Brunswick Environmental Action Team
BEAT sincerely wishes everyone a Happy Earth Day 2023! We are grateful to all who continue to share both their ideas and work so that we may continue to exist in peace while making use of the life sustaining energy that our Earth provides for us every day - To optimize our survival.
BEAT received an email from: Melissa Edmonds <medmonds@selcnc.org> of the Southern Environmental Law Center on September 9, 2022 at 12:32:50 PM EDT. The subject of the email was Offshore Drilling Comment Opportunity. BEAT leadership would like to share this message with you here. The text that follows is the body of the message in its entirety.
Hi all,
I hope this note finds you well! You are receiving this email because you have previously been involved in SELC’s campaign to fight offshore drilling, by signing onto our comment letters to oppose drilling in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. I am writing now to alert you of another important comment opportunity on the issue of offshore drilling in these regions.
SELC is currently preparing comments on the Biden administration’s Proposed Five Year Plan for offshore drilling, which removes all Atlantic Planning Areas from consideration, yet still proposes to hold lease sales in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico. Comments are due Oct. 6. As usual, our comments will be focused on the Gulf and the Southeast; we plan to thank BOEM for listening to the voices of the East Coast by removing the Atlantic, and further urge no new leasing in the Gulf of Mexico because of the continued harm from offshore drilling on Gulf communities and natural resources and on climate change.
SELC supports responsible offshore wind development as a critically important piece in the necessary clean energy transition to address the climate crisis, but we do not support provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act that tie future offshore wind leasing to continued oil and gas leasing. We are planning to make this distinction in our comments, but please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns with this approach.
If you are potentially interested in signing on and have input as we draft, please let me know ASAP, as we are working on drafting the comments now. We will circulate a draft on Sept. 23, accept feedback through Sept. 28, and take final sign-ons through Oct. 5.
Thank you all for being valued partners in this important issue, we look forward to your continued support throughout this fight!
Melissa L. Edmonds (Whaling) (she/her)
Science & Policy Analyst
Southern Environmental Law Center
601 West Rosemary Street, Suite 220
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Office (919) 391-4099
Mobile (919) 623-5003
Dear visitor, below is a message BEAT received from "Emily Donovan via ActionNetwork.org" <info@email.actionnetwork.org>
The subject of her message regards
URGENT ACTION REQUIRED:
Say: "No More Chemours!"
BEAT received this message on: September 10, 2022 at 12:36:12 PM EDT
Her message is shared here in its entiretity.
Friends,
It's time to mobilize like never before. Chemours just announced they want to EXPAND their toxic PFAS production in NC. We don’t feel they’ve earned this right–especially when they’ve failed to deliver on the most basic promises to our community.
We believe the majority of control measures taken, so far, are because Chemours was legally forced to comply via a 2019 consent order established by our friends at Cape Fear River Watch. However, it’s important to remember, consent orders are only as good as they are being enforced. Sadly, strong enforcement of the Chemours consent order has taken constant pressure from dedicated folks like you, who are determined to hold both DEQ and Chemours’ feet to the fire.
Here’s a quick summary of how Chemours has “helped” us:
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They've been dragging their feet on establishing toxicity studies required by the 2019 consent order.
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They have made private well owners wait 6 months with no replacement water.
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They refuse to meet the needs of commissioners in Cumberland County and are now being sued.
Chemours has not earned the right to expand in NC and we are counting on you to help them get the message. Chemours is hosting a public information session at Leland Cultural Arts Center, Wednesday, September 21st from 5:00pm - 7:00pm. Click here to RSVP We’ll send you talking points in the next two weeks to help you feel prepared.
In the meantime, please share our event link on social media and with your fellow neighbors. Media will be present at this meeting, so it’s vital that we show a united front against Chemours. We cannot allow them to add another drop of their poison to our water.
With gratitude,
Emily Donovan, cofounder
Clean Cape Fear
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
BRUNSWICK ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION TEAM (BEAT)
MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING
(Held at Backstreet Cafe,
1780 Chandlers Lane, Unit 7, Sunset Beach, NC)
October 4, 2017
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by BEAT President Neil Gilbert.
GRANT MONEY
Nina Marable and Teddy Altreuter did a great job of explaining the Grant process and the Objectives. We are all excited about this. Education is a key component of the Grant money.
GRANT COMMITTEE
The Board decided to form a committee to research and develop ideas for spending the grant money. The committee members will be Nina, Dwight, Kristen, Anne, Greg, and Neil
MINUTES
Minutes of the three previous meetings were unanimously approved. Greg can now post them on the website.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Jan's Treasurer's Report was unanimously approved.
Dr. Nina Marable and Dan George were unanimously appointed to the BEAT Board of Directors.
A discussion followed about the need to get Board members from Navassa, St. James, and Southport. Perhaps even a liaison from New Hanover and Horry Counties.
There were no volunteers to be Recording Secretary.
Discussion of Mission Statement was tabled to next meeting. Best to discuss with Greg present.
Discussion of By-Laws was tabled to next meeting. Best to discuss with Greg present.
Much time was spent on discussing the dredging of Jinks Creek. Nina and Ted are going to work on statements and a letter writing campaign / petition to get BEAT members more actively involved.
Kristen reviewed and supplied a handout regarding Dr. Cahoon's presentation on Gen X and drinking water. She emphasized the need for the southern end of the County to hear Dr. Cahoon speak.
Neil thanked the BEAT Board for allowing him to speak to the Brunswick Board of Education as President of BEAT regarding safe drinking water in our schools.
Dale reviewed what has been taking place at the Gen X round tables. We are thankful to Dale and Sandy for representing BEAT at these important discussions.
Neil brought up partnering with other groups now that we have gained popularity. We know from experience that partnering with the WW and OCEANA is good policy, but, when possibilities emerge to partner with other groups, we need to do a vetting process. A group of us are meeting with GSAT on October 21.
Open Air Burning is a topic of concern to be addressed at a later time.
Neil would like to have an evening event with Peg Howell and Joan Furlong of SODA some time after Thanksgiving.
Kristen mentioned that Dr Cahoon has been booked for the evening of Wednesday, October 18 at the Backstreet Cafe. This is going to be a great event for BEAT.
Kristen mentioned how we have 16 BEAT volunteers "staffing" the table at the Sunset at Sunset event on October 7. BEAT Board members who will be present are Kristen, Anne, and Neil. It was suggested that next year we should look into taking part in the Leland Founder's Day Festival and the Holden Beach Festival By the Sea.
SLACK - Kristen, Dale, and Neil are convinced that we can improve our lines of communication by using SLACK. They use it with Stand Up Brunswick and it has been an excellent tool for communicating. Trust me, we are going to teach you how to become Slackers.
NEXT BOARD MEETING
It appears that the majority of our members were fine with holding meetings in the evening. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings seemed to be the best nights. Neil will send out a separate e-mail soliciting dates for the next BOARD Meeting.
Neil Gilbert
Acting Recording Secretary