Just Transition Assemblies Wrap Up + Next Steps
After the release of the recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) regarding the future of the Huntley Coal Plant in the Town of Tonawanda, Clean Air held a series of community assemblies in the city and town of Tonawanda, Grand Island, and Riverside to vision a “just” transition away from the plant.
The idea of a “just” transition was first promoted by Tony Mazzocchi, the founder of the workplace health and safety movement, and suggests that when plants dangerous to our health and the environment retire, there should be resources invested in making sure working men and women and local communities can not only survive, but prosper. And so, at these Just Transition Assemblies throughout the month of March, nearly 100 impacted residents, workers, and climate change activists came together to vision a resilient future for our region if the NRG Huntley coal plant were to retire.
Participants were asked to consider several questions—who do we need to take care of, how can we take care of them, and in a perfect world, what would we do with the land Huntley currently sits on. The number one concern at all four assemblies was the impact on the Huntley workers and their families. Some of the ideas generated for how to take care of them included job retraining, severance packets, and lateral transfers. Other concerns included the impact on the school district and on town and county services. Participants argued that in order to ensure the success of the region, the burden couldn’t fall on the taxpayers of Tonawanda and Erie County. Possible sources of revenue included federal or state government aid, funding from other sources such as NYPA or RGGI, and making sure NRG (Huntley’s parent company) was held accountable in the process. When asked to vision a limitless future for the Huntley space, participants generated hundreds of ideas for economic development, renewable energy, job creation and reconnecting with our waterfront—everything from turning Huntley into a nature preserve to creating an amusement park off the existing Huntley infrastructure.
The next step is our Just Transition delegate meeting which is tomorrow, Thursday, March 27th, at 6PM at the American Legion-Brounshidle Post #2!
One thing that was clear after the assemblies was that there were still many questions left unanswered. How contaminated is the site? If the plant shuts down, who is responsible for the space and cleanup? What is NRG’s response to the report? Are there other options besides shutting down the plant?
It was clear that the community wanted answers and we needed experts to answer them. And so as a follow-up to these assemblies, we will be holding a Just Transition Conference on Saturday, June 7th, at the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) WNY office located at 270 Essjay Road, Williamsville NY 14221. Panels and workshops will be led by leaders from communities who are facing similar challenges, labor leaders, new economy visionaries, brownfield redevelopment experts, and other local community leaders.
Please help us make this conference a reality and 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.
– Melanie Prasad
NOI Climate Fellow
Tags: Delegate, Huntley, Just Transition