Community Mobilization for Environmental Problems: How a Grassro ...

Residents became aware of this remediation plan on June 21, 2000, at a public meeting sponsored by the EPA. They refused to support it, denouncing the safety work plan as incomplete. Most were concerned about dust and airborne debris from the contaminated soil; because the remediation would have taken place in July, while children were home from school, there would have been no way to guarantee the safety of children playing outdoors. Residents proposed that the EPA wait until the broader soil sample results had been compiled rather than attempting a piecemeal remediation. The homeowners’ group stopped the cleanup plan for the vacant lots in the proposal stage. In July 2000, the EPA agreed not to proceed with the remediation.

Through the remainder of the summer and fall, residents waited for the soil sample results. Results from the June 2000 EPA soil samples were finally released in December 2000. The results were not made public, but instead each individual homeowner was given a confidential report of his or her soil and contamination level readings. Most residents agreed to share their information with neighbors, those at City Hall, and the media. In general, the EPA study concluded that even though chemical hot spots existed throughout the community, the level of contamination did not constitute a public health threat and did not warrant the remediation of occupied lots.

In February 2001 the Common Council held another full session solely devoted to the release of soil test results from Hickory Woods. Community environmental leaders, politicians, and concerned residents from Hickory Woods came to the meeting with agenda items that included chemical contamination and relocation plans. They provided evidence of chemical hot spots in the community. They argued that more contamination might exist throughout the neighborhood and might have been overlooked. They also demanded that action be taken on the relocation resolution that had been passed at the December 1999 Common Council meeting.