Thread by @NeilWaggoner

As Trump actively works to harm the USPS and the right of all Americans to express their voice this November, I’m reminded of another time I came face-to-face with how communities are hurt by government inaction and lack of access to the post #SaveUSPS #SaveThePostOffice

https://twitter.com/SierraClub/status/1295012707289239552

Back in 2014, I was still a new-ish organizer with @SierraClub’s @OhioBeyondCoal team. The legal folks on our team alerted us that AEP, then owner of the Gavin coal plant, had filed with Ohio EPA (OEPA) to update Gavin’s water permit.

Gavin is one of the country's largest and most notorious coal plants. After years of poisoning the local community, AEP spent $20 million to buy out the village of Cheshire. The village de-imcoporated and AEP demolished the buildings of those who left
theatlantic.com/business/archi…

Not everyone left, however, and there was still a small community in place still living with the massive amount of pollution that comes from the Gavin plant every single day.

So, AEP filed to update the the water permit for Gavin t along with the massive coal ash ponds and piles for the plant. These sites are are astoundingly toxic. We objected to the permit and argued OEPA had not considered important safeguards

A public hearing was scheduled for Feb 2014. I worked with our legal team on some comments outlining our position and headed down to Cheshire. The hearing was in the former village school/hall and was PACKED with several dozen people that lived locally and they were NOT happy.

Everyone in the room was angry at the lack of community outreach about the hearing taking place, not feeling fully informed on exactly what AEP was asking for, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, that they were not given adequate time or ability to respond and offer input about their concerns

OEPA scheduled the hearing for 2/6/14. For many there, earlier that day was the first time hearing about the permit which included provisions to increase the size of the coal ash piles. What’s more, comments had to be postmarked by 2/7, the next day

There was a lot of anger about the timing of the hearing and the deadline. Residents noted with frustration Cheshire is a tiny rural community and the mail didn’t pick up every day. Even if they sent a letter. USPS might not collect in time.

I asked OEPA about the scheduling of the hearing and a staffer responded timing was due to "scheduling issues to get everyone in the room." All the residents guffawed at this and stated their disbelief, LOUDLY.

Residents testified, as did I, but there was a definite feel of inevitability in the room. It had been set up to fail. By design, the community’s ability to learn about and respond to the request impacting their health and environment was cut short

Driving home that night, I was angry. Today, I’m still angry. Not just about the permit eventually being accepted but the fact the community was cut out of the process because of lack of access and actions of the regulators themselves enabling that

Now, as we head towards an election where millions of Americans are worried about making sure their ballots are delivered and counted, I’m thinking about Cheshire and that hearing a lot and how something similar could happen again on a national scale

This November, Americans must be able to make their voices heard in a safe, secure, and accountable manner. The USPS ensures this every election. They will do it again this year as long as the US Government provides the resources and doesn't harm the process

What happened in Cheshire was a disgrace. It wasn’t the fault of a rural community or USPS’s fault for limited staff and collection in that area. It was the Ohio government’s fault for not accounting for those realities and developing a plan

So, with that in mind, we must save the USPS, we must make sure all Americans have their voices hear, and we must hold those who seek to limit our voices to account.
November is coming and we all have a part to play. #SaveUSPS #SaveThePostOffice

Thanks for reading. If you want to know more about the history of Cheshire and the Gavin plant, check out @Evephotographer’s documentary “Cheshire, OH.” Eve was there for the hearing I talked about and it’s featured in the second half of the film

You can also take action here and join others in the call to save the post office

addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/prot…