founder of CIDA, Hilton Kelley, attended training on 'bucket
brigade' air monitoring given by GCM in Port Arthur, Texas. Kelley
learned that he didn't have to rely on Texas and refinery air monitors
that kept showing that the air in his foul smelling community was "clean".
Kelley suspected that the air was full of refinery chemicals that were
making his community sick and he wanted to prove it so he could get
the refinery to clean up its act. GCM provided training, funding
and on-going support to Kelley and his CIDA group over the next 3 years
as they build their capacity to tackle the oil giants and their defenders
in the Texas agencies. read more
