A version of this story was originally published in the Spring 2014 UW SRP eBulletin.
Each year since 2005, the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition (NWTCC) has held a summit-style annual organizational meeting. The coalition was originally conceived by a handful of community groups that were working independently on their local waste site or pollution issues, and faced multiple layers of challenges and uncertainty. Today the NWTCC includes members from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington representing a broad geographic region and sharing many common experiences. Hazardous waste and environmental pollution are often: historic in origin, have complex ties to the local economy, and require governmental agency actions to be taken from site 'designation' all the way through to the cleanup process for 'remediation'.
The cleanup process takes many years, often decades. So it makes perfect sense that nine years after their first meeting, the coalition would want to reflect and honor intermediate successes achieved by its member organizations, and acknowledge the important role that investigative reporters and environmental journalists play in bringing their stories to the public eye. Robert McClure, a writer with Investigate West- Investigative journalism for the Pacific Northwest was given an award of appreciation for his work, such as his 2011 feature on Seattle's Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund SiteAuthor Kathie Durbin
Please follow the links to learn more about the Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition, it's members, annual summits, and the coalition's role in establishing a regional outdoor air quality workshop for communities in collaboration with Region 10 EPA and University of Washington Superfund Research Program.