=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #53
—November 30, 1987—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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SCIENCE AND POLITICS COMBINE TO DEFEAT A MAJOR LANDFILL SCHEME
Dumpbusters, the citizens group in Spencerville, OH (see RHWN #51), fighting a huge solid waste
landfill proposed by Waste Management, Inc., has won a total victory. Waste Management withdrew its
application November 16 because they had been given a choice by authorities: withdraw your application
or have it formally denied.
Pump tests run on test wells during July had shown an underground hydraulic connection (water flow)
between the proposed dump site and the town’s municipal drinking water wells. Sally Teets, leader of the
Dumpbusters, says she’s convinced that the groundwater data were only influential with the authorities
because Dumpbusters hired their own hydrologist to interpret the data and raised a political ruckus the
likes of which Spencerville had never seen before. “They collected the data in July,” she says. “They could
have, and should have, turned down the application then. But they didn’t act until we put tremendous
pressure on them.” THE LESSON? YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE SCIENCE ON YOUR SIDE, WHICH IS
TO SAY YOU MUST BE TECHNICALLY CORRECT IN YOUR ARGUMENTS. BUT BEING RIGHT
ISN’T ENOUGH: IT’S LOCAL POLITICAL ORGANIZING THAT WINS THE DAY.
Dumpbusters celebrated their victory for a week, literally dancing in the streets. David slew Goliath, and it
was good.
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: citizen groups; landfilling; spencerville; oh; dumpbusters; groundwater;