BREDL and our chapter Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff file Motion to reopen and submit amended contention regarding Plant Vogtle Unit 3

Dec. 29, 2020: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Answer claims that BREDL has relied on predecisional material in this matter. This is incorrect. BREDL is relying on material that was contemporaneous with its intervention yet withheld from public scrutiny. This information, which was used by NRC to reach its decision to approve SNC's license amendment request, was provided to BREDL only after a lengthy FOIA response period.

The NRC should have rejected SNC's license amendment request. Our principal interests are significant safety issues, the health and safety of our members living near the plant and the general public. We hearby request that the Commission reopen LAR-20-001.


In this week's podcast:
BREDL and our chapter Concerned Citizens of Shell Bluff file motion to reopen proceeding regarding Plant Vogtle Unit 3

Dec. 17, 2020: In a 22-page brief filed on December 7th, BREDL's Lou Zeller stated, "The NRC continues this pattern of non-response to requests for information." He said that vital information used by the NRC staff to change Plant Vogtle's construction license is still being withheld from public view, and that private sessions were held in the company's Electronic Reading Room. "It is tantamount to needing a secret decoder ring to get to the treasure map." Under federal rules of evidence, all documents for the record must be open to examination by all parties.


CAMPAIGN VICTORY!
In Big Win for Communities, Coal Ash Disposal Company Drops Appeal of Chatham, Lee County Cases
Case Settled After Five Years of Litigation

Dec. 16, 2020: Almost a year to the day that Administrative Law Judge Melissa Owens-Lassiter reversed her decision which had allowed coal ash to be disposed of in Chatham and Lee Counties, the communities are announcing another victory. Charah, Inc.- the company that owns the two sites, has dropped their appeal of the 2019 ruling and has agreed that no coal ash will go to the Colon site in Lee County. The Brickhaven site will be closed as required by the permit issued by the NC Department of Environmental Quality.


Protect Caswell Car Caravan

Nov. 14, 2020: On Saturday, members and supporters of Protect Caswell held a rolling demonstration of support for the group's goals of environmental justice and public health. The 17-vehicle caravan bedecked with signs, streamers and balloons carried scores of people down Yanceyville's Main Street and back.



BREDL Report: Union Hill: Real Property, Racism and Environmental Justice



Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and its Buckingham Chapter, Concern for the New Generation, released the report: "Union Hill: Real Property, Racism and Environmental Justice," which reveals a history of subversive policies, in Virginia and nationwide, which severely limit the ability for African Americans to build wealth.

The context for the study is Virginia 400, marking the history of the slave trade in the United States. From 250 years of slavery, 100 years of Jim Crow laws to the continued subversive policy of siting toxic polluting facilities in environmental justice and other marginalized communities, African Americans and those who live in poverty have been relegated to less than second class citizenship.



The LEAGUE LINE
Autumn 2020 issue

Fall 2020

The League Line: Fall 2020 issue is now available online.

- Cover: Mountain Valley Pipeline obtains two-year extension and approval to resume construction - Fight is not over! by Mark Barker
- Director's Report: BREDL's approach to community organizing by Louis Zeller
- Activists don't quit by Renee Cail - BREDL's In Our Backyard Podcast - Recent Interviews conducted by Jenn Galler
- Roanoke County forwards BREDL's request to DEQ for revision of stormwater plans prior to further construction of MVP in Virginia by Ann Rogers
- PHMSA rules must be rewritten to stop systemic racism by Sharon Ponton
- Pamplico Stop The Pipeline Defense Committee - A community focused on keeping their inheritance clean and free from contamination by Rev. Charles N. Utley, Associate Director
- Atlantic Coast Pipeline - Guide for Landowners by Gabrielle James
- Groups sue over weak emission standards for chemical plants linked to cancer - EPA's rule for organic chemical facilities allows toxic air pollution at levels dangerous for public health
- Chapter update on Chapel Hill Organization for Clean Energy (CHOCE) by Jenn Galler

BREDL welcomes these new chapters

Pittsylvania County Preservation League (Pittsylvania Co., VA) - July 2020

Protect Caswell (Caswell Co., NC) - March 2020

Madison County Clean Power Coalition (Madison Co., GA) - January 2020

Find a chapter near you

Coal Ash Disposition
The Alternative for North Carolina

BREDL's technical report which details the dangers of landfilling coal ash and recommends the proven saltstone technology for the coal ash at Duke Energy's fourteen power plants. The report entitled "Coal Ash Disposition: The Alternative for North Carolina," describes the saltstone technology which would encase the coal ash waste and isolate the toxins from the soil, air and water.

View BREDL Technical Report

RESOURCES

Reports

Report on Air and Noise Pollution Reveals Fatal Flaws in Permit for Proposed Buckingham Compressor Station
Dec. 14, 2016: The report, subtitled “Unfair, Illegal and Unjust,” concludes that the Buckingham County Planning Commission failed with respect to its legal obligation to ensure that the facility does not have a disproportionate impact on Buckingham’s African American community.

Noise from Mountain View Speedway Harmful to Boone Quality of Life
Jan. 21, 2016: The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League released a report on sound pollution and called on the Town of Boone to protect residents from excessive levels of noise from stock car races at the newly opened auto speedway on Roby Green Road. The report, "Noisy Neighbors–Sound Pollution in the High Country", reveals the hazards to mental and physical well-being of residents in neighborhoods near the track.

More Reports:

A list of our reports can be found on our BREDL Reports page.

Fact Sheets

Aug. 26, 2019: BREDL Fact Sheet on Versatile Test Reactors.

Updated Aug 2016 BREDL Fact Sheet - Proposed Buckingham Compressor Station, Buckingham County, VA

May 2016: BREDL Unequal Protection Fact Sheet The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s Discriminatory Laws & Regulations

April 2016 BREDL Fact Sheet - Small Modular Reactors

Sept. 2015 BREDL Fact Sheet - Appalachian Materials, LLC Proposed Asphalt Plant in Glendale Springs, NC.

March 2014: BREDL Fact Sheet: "Don't Dump Coal Ash on our Communities"

More Fact Sheets:

A chronological list of Fact Sheets can be found on our BREDL Fact Sheets page.

Educational Tools

Salisbury Health Study
Download the Powerpoint Presentation

Bucket Brigade
Download the Powerpoint Presentation

Statistics for Action
Statistics for Action website


BREDL Partners with TERC
TERC is partnering with environmental action groups in twelve states to advance the quantitative literacy skills needed to understand and solve pressing environmental problems.
More about this partnership.

NoPipeline.net