On Friday June 17, 2011, Jose Bravo Toscano from the Just Transition Alliance attended a state legislative field hearing in Thermal, CA on environmental safety and toxins.  The hearing was focusing on the impact that Western Environmental, Inc. is having on the individuals and children living in Thermal due to the horrible odor emanating from their “recycling plant.”  Before the hearing, which focused on the foul odors that have sickened dozens of school children and staff members at Saul Martinez Elementary school since last December, Jose took part in the Unhealthy Communities Environmental Justice Tour in Coachella Valley.  The Unhealthy Communities Environmental Justice Tour was developed by the California Rural Legal Assistance Group, and it was developed for state lawmakers and regulatory officials in Coachella Valley to show them the persistent hazards that are created by abandoned dumps and the unjust migrant housing.  During the tour, Jose was interviewed by News Channel 3 KESQ, and he wanted to express and show the dire circumstances that these individuals have to live with.  They are living in a community that is immersed in chemicals and the cumulative impact that these chemicals are having on them and their families.  Efforts such as this one have to continue.   They will make these companies accountable for their actions and the affect that they are having with these vulnerable populations, and it is this type of action that will help reform how regulators handle hazardous waste facilities across California.

         In order to have a comprehensive impact on this situation and future circumstances that may occur, Jose Bravo met with Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack’s District Director, Marc Troast, and Senator Barbara Boxer’s Senior Advisor, Alton L. Garrett Jr., at Mecca on issues of toxic reform during the day’s events.  There was a briefing on August 18, 2011 in Mecca, CA where Debbie Raphael, Director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), gave a report back on DTSC’s internal audit that they did on the toxic and hazardous waste that is being sent into Mecca and how the dump of Western Environmental Inc. (WEI) was conducting business without a California waste permit. The chairman of the tribe and DTSC signed an agreement that gave DTSC ability to perform their investigation and at the moment DTSC is waiting to get a signed agreement by WEI in order to perform their inspections. There was a series of mishandling and lack of information concerning the toxic waste that was being taken into Mecca. At the moment, the community wants to clean up the toxic site and make sure that the toxic waste is move to an authorized toxic waste dump. However, the state is unable to perform the latter until there is an assessment of the waste and the amount which will take place in the next sixty days. Debbie Raphael showed a strong willingness to work with the community, the tribe, and other stake holders to resolve this issue and protect the community because she understands that this is a problem that has existed since the past administration, and she knows that actions speaks louder than words.  The Just Transition Alliance would like to thank Director Raphael for her work on Environmental Justice issues and her effort to promote environmental justice in the state of California.  In addition to Jose Bravo’s meeting with DTSC and staffers for Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack and Senator Barbara Boxer, he also met with Cal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), staff from State Representative Manuel Perez, and staff from State Representative Juan Vargas.

In addition, on a day when the temperature reached 118 degrees, Jose, invited by Luis Olmedo the Executive Director of Comite Civico del Valle, met with the Imperial Valley Environmental Justice Enforcement Task Force in Calexico, CA. This meeting took place at the offices of DTSC in the Imperial Valley. The meeting included community members, local DTSC staff and local code enforcement staff as well as US EPA border office representatives. 

It's part of a series monthly meetings that take place to address concerns about abandoned contaminated sites, environmental enforcement as well as community benefit projects and events. Jose reunited with some activists that he worked with on the New River (at the time the most polluted river in the US). Jose reported back on TOSCA reform efforts, national, international EJ issues and helped to do a debrief of the DTSC meeting that took place that morning in Thermal, CA.