Septa's powerplant is built in a poor, community of color. Part of institutional racism, the plant has contributed to adverse health effects of the residents who live there. Residents have demonstrated countless times to protest the presence of the polluting plant, but to little avail. Septa added air monitoring and was ready to sue the city to give them operating permits. EPA's real power to reduce the emissions would be to take away power from permitting process. Residents in Nicetown says they want to see reform in how permits are given out, pushing for a process that looks at a community wholistically. Philadelphia has high rates of respiratory illnesses that are correlated to the amount of plants and factories that used to or that continue to operate in the city. A call for reform here is also a call for energy rights.
Susan Phillips, "EPA takes up environmental justice complaint against Philly’s permit for SEPTA power plant in Nicetown", contributed by Briana Leone and Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 16 August 2021, accessed 26 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/epa-takes-environmental-justice-complaint-against-philly’s-permit-septa-power-plant-nicetown
Critical Commentary
Septa's powerplant is built in a poor, community of color. Part of institutional racism, the plant has contributed to adverse health effects of the residents who live there. Residents have demonstrated countless times to protest the presence of the polluting plant, but to little avail. Septa added air monitoring and was ready to sue the city to give them operating permits. EPA's real power to reduce the emissions would be to take away power from permitting process. Residents in Nicetown says they want to see reform in how permits are given out, pushing for a process that looks at a community wholistically. Philadelphia has high rates of respiratory illnesses that are correlated to the amount of plants and factories that used to or that continue to operate in the city. A call for reform here is also a call for energy rights.