Brunswick Environmental Action Team
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Emily Donovan via ActionNetwork.org <info@email.actionnetwork.org>
Date: Mon, Jul 19, 2021 at 9:08 AM
Subject: URGENT: Action needed on PFAS in NC
Hello Friends!
We need you to ACT right now on PFAS contamination in North Carolina. Please sign-up to give virtual public comments this Tuesday, July 20th at 6:00pm. NC DEQ is holding a virtual public hearing on proposed new surface water quality standards. Click here to register.
These proposed standards were recommended by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC). This triennial review only happens once every three years and the EMC did not include PFAS/GenX!! By the way, the EMC is made up of 15 members, including 9 appointed by the Governor, 3 by the Senate Pro Tempore, and 3 by the Speaker of the House.
We have already paid the ultimate price. We were poisoned by PFAS for decades. Our blood was contaminated without our consent. It's time NC DEQ puts OUR needs first.
We cannot wait another three years for action on PFAS. We deserve surface water quality standards ASAP and DEQ has the power to correct this oversight.
Use this link to register:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx...
Surface water quality standards are used to protect our rivers, lakes and streams. Over 1.5 million North Carolinians rely on the Cape Fear River as their primary source of drinking water.
Multiple studies confirm NC has some of the worst PFAS pollution in the nation. DEQ must create surface water quality standards for PFAS so the burden to remove these “forever chemicals” from drinking water sources falls on the polluters—not innocent ratepayers.
A growing body of research suggests these “forever chemicals” are toxic at trace amounts and have lasting health impacts. Many North Carolinians have been chronically exposure to large quantities of PFAS for decades.
PFAS exposures are associated with immune suppression, developmental effects during pregnancy or breastfeeding, thyroid problems, increases in cholesterol levels which leads to stroke or heart attacks, and a number of cancers—including thyroid, kidney, bladder and testicular cancers.
We need you to make your voices heard! When you give your public comments tell DEQ why this matters to you. Explain how PFAS contamination has personally impacted your lives.
Demand DEQ do the following:
Immediately adopt a surface water quality standard for PFAS as a class at a health protective level of 1 ppt for the sum total concentration of all PFAS.
Establishing a 1 ppt surface water quality standard for the sum total of all PFAS will stop the spread of newly released PFAS at the source--instead of placing the burden on drinking water utilities. It will also protect our natural wildlife and aquatic life from unnecessary PFAS contamination. This health protective level is supported by multiple research studies.
You have until noon on Tuesday, July 20th to sign-up to speak. Please show up and bring your friends. Can we count on you to get three friends to join you? Click here to register to speak.
Thank you so much for helping us remove PFAS from our air, soil, water and food supply.
Sincerely,
Emily Donovan & your Clean Cape Fear leadership team
for 2021. For the Zoom link, please go to:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81477228617
Get More Information about BEAT Calendar Events by clicking on the event date and scrolling up or down. Additional information about the event such as time, location/address and description of the event (and other links) are provided in this event calendar when possible.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE BEAT LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR the Brunswick County NAACP’s proposed Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Multi-Use Greenway/Blueway Trail, Brunswick County, North Carolina
FYI: An Informative PDF about PFAS as it Relates to Brunswick County in 2020 - by Eugene Rozenbaoum of LG Chem
BEAT Board Meeting Minutes
October 15, 2018
The meeting was called to order by Pete Key.
Members Present: Pete Key, Dan George, Tom Goodwin, Neil Gilbert, Teddy Altreuter, Greg Weiss, Ted Janes (via FaceTime), Dwight Willis
President Key read the minutes from the previous meeting. Minutes were accepted as read on a unanimous vote.
Old Business:
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Pete and Tom will work on setting up a PayPal account for BEAT in order to accept BEAT memberships on our web page.
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Greg Weiss has resigned as BEAT webmaster because of his new duties as Mayor of Sunset Beach. We have had no responses to our previous requests for a new webmaster. It was suggested that we try to find a high school or college student to serve as webmaster as a community service project.
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BEAT is now officially a 501(c)3 organization. In order to receive the Oak Grant from Oceana we need to complete and submit the IRS 990 form to Oceana. Tom agreed to submit this form as soon as possible. We are hopeful that the $5,000 grant will be sent to us in the very near future.
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The Board unanimously agreed to create a page on the BEAT website to recognize previous BEAT presidents (Jan Harris, Richard Hilderman, and Neil Gilbert).
New Business:
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The Board agreed to send “Thank You” notes to everyone involved in the Barrier Islands Presentation at Seaside United Methodist Church in Sunset Beach on October 4. The Board will send notes to the following people: Neil Gilbert, Jan Harris, Ruth Reynolds, Janet Jonas, Shirley Owen, Richard Hilderman, Len Pietrafesa, Seaside UMC (Stephanie Riley, Minister of Spiritual Formation, and Kathleen Thompson, Administrative Assistant) and Kerri Allen, Coastal Federation. Ted agreed to write and send the notes.
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The Board agreed to re-schedule the general membership meeting that was canceled on September 13 due to Hurricane Florence to either November 13 or November 14 depending on the availability of the BEMC Public Meeting Room. Jen will find out if the Straws Movie is available on those evenings.
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BEAT has been invited to provide a 1-hour program for Hot Topics on January 22 by their leader, Cheryl Watts Fulton. The Board agreed to accept this invitation. Presenters will meet with Cheryl at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the St. James Community Building. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. Neil has a PowerPoint presentation that has been used at previous presentations that we can update and revise. We will need to decide who will make the presentation and what content we want to present.
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The Board invited Neil to rejoin the Board after his 10-month absence from the Board.
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Tom presented the Financial Report. With Teddy’s assistance we agreed to move several items from the General Fund to the St. Elizabeth Mission Society Grant Fund. Teddy will resubmit the grant report to the Sisters. The balance in the grant account is $1,20012. The balance in the general fund account is $634.09. After these changes were made Dwight moved and Dan seconded and the Board adopted the report unanimously.
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The Board agreed to reduce the price of BEAT T-Shirts from $18 down to $15.
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Dan proposed that BEAT become involved in a coalition of environmental groups to work on CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) issues. The Board authorized Dan to represent BEAT on this coalition.
Minutes submitted by Dwight Willis, Acting Secretary.