Participatory Budgeting Results Are In!
On March 28th, twelve jurors found Tonawanda Coke Corporation and its environmental control manager Mark Kamholz guilty of violating the Clean Air Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
And together, in June, we made history when nearly 600 residents impacted by Tonawanda Coke cast a ballot for how to spend the settlement money.
This process is built off of the Participatory budgeting process. Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. PB was first developed in Brazil in the 1980s as part of a larger effort to establish democracy and citizen participation after decades of military dictatorship, political patronage and corruption. PB is now used throughout Latin America, a growing number of European Countries, New York City and Chicago. Learn more about PB here.
Here were the top results:
| Title | Description | Cost | Votes |
| Industrial Pollution Prevention Project | A project that will work with small to medium-sized manufacturers in the Tonawandas, Riverside, and Grand Island to reduce toxic chemical use, emissions, and waste, as well as improve the efficiency of energy, raw material, and water usage. | $250,000 | 260 |
| Community Environment Health Institute | The development of a long-standing community engaged environmental health institute targeted at research, training, prevention, and healthcare coordination to improve the health of WNY residents, especially those in areas affected by air pollution. | $15 million | 236 |
| Wickwire Park Redevelopment Project | The purchase and renovation of an approximately 40-acre site along the Niagara River for the purposes of providing waterfront access, historic re-use, job creation, and alternative energy generation. | $4 million | 217 |
| Tonawanda Area Environmental Health Study | A community-oriented study of environmental health in the Tonawanda region focusing on cancer incidences and air pollution exposure patterns. | $100,000 | 209 |
| Town of Tonawanda Tree Farms | The development of a new tree farm and model community garden in addition to the restocking of Old Town’s current tree farm and the eventual transplantation of trees throughout the Tonawanda area. | $150,000 | 209 |
Now it’s in the hands of the judge who will decide the company’s sentence. Up to $50 million could be spent here to fund these projects! We’ve sent the complete list of results to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. Together we have delivered a strong message that we want a healthier region and that we have great ideas on how to make that happen!
The Clean Air Coalition has led the charge against Tonawanda Coke – and the voting process. We could not have done this without our dedicated and courageous members. Who, with our staff, made over 3,000 get out the vote calls, sent over 2,000 pieces of mail, held a community assembly with over 100 residents, hosted 4 planning meetings, set up 12 voting locations and counted nearly 600 ballots.
Become a sustaining member of the Clean Air Coalition to help us keep going. With your generous membership gift of $25, $35 or $60 we can continue to be a force for environmental justice in our region.