On Wednesday night, more than 100 community members turned out in force at the Washington state Department of Ecology's hearing on proposed cleanup options for the old Reynolds aluminum smelter site in Longview, Washington.
Currently contaminated by cyanide, fluoride, PCBs and other known carcinogens, the site must undergo cleanup funded by Alcoa and Millennium Bulk Terminals, the latter of which wants to use the polluted port as a controversial coal export facility.
The community is staunchly against the coal export plan, and of the six options being presented as "solutions" to the toxic site, residents overwhelmingly support the highest cleanup option -- level six.
"We have one chance to clean up the site's toxic legacy for good and make this industrial river property a job creator with high-value manufacturing potential," said Diane Dick, vice president of Longview residents' group Landowners and Citizens for a Safe Community (LCSC).
Every speaker during the hearing voiced their support for option six and spoke up for creating clean and safe economic opportunity for the area.
"This region needs jobs," said Gayle Kiser, LCSC president. "But we shouldn't have to compromise on the health of our families and natural resources, especially when the Department of Ecology has identified options that can address all three."
The local Sierra Club is working closely with the LCSC to demand a proper cleanup of the site that includes good jobs for the community. Longview residents say it's time for a positive change at the site.
"We've been mistreated time and again by companies at this site. And it's important to remember: Millennium is a coal company, not a cleanup company," said the Rev. Kathleen Patton, Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Olympia, and a Longview resident. "Longview families live just across the tracks from this site. They deserve a full cleanup that protects community health and a port that attracts a wide array of economically stable industries and family-wage jobs."