Sierra Blanca Texas: Between 1992 and 2001, served as NYC's sewage plant.

[Bluenorthwest]

Between 1992 and 2001, as many as 45 train cars per day brought sewage sludge from New York City to this 129,000 acre West Texas property, where it was spread out on the ground like peanut butter. The waste site was a former resort called the Mile High Ranch, and was owned by a Long Island New York company, Merco Joint Venture. The contract with New York City was terminated in June of 2001 (two of the company's owners were found guilty of bribing New York mafia bosses in the hope of influencing union officials), and the sludge ranch - one of the largest in the world - now sits idle. Merco filed for bankruptcy in 2002, resulting in the state of Texas purchasing the site from them.
http://clui.org/ludb/site/sierra-blanca-sludge-ranch

It is hard to imagine places more different than New York and Sierra Blanca, and the contrast has always underscored the mercenary marriage between the nation's largest city and the small town where it has dumped its sewage since 1992. That year, after Congress had prohibited the city from dumping its sludge in the Atlantic Ocean, New York signed contracts with several companies to treat and transport its sewage. One of them was a Long Island joint venture, which began shipping up to 250 tons every day on the 2,065-mile journey to West Texas. The Texas Observer, the political journal, recently called it ''the poo-poo choo-choo.''

http://archive.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_6379497%22/


I just see many people on DU posting as if they knew about the place and cared about the people there which make no mention of the ongoing history of using the place as NYC's sewage plant.....which is odd to me. Also they keep trying to restart the practice so those who do care about the people there might want to pay attention to events in this decade just a bit.
2008:
http://archive.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_6379497%22/

It's not really nice to use an ongoing community injustice as a half way reported tool of agenda without giving that community's story in full. That's what I think.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/27/us/new-york-s-sewage-was-a-texas-town-s-gold.html

[HereSince1628]

1. Back when Milwaukee was run by socialists they made that stuff profitable

rather than putting it in landfills... because it's a law of nature that shit's gotta go somewhere.

Since 1926 it's been beautifying lawns and landscapes using non-burning organic nitrogen. It just takes a name change and good marketing...notice the sludge will bring you a green lawn, happy children, and the good life of upper middleclass home...

[Catherina]

2. That Nuclear Dump project was planned and approved by Gov. Ann Richards (D)

Last edited Tue Nov 3, 2015, 04:11 PM - Edit history (1)

for the states of Maine, Vermont, and Texas and then approved by the US Congress a year later, in 1994.

It was signed into law by none other than Bill Clinton.

More reading here: President Clinton Pulls the Trigger on Minority Community Okays Sending Radioactive Waste to Texas Border Town

Yeah it sucks but it part of a much larger issue no one ever addresses here. It's not like Bernie Sanders just picked that place out of a hat.

The US has a habit of illegally dumping its toxic trash in poor countries of really Black people like Haiti and no one complains, except the poor natives as in the case of the Khian Sea that illegally dumped 4,000 tons of Philadelphia's toxic waste in Haiti, include radioactive & contaminated hospital waste, and another 10,000 in the ocean.

Keep it in the US thank you.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. And the sewage dumping was arranged by NY politicians and carried out for 11 years.

But of course when NYC sent their shit that was a great gift because it was not from Vermont and it was not Bernie's.

[Catherina]

4. That was *different* lol n/t

[riderinthestorm]

5. K&R

SMH at the faux outrage over something that never happened versus this very real episode.

[Sheepshank]

6. Studies from a Law School, make it relevent

http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/texans-defend-sierra-blanca-community-against-nuclear-waste-disposal-1996-1998

It was a very big deal. A lot of activism went into the final failure of that project's launch. A lot of people speaking out, sitting in, protesting, signing petitions and going on hunger strikes.

Bernie was on record for voting for, lobbying for, promoting and herding the bill through, and making a moral deternmination for this site. No it wasn't a non issue...just as those opposing TPP (even though it looks like it's failed) don't consider that a non issue.

[Catherina]

7. Related thread about the sliminess of this faux outrage

Clinton Pulls the Trigger on Minority Community, Okays Sending Radioactive Waste to Texas

[progressoid]

8. Interesting.