A community first learned of a proposed incinerator from an outside activist, not officials

Evidence

Things changed in 1988, when Chem Waste proposed to build a toxic waste incinerator at the dump site. Residents in Kettleman City heard about this proposal not from Chem Waste, not from Kings County or state officials, but from a phone call from a Greenpeace organizer in San Francisco. Bradley Angel, Southwest campaigner for Greenpeace’s toxics campaign, had received a phone call from the Kings County sheriff one afternoon in January 1988, asking him whether Greenpeace planned to demonstrate at the hearing in Kettleman City that night. After finding out about the hearing, Angel called one of the few people he knew in Kettleman City at the time, Esperanza Maya, and said, “Espy, did you know that there’s a hearing tonight in your community about a toxic waste incinerator?” She said, “I haven’t heard a thing about it.” — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 57

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Public-notice laws can be technically satisfied while remaining invisible to affected communities — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 55; Communities learned of an existing dump only years later through news of its fines — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 56

Broader Connections

• Communities learned of an existing dump only years later through news of its fines #exemplifies (0.80) — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up, 56