Hilton Davis letter writing/email campaign information

A brief message . if you cannot write a longer letter/message:

We need the Ohio EPA to receive lots of letters and messages by March 26. If you are not able to write a longer letter or message, below is a very brief message that you can email to the Ohio EPA at dhwmcomments@epa.state.oh.us:

I strongly oppose the Ohio EPA's proposed plan to cleanup the Hilton Davis site. The agency has ignored the community's concerns and the plan does not comply with the terms of the 1986 Consent Decree. I urge the Ohio EPA to order a complete clean-up of the site, including Bloody Run Creek ravine.

Please forward your e-mail to at least one or more neighbors and them to do the same thing. Also, please forward it to Pleasant Ridge Community Council at president@pleasantridge.org so we can track the number of e-mails to the agency (subject line: Hilton Davis). But please do NOT forward to the Ohio EPA any e-mails or other communication you've received from PRCC.

The longer version. Please do this if you can:

As you may know, the Ohio EPA has finally released a proposed cleanup plan for the Hilton Davis site in Pleasant Ridge and, unfortunately, it does not include the removal of toxic waste dumped there for 50 years, including lead and carcinogens. The EPA plan is essentially the same as the most recent plan submitted by Eastman Kodak, the owner of the site, which is to cover the toxic waste with a layer of dirt. It is a "good" plan for Kodak because it is cheap and easy; however, it is a horrible plan for Pleasant Ridge because it would create a permanent tomb for toxic waste in our neighborhood, and it does not comply with the terms of the 1986 Consent Decree.

The Consent Decree - a judicial order expressing an agreement among parties - said that the community of Pleasant Ridge would have a "seat at the table." But EPA officials have not listened to us! We have repeatedly tried to communicate our concerns to EPA officials and asked for a complete cleanup of toxic wastes - not a cover up! Hundreds of citizens signed petitions, wrote letters and email messages, etc. The City of Cincinnati
passed a resolution asking for a more complete cleanup, and our elected representatives tried to convince EPA officials . all to no avail. We have one more chance and we need your help! Please take a few minutes to write a letter or email message to the Ohio EPA by March 26. Here are some key points that you may want to include with your own story and concerns:

The EPA plan is unacceptable. "We do not want a permanent toxic waste site in Pleasant Ridge!"

We want a complete clean-up that meets the standards laid out in the Consent Decree, which called for methods that (a) provide the greatest improvement to the public health, welfare and environment and (b) minimize or eliminate the potential for release of hazardous wastes and chemicals into the environment.

Kodak should be responsible for cleaning up the toxic waste on the site, not the future taxpayers of Cincinnati and Ohio.

Hilton Davis is surrounded by middle-class residential neighborhoods - Pleasant Ridge, Golf Manor and Norwood. There are thousands of homes with children, parents and grandparents. "We live at _______ [your address], and Hilton Davis is only _____ [distance in blocks or some other measure] fromb our house. We have lived here for __ (years) and want to live here for __ more."

Currently, the 80-acre site is zoned industrial and used for industry, and the EPA plan will basically condemn it to that. But it is surrounded by residential areas and it could be re-zoned and re-developed as a retirement
community, a medical facility, retail stores, a public park . there are many possibilities if - and only if - the toxic waste is completely and properly removed. Pleasant Ridge Montessori - the first LEED-certified public school in Ohio - is only a half-mile away.

Send letters and emails (both if possible) to:
Ohio EPA, Division of Hazardous Waste Management
Attn: Regulatory and Information Services Section
P.O. Box 1049
Columbus, OH 43216-1049
Email: dhwmcomments@epa.state.oh.us
Fax: 614-728-1245

Send and email copies to: *
Governor Ted Strickland
Riffe Center, 30th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215-6108
Email: governor.strickland@das.state.oh.us
Fax: 614-728-9498

* Also, please copy letters to: Pleasant Ridge Community Council, P.O. Box 128705, Cincinnati, OH 45212, president@pleasantridge.org.