o^0SrX Community Action for a Renewed Envir onment % ^7} C A It E Program %PR0^ Quarterly Highlights May 2007 CARE Communities Celebrate Earth Day Across the country, CARE communities held Earth Day events to enhance participation in their projects and promote ways citizens can help renew their local environments. The Marquette. Michigan. CARE community held a popular event on April 21st collecting prescription drugs for disposal, preventing them from entering local water- ways. Within three hours community residents turned in more than one ton of unwanted pills, powders, and liq- uid medicines, including an estimated $500,000 worth of narcotics. About 2,000 people dropped off drugs at nineteen church parking lots in Marquette and the Up- per Peninsula. "We had a great public turnout," said Carl Lindquist, Executive Director of the Superior Water- shed Partnership. Scientific reports suggest that, when improperly disposed of, pharmaceuticals may cause reproductive and developmental problems in aquatic wildlife, erator near St. Louis, Missouri. Earth Keeper's PHARMACEUTICAL COLLECT ION I %>Ĥ- i \ i Earthkeepers of Marquette, Ml, hosts "Clean Sweep' Earth Day (photo by Greg Peterson) for The medications were hauled to a licensed incin- On April 26 Jim Gulliford, Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Sub- stances, spoke at Rochester (NY) CARE's Green Printers workshop. Gulliford commended local printers for focusing on pollution prevention and actively exploring what it means to be green and sustainable in part by attending this technical assistance workshop held during Earth Month. Many printers in the Rochester CARE community are active in the Green Suppliers Network(GSN), a partnership between EPA, the Department of Commerce, and states. This program works with manufacturing supply chains to improve the efficiencies of their processes, accelerate environmental performance, and improve their bottom line. For more information on GSN, visit www.qieensuppliers.gov. (continued on p. 4) Project Leaders Share Tricks of the Trade on Auto-Body Shops As the CARE network grows, grantees find peers across the nation tackling similar environmental health challenges. Dealing with risks from auto-body shops is one such prevalent issue. This mostly small-scale industrial sector is dispersed across the country, with higher concentrations in low-income and minority areas. This spring CARE communities formed a workgroup to share "tricks of the trade" in dealing with auto-body shop pollution. Participants in the workgroup discussed the important role of pollution pre- vention (P2) reducing pollution at the source, by (continued on p.4) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program helps communities address risks from various sources of toxic pollutants in their local environment. http://www.epa.gov/care Projects Addressing Auto- Body Shops and Recyclers Boston, MA - 2005 Level II I. l"lyok<\ MA - 2006 Level I Denver, CO 2005 Level II New Haven, CT - 2005 Level II Pacoima, CA - 2006 Level I Pueblo, CO-2006 Level I ------- Page 2 U.S. EPA CARE Program: Quarterly Highlights - May 2007 CARE Communities in Action: There are four steps in the CARE process: (1) Joining together, (2) Identifying problems & solutions, (3) Implementing solutions & reducing risks, and (4) Becoming self-sustaining. JOINING TOGETHER A number of 2006 CARE projects reported impressive strides taken during their first months "on the job." kSeattle, WA I Tacoma-Pierce County, WA Gardner, Holyoke, MA Montana Indian Country, MT Marquette, SW Detroit, ^ Ml Cerro Gordo County, IA Rochester, NY Port of Philadelphia Philadelphia MA L New Haven, r CT Camden, NJ Muskegt !mi~[ .Wtest Oakland, CA Denver, Co Pueblo, CO Pacoima, CA Decatur, GA Gallup, NM Cherokee Nation, OK Tucson, AZ Savannah, GA St. Bernard's Parish, LA -Jvlunakauyak ' Traditional Council, AK 29 CARE Communities 2005 Grants A Level I Grant Level II Grant 2006 Grants 9 Level I Grant + Level II Grant Two projects have ramped up publicity for their projects to recruit new partners. Tacoma-Pierce County (WA) Health Department developed a recruitment strategy and has already convened six meetings in three different communities, including rural, suburban, and urban parts of Tacoma/Pierce County. Meanwhile, Southwest De- troit/South Dearborn Environmental Collaborative held a press event to attract businesses, organizations, govern- ment, churches, and schools to their project. Project leaders also worked with the University of Michigan School of Social Work to develop a logic model and evaluation tools for the project. Two other CARE projects have begun organizing partners into work groups. Cerro Gordo County CARE Project formed (1) an advisory council of agencies, businesses, and schools, and (2) a citizen council reflecting the demo- graphics of the county. They also settled on a decision-making system, tasking the citizen council primary respon- sibility for the project, while taking input from the advisory council. The Urban Rock Hill CARE Program established a task force, elected two co-chairs, formed subgroups (air, water, and indoor environments), and developed a neighborhood canvassing plan, including questionnaires and focus groups. IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Hudson Hill/Woodville Neighborhoods of Savannah (GA) CARE Project held meetings with neighborhood associa- tion leaders. The project identified data needed from EPA, including the "Geo-Book" (a computer application con- taining GIS-based maps of environmental data), blown-up GIS maps of neighborhoods of concern and hazardous sites within them, and information about paper mill emissions and their toxicity. IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS & REDUCING RISKS With CARE Coordinators at four reservation communities, the Montana Indian Country CARE Project (MICCP) started using Vision Net technology for interactive dialogue among reservations. MICCP hosted community meet- ings and collaborated with EPA on health assessments, water contamination, and methamphetamine lab chemical exposures. Because of the health risk associated with mold exposure in Indian housing, the CARE coordinators attended a workshop on mold. The CARE Clean Air Partnership in St. Louis (MO) created the first "No Idling Zone" in the city. A city ordinance requires bus drivers to turn off their engines within 10 minutes. Establishing these new zones raises awareness about the ordinance. According to the community partners, for each of the nearly 1,000 school buses in St. Louis that reduces idling by 20 minutes a school day, over 516 tons of carbon dioxide would be reduced from the air," (as reported by Betsy Taylor, AP, May 18, 2007 2:15 PM, examiner.com). Anti-idling efforts also reduce risks of aggra- vating asthma and other upper-respiratory problems in children. A re- cent ribbon-cutting ceremony was hosted by the Clay Community Edu- cation Center, a public elementary school. Doug Eller of Grace Hill Set- tlement House and Donna Owens, Clay Community Education Center principal, cut the ribbon along with representatives of diverse partner organizations, including the office of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations (SLACO). St. Louis Public Schools, and Laidlaw Student Services. Doug Eller of Grace Hill (third from left) and Donna Owens, Clay Community Education Cen- ter (fourth from right), cut the ribbon at a "No Idling Zone" ceremony ------- U.S EPA CARE Program: Quarterly Highlights - May 2007 Page 3 The Philadelphia School and Community Integrated Pest Management Partnership kicked-off its CARE project with a press event attended by EPA's Region 3 Administrator and local press. The event was followed by a "Safer Pest Management: IPM Information Fair." Project Leader Michelle Niedermeier estimates that at least 500 residents and six health care organizations and their staff will be educated on pests, pesticide use and IPM. "We'll be 'training the trainer' with various organizations so that potentially a much larger population can be reached through their own clientele," she says. Community Assist of Southern Arizona (CASA) in Tucson (AZ) and its partners trained 26 environmental health pro- motoras on air toxics, indoor-outdoor air quality issues, asthma, lead poisoning, hazardous materials, and nutrition. The promotoras will visit homes and provide outreach to the CARE community. Tucson's project is one of three CARE communities across the nation using this culturally sensitive direct outreach model. BECOMING SELF-SUSTAINING New Haven (CT) received nearly $115,000 from an EPA diesel retrofit grant to install controls on construction equipment operating at schools. Reduction of diesel pollution was one of the top priorities for action identified by the CARE project based on the city's Community Air Toxics Inventory. On Febru- ary 16, EPA's Administrator Stephen Johnson announced in New Haven $3.8 million in funding across the US to reduce pollution from diesel vehicles. New Haven Mayor DeStefano and high school students accepted the check stating that the grant will ensure that New Haven is home to the cleanest and most environmentally friendly construction sites in the state (photo at right). Pacoima Beautiful (CA) received a grant from the Hewlett Foundation to ad- Ĥ :: , Above: Students with Administrator dress auto emissions and super emitter cars. The community also began an Johnson (far right) & Mayor DeStefano effort to reduce solid waste hazards and formed a taskforce to reduce diesel (2nd from far right) at grant award event from trucks, the most significant environmental health concern in Pacoima. A collaborative from Holyoke, MA, with CARE grantee Nuestras Raices' leadership, was awarded nearly $500,000 over two years by the Keliogg Foundation to address obesity from social, cultural and environmental perspectives. The CARE project put the collaborative in a position to receive the additional funding. In addition, members of the CARE partnership met with city officials to plan collaborative projects such as targeting water pollution in Connecti- cut River and inviting Hoiyoke's large industries to participate in "Lean and Green" workshops. From Coast to Coast Ports See Progress Three CARE projects are focused on air, water, and land pollution resulting from port operations. These projects span fund- ing levels and are located on both the West and East coasts. Since emissions from ships and ports are relatively unregulated, CARE projects' success in addressing Camden (NJ) Waterfront South Community Collaborative (2006 Level II) port pollution is an important source of , A i i Ğ t(-*. a \ t r, j r ii i. /inn-: r i ttx transferable lessons. These CARE com- West Oakland (CA) Toxics Reduction Collaborative (2006 Level II) . . , . munities reported significant progress Philadelphia s Clean Air Council (2005 Level I) since the new year, including securing commitments for additional funding. Camden expects to expand and increase involvement of community partners since it received a commitment for supplemen- tal funding from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. West Oakland obtained additional funding to expand on home assessments and resident trainings, with fifteen residents now trained in the use of the "Healthy Homes Checklist" and 42 homes assessed. Philadelphia's Clean Air Council received a Grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation for $45,000 to implement best management practices to prevent storm water run-off at Philadelphia Ports. In addition, working with the South Jersey Port Corporation, the Camden project developed a database inventory' of port equipment and vehicles that will help it select the most productive diesel equipment and vehicles to retrofit. West Oakland partnered with local businesses to explore the use of "clean diesel" or alternative-fueled construction equipment. Also, the team investigated historical records and proved that a site proposed for housing development was contaminated by a gas station and initiated clean-up before redevelopment. Furthermore, Philadelphia ordered 83 diesel oxidation catalysts to be installed on port cargo-handling equipment. ------- Page 4 U.S. EPA CARE Program: Quarterly Highlights - Mayy 2007 Featured Resources New Integrated Pest Management Tools Available r resident Find out why public health departments, housing managers, and pest management professionals agree that integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the best approach to pest control. Three new videos produced by the Asthma Regional Council of New England (ARC) explain how community partnerships can launch and sustain successful IPM programs in multi-family housing. Two videos (one in English, the other in Spanish) illustrate the benefits of IPM and are ideal for engaging resident and community leaders. A third video explaining IPM from the standpoint of a facilities manager features Jim McCarthy from the Boston Housing Authority, which delivers pest manage ment through IPM to residents of some 40,000 low-income housing units. All three videos can be downloaded for free from the National Center for Healthy Housing web site at www.healthvhomestraininq.org/ipm/ ARC BHA.htm. The three videos are also available on DVD for free by contacting Laurie Stillman, Executive Director of the Asthma Regional Council of New England, at lstillman@tmfnet.org. Find a number of other IPM resources from ARC'S website at www asthmaregionalcouncil.org/ about/IPM.html. maintenance personnel TIR exterminator/ trained resident contractor coordinator 1 ^ I1M ^ j-JM Screen capture from IPM video CARE Communities Celebrate Earth Day (fromp. 1) While in Rochester, Gulliford toured the community with the CARE toxics educator who helps residents reduce expo- sure to toxic chemicals, and visited a "healthy home" an older, renovated home that is a showplace for toxics edu- cation. He also visited Strong Memorial Hospital, a winner of EPA's Hospitals for a Healthy Environment award. Elsewhere, St. Louis held its 8th annual Earth Day Festival on Sunday, April 22. The theme this year- Living Green -focused on providing examples of how community members can easily apply "green living" to their everyday lives. In Muskegon (Ml) high school students released salmon raised in the classroom into Muskegon Lake/River and planted dune grass in eroded areas of a nearby park. In Philadelphia, the Clear? Air Council held its annual Earth Day Event, a 5K Run for Clean Air. Finding Local Success in Pollution Prevention (from p. 1) ...finding alternative materials, technologies, and best practices in the workplace, rather than regulating it at the end of a pipe. Each project participant mentioned how (s)he tailored a P2 approach to the local culture. For example, members of Boston Public Health Safe Shops Project discussed that some shops in Massachusetts are out of compliance with applicable regulations. This could be as a result of workers' limited English skills, lack of familiarity with regulations and local regulatory culture, or reticence to work with government officials because of their immigration status. Work- group participants agreed that in such cases, collaborative P2 programs could begin by focusing on initial steps of having workers wear gloves or a respirator and to safely store hazardous materials. To develop appropriate tools and training needed to reduce risks to workers and communities, Boston's Safe Shops Project set up separate focus groups with shop mangers and employees to discuss health, safety, and the environ- ment. Shops were identified by city inspectors. The project provided incentives such as a free dinner and $25 gift cer- tificates to a local stores to increase attendance. For more information or to join this workgroup, contact Harry Lewis, EPA-Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, (202) 564-8642, lewis.harrv@epa.gov. -9 5 *1 pjiOl' LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS. HEALTHY COMMUNITIES. http://www.epa.gov/care ------- |