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(Editor’s note: He didn’t show up when I was there but the Gazette’s Mark Scheer made it to the Save our Backyards press conference in the Town of Niagara on Wednesday after I left. Here’s what he wrote.. I only share Gazette content when it makes it to Yahoo outside the paywall.)
By Mark Scheer
Niagara Gazette
TOWN OF NIAGARA — A group of homeowners who were uprooted after high radiation levels were found on their properties have a new request for the state and federal government.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the founding members of the grassroots group Save Our Backyards WNY called on public officials to authorize permanent relocation or a voluntary government-backed buyout program for themselves and for any of their neighbors dealing with similar radiological concerns.
"We know there are more people in our neighborhood who deserve the safeguards we are getting," said Lexi Hawk, a Chester Avenue homeowner and one of the co-founders of the Save our Backyards organization.
Hawk and three neighboring homeowners were granted temporary relocation this summer after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined they should be moved to temporary housing while their properties are remediated.
Hawk said she and other members of her organization aren't inclined to return to their homes after the cleanup work has been completed, adding that she will always feel as though the job wasn't thorough enough to protect her health, or that of her 3-year-old daughter. She said many of her neighbors feel the same way, which is why they believe permanent relocation or a government buyout is warranted.
"No matter how much contaminated soil they haul out, I will always question it all," she said.
The push for permanent relocation comes as members of Save Our Backyards and other Niagara Falls and Niagara County residents dealing with contamination concerns secured assistance from an environmental advocacy organization founded by former Love Canal resident and advocate Lois Gibbs.
Jackie Young Medcalf, leader of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice and founder of the Texas Health and Environment Alliance, attended Tuesday's press conference to offer support for the bid to secure permanent relocation for the Town of Niagara homeowners.
Medcalf, who was handpicked by Gibbs to oversee the Love Canal advocate's organization, said Hawk and other residents in her neighborhood are dealing with uncertainty about their own health, the health of their loved ones and the health of their neighborhood. In the Niagara Falls area, she noted, there are multiple concerns about contamination in other parts of the community that warrant attention from public officials.
"While every community's circumstances are different, there's something we hear over and over again," Medcalf said. "Families want to know if the places they play, the places they live, are safe."
Medcalf announced that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has now launched a supplemental investigation into an industrial site on Witmer Road adjacent to Hawk's neighborhood. She said contamination concerns on the neighboring site, which once served as a drive-in, add to the level of uncertainty in Hawk's neighborhood, adding to the urgency for the need for permanent relocation.
"Lexi's property is now part of both investigations," Medcalf said. "Think about that for a moment. A mother whose family has already been temporarily relocated because of radiologic concerns is now learning that her property is also involved in an investigation for potential chemical contamination from a separate source and she's not alone."
Hawk and three neighboring homeowners were granted temporary relocation this summer after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined they should be moved to temporary housing while their properties are remediated.
Hawk said she and other members of her organization aren't inclined to return to their homes after the cleanup work has been completed, adding that she will always feel as though the job wasn't thorough enough to protect her health, or that of her 3-year-old daughter. She said many of her neighbors feel the same way, which is why they believe permanent relocation or a government buyout is warranted.
"No matter how much contaminated soil they haul out, I will always question it all," she said.
The push for permanent relocation comes as members of Save Our Backyards and other Niagara Falls and Niagara County residents dealing with contamination concerns secured assistance from an environmental advocacy organization founded by former Love Canal resident and advocate Lois Gibbs.
Jackie Young Medcalf, leader of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice and founder of the Texas Health and Environment Alliance, attended Tuesday's press conference to offer support for the bid to secure permanent relocation for the Town of Niagara homeowners.
Medcalf, who was handpicked by Gibbs to oversee the Love Canal advocate's organization, said Hawk and other residents in her neighborhood are dealing with uncertainty about their own health, the health of their loved ones and the health of their neighborhood. In the Niagara Falls area, she noted, there are multiple concerns about contamination in other parts of the community that warrant attention from public officials.
"While every community's circumstances are different, there's something we hear over and over again," Medcalf said. "Families want to know if the places they play, the places they live, are safe."
Medcalf announced that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has now launched a supplemental investigation into an industrial site on Witmer Road adjacent to Hawk's neighborhood. She said contamination concerns on the neighboring site, which once served as a drive-in, add to the level of uncertainty in Hawk's neighborhood, adding to the urgency for the need for permanent relocation.
"Lexi's property is now part of both investigations," Medcalf said. "Think about that for a moment. A mother whose family has already been temporarily relocated because of radiologic concerns is now learning that her property is also involved in an investigation for potential chemical contamination from a separate source and she's not alone."
