Accomplishments

Preventing Chemical Hazards

• Instrumental in establishing the state Pollution Prevention Institute with a Green Chemistry program.

• Helped develop Governor Paterson's new State Agency Green Purchasing Executive Order. (FIX bullets here and below)* Passed laws banning toxic brominated flame retardants and mercury in products

• Helped set up green purchasing government programs in Buffalo and New York City. 

• Passed law requiring industry to reduce their generation of hazardous waste by 50%.

• Successfully prevented the siting of a national radioactive waste landfill.
• Helped community groups stop over 80 proposed hazardous landfills and incinerators.

• Led community task forces to work with companies on preventing toxic spills

• Organized annual Dirty Dozen Awards to expose the worst polluters in the state.

Cleaning Up Pollution

• Passed law to refinance bankrupt State Superfund toxic waste cleanup program.

• Passed law to establish Brownfield site cleanup program with one of the most protective cleanup standards in the country.

• Passed Toxic Crime Law to strengthen penalties for illegal dumping of toxic waste.

• Convinced state to investigate and accelerate cleanup of over 600 hazardous sites.

Protecting Public Health & Empowering Communities

• Organized successful conferences and networks, such as Healthy Environment, Healthy Economy and NYS Labor & Environment Network, bringing together industry, labor, environmental and community groups to work on pollution prevention initiatives.

• Assisted over 4,000 citizens in obtaining testing or cleanups of landfills, toxic sites, chemical plants and incinerators.

• Convinced state to establish Citizen Participation Programs to involve and inform people living near toxic dumps.

• Provided over 40,000 people with fact sheets, reports & information packets on a wide range of environmental issues.

• Educated over 6,000 students in an innovative Water Protection school program.

• Published over 40 reports and citizen manuals, including Building Green.

 For a more indepth list of our previous accomplishments please click here