Editor’s Note: As the effort of corporations to privatize our water causes prices to rise even higher and water quality to further decline in many cases, people throughout the country are standing up to corporate power. People are coming together, demanding that government, local, state and federal, protect their right to clean and affordable water as a human right. Below are a recent stories published in the People’s Tribune about this fight
Toxic Justice System Bypasses Flint Residents —Again
Flint Water Disaster: Defendants’ Charges Dropped
Community voices react to the third time criminal charges have been dropped against seven defendants in the Flint water disaster. Charges were first dropped in 2019 by newly elected Attorney General Dana Nessel, claiming that former Special Prosecutor Todd Flood had “botched’ the case. In June, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the State could not use a one-man Grand Jury to indict the accused. Charges dismissed. This month the case was returned to Genesee County Circuit Court where Judge Elizabeth Kelly threw out the charges based on the higher court ruling.The community is angry but not surprised at what feels like Groundhog Day as it relates to injustice for Flint. Read the full story to hear the voices of Flint: https://peoplestribune.org/2022/10/toxic-justice-system-bypasses-flint-residents-gain/
Poor People’s Campaign: Jackson Mississippi Fights For Water
Free the land, clean the water, and keep it public!
https://peoplestribune.org/2022/10/poor-peoples-campaign-jackson-mississippi-fights-for-water/
The fight for clean water as a public good is gathering strength across the nation. Click on the link below to hear some young voices from a Jackson, MS, Poor People’s Campaign event. Jackson has been suffering from government neglect of basic services like water, and privatization of the water is well underway. Naomi LaChance reported in The Lever that corporate greed played a major role in creating the crisis in the first place, and now there is a push to privatize the water system, despite the fact that parts of the systems already run privately are quite literally in ruins. Hear all of the speakers at the Poor People’s Campaign event in the video at https://bit.ly/JacksonPPC/
Benton Harbor, MI Lead Pipes are Replaced!
After a long struggle, 97% of the lead pipes in the small, majority African American town of Benton Harbor, MI, have been replaced. As Dorothy Pinkney of Benton Harbor writes: “Congratulations to Rev. Pinkney and the Benton Harbor Community Water Council. 97% of the lead pipes have been replaced. I know first-hand how much hell the Governor’s office gave you, but you stood tall. The elected officials had no idea what to do. The Benton Harbor Community Water Council took the lead and make it happen. They even sent two state police officers to intimidate Rev. Pinkney. He stood tall. Congratulations.”
Defend Clean Water Act
Clean Water Action President Robert Wendelgass (center) speaks at the Protect Our Waters Rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C., on October 3 on the first day of the Court’s new term. Justices heard arguments in the Sackett v. U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency case. At issue is which waters will or will not be protected by the Clean Water Act. Ensuring that streams, wetlands, and other water bodies are protected has been a priority campaign for Clean Water Action for over 20 years. You can hear Robert Wendelgass at: youtube.com/watch?v=jKml-hV7Q84)
