Document 932Row9nQpGMbLvzpOXyq15Op

Message From: Sent: Subject: Attachments: UFJ JUSTICE [j Ex. 6 j 9/22/2017 12:32:24PM CEJ News Alert: COALITION FOR EQUAL JUSTICE TELLS EPA DESIGNATE SUPERFUND SITE IN NORFOLK COALITION FOR EQUAL JUSTICE DEMANDING EPA CLEAN UP.pdf FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 22, 2017 COALITION FOR EQUAL JUSTICE TELLS EPA DESIGNATE SUPERFUND SITE IN NORFOLK EPA must be given authority to work with the City of Norfolk Virginia to move forward with facilitating cleanup of Cedar Grove, the Old VEPCO Manufactured Coal Gasification Plant site, adjacent to the residents of Young's Terrace, housing project, formerly known as (HRT LOT #39), in the Norfolk. The Coalition For Equal Justice, today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a legal duty to add Cedar Grove an abandoned hazardous waste site in the City of Norfolk to the Superfund program's National Priorities List (NPL). The designation would allow the EPA to facilitate the permanent cleanup of Cedar Grove adjacent to the residents of Young's Terrace, housing project, formerly known as (HRT LOT #39), contaminated site and community redevelopment in Norfolk. "Norfolk residents need all hands on deck and especially the EPA's Superfund status to hold accountable VEPCO who created this Toxic graveyard and force them to clean up the pollution. It's past time for the City and EPA to heed our call to add this site to the Superfund list because it will give the EPA leverage to make the polluters pay and to set a protocol for investigation and clean-up. We are encouraging the citizens to watch this situation like a hawk and we will remain in very close contact with the local officials to make sure the feds act and meet their deadlines," said Mr. Perry-Bey, Director of Civil Rights. "The EPA must act by formally adding the Old VEPCO Manufactured Coal Gasification Plant site in the City of Norfolk as a federal Superfund site. No Resident should ever have to worry about whether their soil, air or water is safe to drink, and We have been urging officials and the EPA to designate Cedar Grove Lot a Superfund site so that the long-overdue cleanup can finally begin," We will continue to urge officials to devote every available resource to clean up the toxic graveyard in Norfolk." "We have asked Mayor Alexander to seek designation and urge EPA to bring additional resources and experience so that the situation in Norfolk can be fully investigated and fully remediated. Cedar Grove is loaded with organic hazardous substances such as coal tar, coal ash, iron, oily benzene and other poisonous coal by products, as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) cyanide and phenolics, inorganic nitrogen compounds, metals and gases such as methane in potentially explosive quantities polluting the air and soils, presently migrating off-site as part of a contaminated "leading edge" groundwater "plume" it has created a very difficult situation for communities affected, and the long-term exposure to these toxic chemicals have been linked to very serious health concerns, including cancer. These chemicals are being discovered in more communities air, soils and drinking water sources across the nation. We hope that EPA's investigation and remediation will lead to a greater awareness of the dangers of these chemicals. Our efforts point out the need for stronger regulations so that other communities can avoid the toxic pollution problems that these residents are experiencing." Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 13 ED 002061 00010723-00001 The Superfund program, which Congress established in 1980, investigates and cleans up the nation's most complex, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites and converts them into community resources. Only sites added to the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term permanent cleanup. The EPA's Superfund program operates under the "polluter pays" principle, giving the EPA the authority to require polluters to clean up the environmental contamination they are responsible for at sites on the NPL. EPA adds sites to the NPL when mismanagement of contamination threatens human health and the environment. For more information: Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 13 ED 002061 00010723-00002