TESTIMONY
of
Rebekah Whilden
Organizer, Sierra Club DC Chapter
before the
Business and Economic Development Committee
on
“Warehousing and Storage Eminent Domain Authority Act of 2019” (B23-0116)
May 13, 2019
John A. Wilson Building
Thank you, Councilmember McDuffie, for your leadership in passing the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act, which will transition DC to electricity from 100 percent clean sources like wind and solar faster than any other state. But as you've said, despite DC's leading role in climate protection, there are many other critical environmental issues in the District, including one of the topics of this hearing: the trash transfer station on W Street in Brentwood that has reduced the quality of life in the neighborhood for several decades.
My name is Rebekah Whilden, and I am the Chapter Organizer for the Sierra Club’s Washington, DC Chapter. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest environmental advocacy group, and we have 3,000 dues-paying members in DC. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of B23-0116, the “Warehousing and Storage Eminent Domain Authority Act of 2019.”
This legislation would authorize the District to use eminent domain to acquire the property on W Street NE that is currently occupied by a private trash transfer station. DC would then construct a warehouse on the site for the storage of DC government equipment, records, property, and supplies.
The private transfer station on W Street NE in Brentwood has drawn complaints, lawsuits and regulatory action since it opened in 1988. For several decades, the facility has brought an onerous stench and an invasion of vermin to the neighborhood. It is negatively impacting the lives of Ward 5 residents, many of whom are senior citizens already facing health challenges. The last thing they need is poor air quality in their neighborhood. Residents of Brentwood shouldn’t have to wait another minute for this facility to close. The Sierra Club enthusiastically supports the Warehouse and Storage Eminent Domain Authority Act of 2019.
The concentration of industrial facilities in Ward 5, including this transfer station, raise concerns about environmental racism. The Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council reported in 2000 that waste transfer stations "are disproportionately clustered in low-income communities and communities of color." It is highly unlikely that this type of facility would be sited in the city’s mostly white or wealthy neighborhoods.
The Sierra Club takes the position that “environmentally degrading land uses should be avoided, but when such uses occur, they should be equitably sited taking into account all environmental and community impacts including the cumulative and synergistic ecological and health effects of multiple facilities. All people have the right to a safe and healthful work and home environment.”
Councilmember McDuffie, since 2012 when you were elected, the Sierra Club has supported your efforts to shut down the transfer station in Brentwood. Thank you for your leadership in fighting for the residents of Brentwood and seeking to close the W Street trash transfer station.