CAC met with the People’s Senate for the first time on August 29 in the offices of Communities for a Better Environment in Huntington Park. The Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment (http://www.crpe-ej.org/crpe/) coordinates the People’s Senate, which includes 12 other communities from around California, all of us working to make environmental justice a reality (http://www.crpe-ej.org/crpe/index.php/campaigns/toxic-free-communities/the-peoples-senate). We are communities living with the toxic impacts of major polluters that state regulatory agencies like the DTSC have literally permitted to pollute, allowing industries to get away with the contamination our homes and schools—often for decades.
The highlight of our meeting on August 29 was a conversation we all had with Ana Mascareñas, DTSC’s new Assistant Director for Environmental Justice. After hearing the concerns of each community, Ana expressed her commitment to changing the DTSC so that it becomes more transparent and better able to listen and respond to impacted communities. She also committed to regular monthly conversations with impacted communities in order to formalize two-way communication between DTSC and community members—we will report news to DTSC and DTSC will report news to us.
We are hopeful that this meeting is just the beginning of real change at the agency that will result in real and positive change for our communities. Stay tuned!
The highlight of our meeting on August 29 was a conversation we all had with Ana Mascareñas, DTSC’s new Assistant Director for Environmental Justice. After hearing the concerns of each community, Ana expressed her commitment to changing the DTSC so that it becomes more transparent and better able to listen and respond to impacted communities. She also committed to regular monthly conversations with impacted communities in order to formalize two-way communication between DTSC and community members—we will report news to DTSC and DTSC will report news to us.
We are hopeful that this meeting is just the beginning of real change at the agency that will result in real and positive change for our communities. Stay tuned!