Title
Calling on the Trump Administration to reverse the termination of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant awarded to the City of Philadelphia to support efforts to address flooding in Eastwick, a community that has been disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice and hardships.
Body
WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded one million dollars to Philadelphia through the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) grant that was intended to support of the City’s efforts to address flooding in Eastwick, a notoriously vulnerable Southwest Philadelphia community; and
WHEREAS, Eastwick is a community that has historically been disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice and hardships. In the 1950s, Eastwick was a target of Urban Renewal, wherein the City of Philadelphia’s Redevelopment Authority utilized eminent domain to seize properties and relocate 8,000 residents. An environmental assessment in 1970 determined the area was prone to adverse conditions like landfill pollution and major flood risks, and the development froze. The Urban Renewal developed on flood-mitigating marshland, exacerbating the flood risks for an already low-lying area; and
WHEREAS, In addition to Eastwick’s vulnerable geographic location and unjust development, the neighborhood borders the Clearview Landfill, which operated without a permit for twenty years, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Clearview landfill was used to dispose of commercial, municipal and industrial waste collected by the City of Philadelphia and Delaware County; and
WHEREAS, An investigation in 2011 by the EPA found contaminants that created unacceptable risks to human health in the groundwater, surface and subsurface soils, and fish in the creeks and waterways surrounding Eastwick. While the EPA is continuing the cleanup of this site, each flood holds the dangerous possibility of contamination of the local creeks and groundwater; and
WHEREAS, The residents and activists of Eastwick have long been at the forefront of the fight for protection for their community, tirelessly organizing and advocating to address the impacts of toxic pollution, poor urban planning, and the intensifying effects of climate change; and
WHEREAS, Through EJG2G grant the Office of Sustainability planned to strengthen partnerships through capacity building, co-develop a flood resilience strategy by shifting decision making power to Eastwick residents, and sustain this transformation by ensuring long-term funding for partner organization, Eastwick United; and
WHEREAS, The purpose of the grant was to address environmental injustice, a perfect match for Eastwood, given disproportionate effects of flooding in the region. As climate change increases extreme weather events and causes the sea level to rise, Eastwick is even more impacted. In 2020, Tropical Storm Isaias spewed several feet of water into Eastwick’s residential streets, leaving individuals without homes, electricity or running water. Eastwick will continue to be devastated by flooding events; and
WHEREAS, Since January there have been significant ramifications for the Trump administration’s insistence to defund environmental justice efforts at the EPA. The EPA has cancelled a multitude of other environmental justice grants in the Philadelphia region, including $500,000 to the Clean Air Council, $500,000 awarded to Hunting Park nonprofit Esperanza, and $700,000 to the Overbrook Environmental Education Center, with more expected; and
WHEREAS, It is imperative that we continue efforts to protect Eastwick, as the continual effects of climate change will cause this community to be impacted by future sea level rises, increased precipitations, and higher chances of extreme storms due to higher temperatures; and
WHEREAS, Without the financial support from the EPA grant, Eastwick’s community-led flood resilience strategies, including efforts to empower residents and build long-term partnerships through organizations like Eastwick United, will be significantly delayed or compromised, resulting in a lost opportunity to address the critical environmental challenges facing the neighborhood; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby call on the Trump Administration to reverse the termination of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant awarded to the City of Philadelphia to support efforts to address flooding in Eastwick, a community that has been disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice and hardships.
End