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New environmental justice organization to target waste in New England

John Dillon
/
VPR
PFAS chemicals were detected in Lake Memphremagog in fall 2020, setting off alarm bells on both the Vermont and Canadian shores of the lake.

A new environmental justice organization called Slingshot hopes to focus on waste policy in Vermont.

The organization is supported by the Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Public Interest Research Group and farmworker advocacy organization Migrant Justice.

The name Slingshot is meant to represent scrapiness, according to Hayley Jones, the group's Vermont and New Hampshire state director.

"It's about movement, going against the status quo in a lot of ways,” they said. “And it's also about resourcefulness. You know, a slingshot is not a complicated tool. It's made from very simple things, but it's put together in such a way that can really make change.”

More from Vermont Public: Reporter Debrief: State Starts PFAS Testing In Lake Memphremagog

Jones said Slingshot will focus on PFAS contamination in Lake Memphremagog, which is tied to runoff Vermont’s only landfill, the Coventry Casella waste management facility, which sits right above the lake.

PFAS, or so-called "forever chemicals" are toxic, man made substances that are believed to linger indefinitely in the environment, with the potential to cause serious health problems, including cancer.

Jones said Slingshot hopes to work with front line communities.

“There are big pockets of working class communities; they tend to get dumped on, quite literally,” Jones said.

More from Vermont Public: Is Lake Memphremagog 'In Crisis'? 3,700 Petitioners Say Yes. A Watershed Nonprofit Disagrees

Jones said the group will also advocate for waste management plans that benefit the community, and making sure people have a say over these decisions.

This story is a collaboration between Vermont Public and the Community News Service. The Community News Service is a student-powered partnership between the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program and community newspapers across Vermont.

Willa Yonkman is a junior at the University of Vermont.
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