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
Helping BEAT
Stay Informed
Keep informed about environmental issues in your area and throughout Brunswick County. Good sources of information are:
-
The Brunswick Beacon
-
Your local government’s website (check the contact page on this site for its address)
-
The North Carolina Coastal Federation website (www.nccoast.org)
-
Coastal Review Online - the online publication of the North Carolina Coastal Federation
-
Attend speakers, films, and other local events that provide information
-
The BEAT facebook page
-
This BEAT website!
Be an Advocate
The natural environment needs your voice! Talking to friends, acquaintances, and neighbors about the importance of protecting our environment is one of the most important things that any of us can do. Most communities have at least some people who seem to spend most of their time thinking about ways that they can make money by harming the environment. They are often very focused, have friends among decision-makers, and will stop at nothing. If those of us who love and care about the environment don't speak on its behalf, who will?
If you are willing, share your values and thoughts with local and state elected officials. Often, their position on issues can be influenced if they see that many people in the community really support or oppose a particular decision or policy. Personal contact is great, but so is a phone call, an e-mail message, or even a tweet.
ADVOCATE
Join/Volunteer
There are many wonderful organizations throughout Brunswick County that promote conservation of the natural environment. Some are general interest groups and some focus on particular aspects of the environment, but all appreciate members and can use more volunteers! The more who join, and the more who volunteer, the more that can be done and the more influence we can have. For example, BEAT would love to have you as a member, a volunteer, and a participant or attendee at our events. We want you!
Want to join BEAT? Click here for a membership form:
Membership Dues: When you become a member of BEAT, your dues are used carefully and conscientiously to support activities and events that support our mission to educate, elevate awareness, and help advocate for responsible and caring environmental decision making. As a non-profit organization, your membership dues to BEAT are tax deductible.
Gift Memberships: Giving a gift membership to someone who is interested in the natural environment and in protecting the environment and our coastal areas can be a thoughtful and meaningful gift. As a non-profit organization, your gift membership dues to BEAT are tax deductible.
Student Memberships: BEAT realizes the up-and-coming generations are extremely important in educating, elevating awareness, and advocating for our natural environment. We enthusiastically accept secondary and college students in our membership and offer a reduced membership fee for them.
Donate/Contribute
Donations/contributions: Your tax-deductible donation to BEAT provides important financial support for our work in helping to protect our natural environment here in Brunswick County and ensuring that we live in a healthy and beautiful community. Donations support our mission to educate, elevate awareness, and help advocate for responsible and caring environmental decision making.
Click here to donate:
Your membership dues, gift memberships, and donations are used efficiently by BEAT. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. All of the money that comes in is
used to sponsor environmentally-related activities and events.