The Alert CITIZEN ACTION Missouri Coalition for the Environment Volume 49, Issue 2 / FALL 2018 Effective Citizen Action Since 1969
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IN THIS ISSUE OVER 45 YEARS OF EFFECTIVE The Alert CITIZEN ACTION Missouri Coalition for the Environment Volume 49, Issue 2 / FALL 2018 Effective Citizen Action Since 1969 WHAT’S INSIDE 2018: Worst Legislative Session for the People and Environment This Decade By Ed Smith, Policy Director The legislature passed bills, subsequently signed into law, that will increase the risk of water pollution, allow deer to be slaughtered as livestock, remove the right of local communities to protect their citizens from known health risks at factory farms, and cut the budget of our award-winning state parks system. These changes will have negative effects on public health and natural resources for years to come. MISSOURI LEGISLATURE / 1 Let’s start with the good before detailing the bad. Parks Update / 5 West Lake Landfill / 5 MCE supports an equitable food system, from farm to fork, that increases access to healthy food and eliminates food insecurity. With your help, MCE and its wide-ranging allies throughout the state supported the passage of House Bill 1625, which establishes the Missouri Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. The legislation assists low-income seniors with the purchase of fresh, Missouri-grown produce. MCE also helped stop bad legislation, such as efforts (House Bills 1443 and 1486, Senate Bill 561) to remove an estimated 40,000+ people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which would have resulted in the loss of $5 million in federal assistance for Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens. Now for the bad. WATER • The Missouri Senate confirmed appointees to the Clean Water Commission (CWC) with close ties to the corporate, The Big River / 3 factory-farm agriculture industry. The CWC is responsible for establishing clean water rules and approval of Ozark Streams / 6 concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The new commissioners immediately issued permits to two CAFOs that were denied by members of the previous CWC. • More than $1 million intended for the restoration of newly acquired state parks was transferred out of the state parks budget. Governor Mike Parson disregarded our request for a line-item veto to prevent this from happening. • Senate Bill 627 made several changes to agriculture laws that benefit large corporate farms: ‣ Places restrictions on local governments or health departments from enacting ordinances related to CAFOs. The bill allows the more than two dozen local ordinances applied to CAFOs to remain on the books while taking away this option for localities that have not enacted such ordinances. FOOD & FARM / 7 ‣ Allows deer and elk to be raised and slaughtered as livestock, increasing the risk of spreading Chronic Wasting Good Food Lobby Day / 4 Disease in captivity as well as transmitting the disease to wild deer and elk herds. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously in July that the Department of Conservation has the constitutional authority to regulate wildlife, which by definition includes captive deer and elk. The court also ruled the “right-to-farm” does not apply to wildlife. This portion of SB 627 will likely be struck down following the court’s ruling. • Senate Bill 782 weakens Missouri’s Clean Water Law by limiting the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) ability to intervene only after agricultural runoff pollution has been proven to “render such waters harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety, or welfare….” The bill essentially calls for cleaning up pollution after it happens ALERT FEATURES instead of preventing it in the first place. Director’s Message / 2 • Senate Bill 917 allows the DNR to establish “risk-based” standards for the closure and post-closure monitoring of toxic coal ash landfills, most of which are located in or near river floodplains. The law will apply minimal oversight and MCE Staff Updates / 2 enforcement of these toxic landfills in vulnerable environments. Senate Bills 659 and 782 were also amended with the Intern Highlights / 3 same language. Are you a member? Join Today! Visit us online at continued on pg 4 www.moenvironment.org From the Director Fall 2018 Alert What’s in a Name? To educate, organize, and advocate By Heather Broulliet Navarro, Executive Director in defense of Missouri’s people and their environment. Not too long ago, I sat at a table with undergraduate students in various fields related to natural resources management. They were attending a conference MCE BOARD: sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR); their interests included forestry, fisheries, and wildlife management. I was surprised that of the Nadim Kanafani, MD, President five or six students, only one said she would call herself an “environmentalist.” In Kally Coleman, Vice President Stuart Keating, Treasurer one case, a student reported she was a closeted environmentalist, gently nudging Tom Leb, Secretary her roommates to recycle but hoping they wouldn’t put her in the “green” box. I Steve Brewer received a similar response during a conversation with our interns this summer for whom “environmentalist” is not David Garin a descriptive term. My initial reaction to these conversations was to fear that environmental organizations like MCE David Lobbig, Immediate Past President are losing relevance and that young people will move away from collective organizing and membership-based action. Steve Mahfood Arlene Sandler However, I look at the number of summer interns we have and the requests for student involvement during the Suzie Schmitt school year, and I know that MCE offers something that can’t be found elsewhere. Even more encouraging than the Bernard Waxman number of students is the types of students who want to get involved. Students come from a variety of study areas Eric Wilkinson – health and nutrition, global studies, and journalism. MCE STAFF: With climate change, fracking, and local food in the mainstream, many more people have joined in the work to Executive Director: Heather B. Navarro protect our environment, but not always under the label of “environmentalist.” From advocates for cleaner living Executive Assistant: Denise Baker conditions in public housing to passionate paddlers and community gardeners, these people are advancing solutions Policy Director: Ed Smith to some of the most prolific environmental challenges. Personal actions, such as toting reusable bags, composting, Development Director: Laura Lock and driving electric cars, are not unique to self-proclaimed “environmentalists.” And, in many cases, people had Food & Farm Director: Melissa Vatterott Water Policy Coordinator: Maisah Khan been limiting their consumption and reusing household items long before there was a move toward “sustainability.” Local Food Coordinator: Rae Miller Communications Director: Ellyn Horan MCE offers the ability to connect these varied interests and actions into a strategic effort for systemic change. Food Justice Organizer: Tosha Phonix Membership organizations like ours provide the collective action that shapes systems and policies by boosting the power of individual actions into something much larger. The environmental movement is not limited to a specific field Copyeditor: Bill Rable of study or political view, and it is much bigger than any one cause. Issues come and go, but the steadfastness of MCE is found in decades of experience, a solid reputation, and a history of integrity. With member support, MCE can advance THE 2018 ALERT: community goals while executing a larger vision for environmental protection and public health. Whether people Missouri Coalition for the Environment’s Alert call themselves “environmentalists” is not nearly as important as the work they do to protect our natural resources, newsletter is published twice each calendar families, and communities, present and future. Thank you for your support and please consider gifting a membership year. This newsletter is for informational to someone you know who values clean water, clean air, fresh produce, or simply the chance to play outside. purposes only. All opinions and estimates in The Alert constitute the best judgment Sincerely, of MCE and its contributors but are subject to change without notice. Reproduction of articles for publication is prohibited without permission of the publisher. Heather B. Navarro Missouri Coalition for the Environment 3115 South Grand Blvd., Suite 650 St. Louis, MO 63118 ph 314.727.0600 MCE Staff Updates e [email protected] The MCE’s team is growing! Most recently we welcomed the following: Follow us on Social Media: Facebook @MoEnviron Twitter @MoEnviron • Maisah Khan, Water Policy Coordinator. Most recently, Maisah was at the Department of Energy in Instagram @moenvironment Washington, D.C. She has a B.S. in conservation biology and a master’s in environmental management. She heads up MCE’s water quality work and focuses on the Lower Missouri and Middle Mississippi Rivers. • Laura Lock, Development Director. Laura brings a wealth of experience in communications, event Sign up for our e-alerts and stay planning, and sustainability to MCE. She has been active in the St. Louis community and is excited to current with environmental news. help MCE celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2019. • Ellyn Horan, Communications Director. Ellyn was most recently at The Little Bit Foundation working Visit us online at in development and communications, and comes to MCE with a law degree from the University of www.moenvironment.org Missouri - Columbia. She has experience working with our partners at Great Rivers Environmental Law Center and Renew Missouri. • Tosha Phonix, Food Justice Organizer. Tosha joins MCE with a background in social services and a passion for urban and rural farming. She has fostered valuable connections in the St. Louis community and will support the Food Equity Advisory Board. continued on pg 3 2 THE ALERT FALL 2018 THE ALERT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.MOENVIRONMENT.ORG MCE Updates MCE Interns High School Interns Food & Farm Interns Eavan O’Neil: Fiona Eckert: Senior at Webster Groves Washington University in High School, hoping to St. Louis, class of 2020, study genetics and art at studying environmental college next year.