Akwesasne--Residents of the Mohawk community of Akwesasne are calling a proposal from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) racist and an environmental injustice. The EPA Proposal would weaken the clean-up plan for the General Motors Powertrain Plant in Massena, New York by allowing 171,000 cubic yards of toxic PCB waste to be dumped at the plant site.
"I believe that the EPA plan is racist," noted Akwesasne resident Jim Ransom who pointed out that clean-up projects at ALCOA and Reynolds, located further west of the GM plant, are calling for higher standards of clean-up. "Only General Motors is being allowed to have a dump... on the banks of the St. Lawrence River," he said.
The EPA proposal would raise the PCB threshold treatment level from 10 ppm to 500 ppm. This would result in 171,000 cubic yards of PCB waste not being treated and being dumped at the GM Site. ALCOA is required to treat their PCB wastes to 25 ppm and has constructed a state of the art landfill to handle its treated wastes. Reynolds is trucking off-site their waste containing PCBs above 50 ppm.
"This is a perfect example of environmental injustice," noted Tribal Environmental Director Ken Jock. "The environmental justice movement is just lip service." Jock expressed his disapproval of the EPA proposal at an EPA public meeting on the clean-up proposal.
Stephen Penningroth, an environmental toxicologist, said the situation was classic environmental racism. "This is virtually a textbook example of environmental racism," he stated.
The plan will save General Motors $15 million as wastes that were slated for permanent treatment will now be dumped at the GM Massena site. Akwesasne and the St. Lawrence River form the east and north border of the plant property.
The State of New York has not agreed with the EPA proposal and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has not supported the changes either as it will mean less treatment and more "containment" of the wastes. EPA is prepared to waive State and Federal regulations which require a bottom liner and leachate control system in allowing the wastes to be dumped at the GM site.
Akwesasne has seen an epidemic like increase in diabetes in the community since the plant opened 37 years ago. In 1957, diabetes was virtually unheard of in the community. Today, a Mohawk is twice as likely to have diabetes than the non-native population.
Akwesasne has lost its fishing industry as over 100 fishermen once provided fish for the community. High PCB levels in fish in the St. Lawrence River has resulted in a closing of the fishery of the river.
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