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Citizen Petition Before the United 660 P ENNSYLVANIA AVE ., SE, S UITE 302, W ASHINGTON , DC 20003 (202) 547 -9359 É FAX (202) 547 -9429 BLDG . 1062, F ORT CRONKHITE , S AUSALITO , CA 94965 (415) 229 -9336 É FAX (415) 229 -9340 WWW .CENTERFORFOODSAFETY .ORG CITIZEN PETI TION BEFORE THE UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– CITIZENS FOR A FUTURE NEW HAMPSHIRE , ) 580 Brockway Road, ) Hopkinton, NH 03229 ) ) RESOURCE INSTITUTE FOR LOW ENTROPY ) SYSTEMS, ) 17 9 Boylston Street, ) Boston, MA 02130 ) ) CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY, ) 660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Suite 302, ) Washington, DC 20003 ) et al., ) Petitioners , ) Filed With: ) Docket No. ) MICHAEL LEAVITT, ) In his offici al capacity as ) EPA Administrator Designee ) Ariel Rios Building ) 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW ) Washington, DC 20460 ) ) MARIANNE LAMONT HORINKO, ) in her official capacity as ) Assistant Administrator for the Office of ) Solid Waste and Emergency Response, ) EPA West Building ) 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW ) Washington, DC 20004 ) ) TRACY MEHAN, ) in his official capacity as ) Assistant Administrator for Water, ) Environmental Protection Agency ) Office of Water (4101M) ) Ariel Rios Building ) 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW ) Washington, DC 20460 ) ) PETITION SEEKING AN EMERGENCY MORATORIU M ON THE LAND APPLICATION OF SEWAGE SLUDGE I. INTRODUCTION AND REQUESTED ACTION Pursuant to the Right to Petition Government Clause contained in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, a the Administrative Procedure Act, b the Clean Water A ct, c other federal environmental laws, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations implementing provisions of those laws, the undersigned submit this citizen petition for rulemaking and collateral relief, requesting that the Administrator Des ignee immediately act to protect public human health and the environment from the adverse effects of the land application of sewage sludge. This petition also serves as a Notice of Intent to Sue under the provisions of the Clean Water Act [hereinafter “CWA”], the Solid Waste Disposal Act [hereinafter “SWDA”], the Clean Air Act [hereinafter “CAA”], the Safe Drinking Water Act [hereinafter “SDWA”], the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [hereinafter “RCRA”], and the Comprehensive Envi ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act [hereinafter “CERCLA”]. Specifically, petitioners request the Administrator Designee take the following actions: I. Place an immediate moratorium on the land application of sewage sludge . 1 The right to petition for redress of grievances is among the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights. United Mine Workers of America, Dist. 12 v. Il linois State Bar Association , 389 U.S. 217, 222, 88 S. Ct. 353, 356, 19 L. Ed. 2d 426 (1967). It shares the “ preferred place ” accorded in our system of government to First Amendment freedoms, and has sanctity and a sanction not pe rmitting dubious intrusions. Thomas v. Collins , 323 U.S. 516, 530, 65 S. Ct. 315, 322, 89 L. Ed. 430 (1945) . “ Any attempt to restrict those First Amendment liberties must be justified by clear public interest, threatened not doubtful or remotely, but by c lear and present danger." Id . The Supreme Court has recognized that the right to petition is logically implicit in, and fundamental to, the very idea of a republican form of government . United States v. Cruikshank , 92 U.S. (2 Otto) 542, 552, 23 L. Ed. 588 (1875). 2 5 U.S.C. § 553(e) (declaring that agencies must provide to all interested persons the “right to petition” for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule). 3 33 U.S.C. § 1251(e) (requiring that the Administrator of the Environmental Protecti on Agency “provide for”, “encourage” and “assist” with public participation in the development, revision, and enforcement of any regulation, standard, effluent limitation, plan, or program). 2 31) Freez e the issuance of new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits authorizing the Land Application of Bulk Sewage Sludge. (2) Rewrite and reissue NPDES permits to require a method of sludge disposal other than land application to repl ace all NPDES permits currently in force that allow the Land Application of Bulk Sewage Sludge. (3) Initiate rulemaking to change the Part 503 Sludge Rule (promulgated under the authority of the Clean Water Act at 40 C.F.R. §503) to eliminate land appl ication as an acceptable practice for sludge disposal. II. PETITIONERS Petitioner Citizens for a Future New Hampshire is a non -profit, grassroots organization whose mission is to protect the environment of New Hampshire and the public health of th e citizens of New Hampshire. The petitioner is located at 580 Brockway Road, Hopkinton, NH 03229. Petitioner The ReSource Institute for Low Entropy Systems (RILES) is an independent, nonprofit organization located at 179 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02130. Founded in 1990, RILES works in partnership with local communities to protect public health and the environment both nationally and internationally. Petitioner The Center for Food Safety (CFS) is a non -profit, membership organizatio n located at 660 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Suite 302, Washington, DC 20003. Petitioner was founded in 1997 to address increasing concerns about the impacts of our food production system on human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Petitioner Inter national Center for Technology Assessment (CTA) is a non -profit, bi -partisan organization located at 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 302, Washington, DC 20003. CTA was formed to help the general public and policy -makers understand how technological adva ncements affect society. Petitioner The United Mine Workers of America is a growing union with a diverse membership that includes coal miners, clean coal technicians, health care workers, truck drivers, and school board employees. UMWA members live and wo rk throughout the United States and Canada. The UMWA has fought for worker's rights since 1890. Today the International Union continues the fight for safe workplaces, good wages and benefits, and fair representation. The petitioner is located at UMWA Regio n 1 at 51 Eleventh Street, P.O. Box 200, Lucernemines, PA 15754. Petitioner Citizen’s Environmental Coalition is a statewide grassroots environmental organization of 110 groups and 14,000 individual members working to eliminate pollution in New York Stat e. The organization is located at 543 Franklin Street, Suite 2, Buffalo, NY 14202 -1109. Petitioner Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, Inc . is a nonprofit corporation incorporated under the laws of the Pennsylvania that provides legal assistance t o rural municipal governments and communities concerned about the land application of sludge. The Legal Defense Fund is located at 3 2859 Scotland Road, Chambersburg, PA 17201. Petitioner Environmental Research Foundation is located at P.O. Box 160. New Bru nswick, NJ 08903. For 23 years, Environmental Research Foundation has been providing scientific and technical information about toxic materials and dangerous technologies, and about safer alternatives, to community leaders, government officials, journalist s, librarians and the interested public. Petitioner The Center for Media & Democracy is located at 520 University Ave., Suite 310, Madison, WI. The Center for Media & Democracy is a nonprofit, public interest organization funded by individuals and nonprof it foundations and dedicated to investigative reporting on the public relations industry. Petitioner Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and education, science and technology, and advocacy. IATP is located at 2105 1st Avenue, South Minneapolis, MN 55404. Petitioner the National Sludge Alliance is a grassroots organization formed in 1996 to help protect public health and the environment from th e adverse effects of sewage sludge. The policies of this mission include: preventing the land application of all sludge, promoting sewer avoidance, and advocating that industrial wastes be treated at their source. Petitioner is located at 180 Boston Corner s Road, Millerton, NY 12546. Petitioner The Organic Consumers Association , founded in 1998, is a nationwide network of 500,000 organic consumers, dedicated to safeguarding organic standards and promoting organic agriculture, public health, environmental s ustainability, and social justice. One of OCA’s major criticisms of conventional (non -organic) agriculture in the US is the use of toxic sludge on farmlands and toxic ingredients in fertilizers. The petitioner is located at 6101 Cliff Estate Road, Little M arais, MN 55614. Petitioner Toxics Action Center located at 29 Temple Place , Boston MA 02111. Since 1987, Toxics Action Center has worked with more than 450 New England neighborhoods to fight toxic pollution in their communities. In the past five years w e have worked with more than a dozen communities to address the issues of land application of sludge and the incineration of sludge. Petitioner Center for Health, Environment and Justice is located at 150 South Washington Street Falls Church, VA 22046. Ce nter for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) was founded in 1981, as the Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste (CCHW), by Lois Gibbs, the community leader at Love Canal. CHEJ seeks to help local citizens and organizations come together and take a n organized, unified stand in order to hold industry and government accountable
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