Landfill Issues in Escambia County, Florida:

Exposing an Environmental Injustice Affecting

The Living Conditions of Disenfranchised Communities

A Thesis

Presented to the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

And

The Kugelman Honors Program

Of

The University of West Florida

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation as a Kugelman Honors Scholar

Connor D. Wagner

April 8th, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE...…………………………………….........…i

HISTORY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT…………….…….iii

CASES OF DIRECT ACTION IN NORTHERN FLORIDA………….…………….....x

THE WEDGEWOOD COMMUNITY AND ROLLING HILLS LANDFILL………...xii

THE BIRTH OF JUSTICE ESCAMBIA……..……………………………………....…xiv

A TOXIC NIGHTMARE………………………………...……………………………..xv

THE VIOLATIONS PILE UP...………………………………………………………..xviii

WILL THIS TOXIC NIGHTMARE EVER END?................................................................ .xx

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………....….xxiv

Abstract

Mainstream environmentalism has noticed a remarkable transition from wilderness

preservation and conservation to achieving wide scale environmental justice. Historically,

environmental protection came from white, middle-class males participating in nationally accredited

organizations including the Sierra Club, National Resource Defense Council, and Oceana. A shift to

women and people of color working within their local communities to address environmental issues

plaguing their communities is taking place. The shift came from inspiring individuals such as Rachel

Carson, Robert Bullard, and Lois Gibbs, to name a few, in the United States and the world who

showed us that the environment is more than just pristine forests. The environment is everywhere

that people work, live, and play.

Action in the Environmental Justice Movement comes in the shape of direct action

strategies led by local grassroots organizations and individuals. This includes protesting and

lobbying to local politicians in order to spread awareness and demand action on certain

environmental issues impacting their lives. The work in environmental justice is almost always a

long struggle and varies in impact. Many grassroots organizations have been successful utilizing

these actions, including “Help Our Polluted Environment” (HOPE) in Perry, Florida. The case in

point is the organization Communities United for Environmental Justice ( cueJustice or Justice

Escambia) founded to protect the health of people in the Wedgewood community from improperly

managed landfills that now surround their communities. Landfills in the area cause increased

hydrogen sulfide pollution, water pollution, and increased levels of heavy metals in the soil. I will be

addressing the impact of cueJustice on combating the landfills harming their community.

i

What is Environmental Justice?

The system the United States currently has in place for environmental protection stratifies

people based on race, income, and location. The dominating attitude towards modern

environmental protection advocates unequal enforcement of protection by exposing disenfranchised

communities to hazardous substances (Bryant, 1995). The system in place typically forces the

victims of the pollution to prove there is a problem before ever blaming the industries actually

responsible. Profit generated by these polluting industries takes priority over the health of the

people (Bullard, 1994). People of color take the blunt force of our current environmental protection

paradigm. African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans often experience environmental

hazards throughout their lives (Bryant, 1995). They receive little to no access to health care or any

other protective measurements to deal with these troubling conditions (Cole & Foster, 2001).

The rise of environmental justice in the United States and the improvement of media

communication has led to people becoming more aware of the issues with our current system of

environmental protection (Bryant, 1995; Dowie, 1995). With awareness comes action; grassroots

organizations around the country have risen to fight for environmental protection in their own

communities. Environmental justice is the right of all individuals, regardless of race or wealth, to be

equally protected from environmental degradation in their communities (Bullard, 1994).

Environmental justice also includes social equity and an end to discrimination (Bryant, 1995). The

field of environmental justice is divided into three different types of justice : Distributional,

procedural, and process justice. Distributional justice focuses on the actual placement of

environmental benefits as well as burdens including landfills by the government and polluting

industries (Hoban, 1996). The current environmental protection paradigm, instead of focusing on

pollution prevention, distributes hazardous substances to disenfranchised communities with little

ii

voice to object to the injustices (ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, 2015). Distributional justice is

the primary focus for many local grassroots organizations. Procedural Justice refers to equal

environmental protection provided by policymakers and political enforcers. This includes the

process of cleaning up environmental hazards or moving entire communities out of dangerous areas.

Finally, process justice focuses on the equal access to information and citizen involvement in our

democratic society (ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, 2015).

Mainstream environmentalism was almost entirely, if not obsessively, focused on wilderness

preservation and conservation (Dowie, 1995). Environmentalists within the modern movement

typically join nationally accredited organizations such as Sierra Club and National Resource Defense

Council (NRDC). Traditional activists are white, middle-class males with an above-average

education, personal power, and resources available to them (Bullard, 1993). Environmental justice

defines the environment in much broader terms. The environment is not just the forests we

preserve but the communities where people live, work, and play (Schweizer, 1999). Environmental

justice organizations are born on a local level in response to particular issues within a community.

These grassroots organizations are led by both women and people of color with varying levels of

income (Bullard, 1994). Environmental justice activists engage local, state and federal government

through protests, petitions, lobbying, demonstrations, and educational debates in order to have their

voice heard (Heiman, 1996b). The goal of most justice organizations is to restore participatory

democracy to the U.S. system of environmental protection (Cole & Foster, 2001).

Unfortunately, it is often the case that the government will not simply help disenfranchised

communities deal with the unfair distribution of hazardous substances in their homes, when the

government benefits from their placement in those communities (Bullard, 1993). It makes the

problem of disposing of hazardous waste in the U.S. based on race one of the most pressing

iii

concerns of the environmental justice movement (Cole & Foster, 2001). In response, minorities

have come to redefine modern environmentalism in the United States. Community health and

human rights have grown to become an integral part of modern environmentalism almost to the

point where activists do not consider themselves environmentalists (Dowie, 1995). Disenfranchised

people are speaking out, and are working to make changes in their communities through grassroots

organizations (Camacho, 1998).

History of the Environmental Justice Movement

It is difficult to pinpoint an exact beginning to the environmental justice movement. The

idea of environmental justice grew from multiple events occurring all at once, creating an

enlightenment to the issue at hand (Cole & Foster, 2001). Environmental justice started to emerge

in the 1950s, however much of it went unnoticed before the first Earth Day of April 22nd, 1970

(Bullard, 1994). The field of human welfare ecology began shortly after World War II, for the first

time considering human and environmental health as one in the same. (Bullard, 1993). The

imbalance between human and environmental health first became apparent in Rachel Carson’s book

Silent Spring (Carson, 1962; Dowie, 1995).

Marine biologist, conservationist, and writer Rachel Carson published her book Silent Spring

in June 1962 to reveal the negative impacts of DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichbro-ethane (Carson,

1962). DDT was a very popular and effective insecticide recommended by agricultural companies.

DDT in its pesticide form can pollute local waterways and soil deposits (Bullard, 1994). From there

the poison makes it inside the bodies of humans and animals. DDT is a fat-soluble poison stored in

the body for years, causing cancer and genetic damage for generations (Carson, 1962). Carson

received severe backlash from pesticide companies and agricultural experts. However, her careful

preparation and research saved her reputation (Carson, 1962). Silent Spring inspired people to do

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something to protect their communities from environmental damage. Rachel Carson was the first

person to officially coin the term “environmentalist” in modern language (Carson, 1962; Dowie,

1995).

Many environmental justice scholars, such as Robert Bullard, believe that the environmental

justice movement officially began during the Civil Rights Movement with a riot at The Texas

Southern University in Houston in 1967 because of the death of an eight-year-old African American

girl who drowned in a local garbage dump. Martin Luther King, Jr. was originally traveling to

Houston to speak on the environmental hazards facing African American communities before he

was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Shortly after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many of

those civil rights activists shifted their attention to protecting minority communities from

environmental exploitation (Bullard, 1994). Civil Rights leaders had a history of performing direct

action1 to fight for what they believed in. People involved in the Civil Rights Movement

immediately recognized distributional injustices as a racial issue not solely an environmental one.

Civil Rights participants also had experience in the political fields that was useful for many people

who were unfamiliar with the political process (Cole & Foster, 2001).

Before the environmental justice movement, there were two separate movements that would

eventually unite to form the concept of environmental justice: The Grassroots Anti-Toxic

Movement and the Multiracial Environmental Movement both started in the late 1970s (Gibbs,

1998). The Anti-Toxic Movement consisted of mostly white mothers in poor socioeconomic

conditions with little education and activist experience. Anti-Toxic organizations grew from

communities becoming more aware of the dangers of chemicals such as DDT in pesticides and

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) traced in electrical equipment (Cole & Foster, 2001). Members of

1 Direct action is used by groups in social movements to highlight a problem that goes against their ideals. Direct action

is typically non-violent and includes sit-ins, strikes, blockades, picketing, and rallying (Heiman, 1996b).

v

the Anti-Toxic Movement were more focused on procedural justice and the economic analyses of

regulating hazardous chemicals (ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, 2015). They proposed new

innovated techniques and clean-up strategies (Bullard, 1994). One of the most impacting examples

of the Anti-Toxic Movement was the Love Canal crisis in Niagara Falls, New York.

The Love Canal Homeowners Association (LCHA), led by Lois Gibbs, became one of the

most successful, single issue organizations of its time. Before becoming a suburban community,

Love Canal was a hazardous waste site. In 1953, Love Canal was filled in and construction began

directly on top of site. Love Canal contained dangerous amounts of carcinogens including benzene,

and dioxin. Miscarriages, birth defects, high cancer rates, and weakened immune systems became

the norm for the community (Gibbs, 1998). Children often complained about their feet burning in

their yards. Outside cats and dogs were reported losing their fur (Dowie, 1995). Lois Gibbs became

aware of these problems and started LCHA in 1978 against the Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

After a long struggle, Love Canal became the first official superfund2 site in the United States and

President James (Jimmy) Carter declared a state of emergency in the area. All families were

evacuated from Love Canal by 1981 and eventually reimbursed for their households. It was one of

the first successes of any grassroots environmental organization. It showed the world how local

people can come together and gain power (Gibbs, 1998). Although Love Canal became the first

superfund site, it was certainly not the last; in 1980 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

announced that approximately 30,000 superfund sites like Love Canal existed around the country

where waste was improperly disposed of (Bullard, 1993). It was discussed later in 1982 by Lois

Gibbs and William Sanjour, branch chief of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Hazardous

2 Superfund sites are contaminated locations that require long-term removal of hazardous pollutants and restoration to

be deemed safe again. The EPA has been assigned the task of identifying these locations (Gibbs, 1998).

vi

Wastes Management Division that all of these waste sites will eventually leak (Bullard, 1994). The

results of the Love Canal crisis sparked grassroots organizations around the nation to rise up.

The Multiracial Environmental Movement rose directly from the Civil Rights Movement and

focused its attention on racism and discrimination (Bullard, 1993). The movement began with

increased research in order to prove a connection between race and environmental harm. The

United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice conducted the first study to determine the

relationship between hazardous waste sites and colored communities after being established in 1963

(Camacho, 1998). Robert Bullard, heralded as the father of environmental justice, discovered a

disproportionate level of waste facilities in minority communities in Houston (Cole & Foster, 2001).

In 1979, Bullard assisted his wife in a class action lawsuit against Northwood Manor and the unfair

placement of a municipal landfill (Bullard, 1994). Bullard reported that waste facilities and

incinerators have been in black communities in Houston since the 1920s (Cole & Foster, 2001).

The 1982 Warren County, North Carolina, protest revealed the severity of unfair landfill

distribution in disenfranchised, minority communities. Warren County, one of the poorest and

ethnically diverse counties in North Carolina, was a burial site for over 30,000 cubic yards of soil

contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) (Bullard, 1994). In addition, oil laced with PCB

was purposely poured onto roadways in Warren County in order to avoid paying for its disposal

(Cole & Foster, 2001). In 1982, a massive group of protestors came together to oppose the

dumping of six thousand truckloads of PCB-soil into a local landfill. The authorities arrested over

500 people, and the soil was still disposed of in Warren County (Bryant, 1995; Camacho, 1998). It

was the first time people ever went to prison opposing a toxic waste landfill (Bullard, 1994).

Founder of the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice Reverend Chavis

coined the term “environmental racism” in his 1987 report Toxic Wastes and Race in the United

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States (Bullard, 1994). It brought to light the realization that the government and polluting

industries deliberately sacrificed the health and environment of colored communities (Bryant, 1995).

Local grassroots organizations began establishing in disenfranchised communities to literally save

themselves from environmental contamination. The Multiracial Movement gave people of color

the courage to lead themselves and speak out against those in power (Bullard, 1993).

Environmental Justice in the 1990s began to receive national and global recognition through

a number of noteworthy events emphasizing the need to end discrimination in order to create a

sustainable world (Bryant, 1995; Dowie, 1995). Robert Bullard finished his book Dumping in Dixie

in 1990 and was considered the first textbook on environmental justice (Bryant, 1995; Bullard,

1994). From October 24th to 27th, 1991 in Washington, D.C. 300 people of color from around the

nation met at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit. It is here they

created the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice (The Principles, 1991). The principles officially

defined environmental justice to the rest of the world. For instance, the second principle:

“Demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any

form of discrimination or bias, (The Principles, 1991)” states that discrimination does still exist,

despite wanting to believe it ended with the Civil Rights Movement. In addition, according to

principle four:

“Environmental Justice: calls for universal protection from nuclear testing, extraction,

production, and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes and poisons and nuclear testing that

threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water and food (The Principles, 1991).”

The summit officially declares what environmental justice advocates have been studying for decades;

that the government and polluting industries intentionally dispose of hazardous waste in

communities of color (Bullard, 1994; Cole & Foster, 2001).

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The First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit gave birth to the

modern understanding of environmental justice. On February 11 th, 1994, President Bill Clinton

issued Executive Order 12898 addressing environmental justice in minority populations and low-

income areas (Dowie, 1995). Clinton proposed the development of an interagency working group

on environmental justice to help implement strategies within all federal agencies to uphold

environmental equity (Clinton, 1994; Bryant, 1995). These federal agencies would also be

responsible for collecting, researching, and analyzing environmental data as it relates to race, origin,

and income (Clinton, 1994; Bryant, 1995). Perhaps the most important statement is Section 5-5

which allows for total transparency of information and process justice for the public. People must

be allowed to give recommendations for environmental justice programs, and all information should

by readily available to whoever is interested (Clinton, 1994; Bryant, 1995). While the goal of this

Executive Order has not been entirely achieved and often ignored, it does reflect a general trend in

recognizing that there is a lack of environmental justice in the United States. Direct action became

the goal for change.

At the start of the 21st century, the Global Earth Charter was created with the goal to

develop a sustainable, global society for the new century. On June 29, 2000 the Earth Charter was

released at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands to peace delegates from around the world

(The Earth Charter, 2000). The Earth Charter is relevant in that it promotes many of the principles

of environmental justice that had been developing since the early 1960s (Dowie, 1995; The Earth

Charter, 2000). It includes the plan to eliminate environmental discrimination based on race as well

as to provide process justice to all types of people. Part Three of the Earth Charter, Economic and

Social Justice, demands for environmental justice to be achieved around the world within the 21 st

century (The Principles, 1991; The Earth Charter, 2000). This is the first instance of environmental

justice being recognized on a global scale.

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The environmental justice movement has improved the lives of people of color and low

socioeconomic positions since the first Earth Day of 1970 (Bullard, 1993). Support for national

environmental organizations had been declining since the 1980s as people began settling their own

community’s environmental problems in different ways (Dowie, 1995). Environmental justice

activists have halted the construction of hundreds of incinerators, and thousands of landfills have

been closed or prevented (Gibbs, 1998). Despite these successes, there is still much that needs to be

done. White communities are continuously cleaned up at least 20% sooner than minority

communities. In addition, penalties for polluting a white community are typically 500% more severe

than poisoning disenfranchised areas (Cole & Foster, 2001). Many environmental justice activists

mistrust the government and accuse the government and polluting industries of environmental

racism (Bullard, 1994). It is often difficult for disenfranchised communities to address these

environmental injustices when there are other social woes to deal with such as low paying jobs, poor

education, lack of health care, transportation, and poverty (Bullard, 1993). Many times the

government likes to consider environmental problems such as landfill pollution as separate from

these other social issues. However, in reality, environmental justice is a holistic science

interconnected with social justice (Cole & Foster, 2001).

Even today the government and polluting industries refute that environmental racism exists.

People claim that what environmental activists see as racism is simple economics and market

efficiency (Heiman, 1996a). The government sometimes argues that people can move whenever

they want, and the victims of environmental pollution are willingly remaining in these areas

(Camacho, 1998). In actuality, the wealthy who can afford to move will leave a community once

dissatisfied with landfills and hazardous waste. Landfills decrease the value of land in the area, and

the value of homes soon follow. Eventually, the houses are worth less than their original marking

price and people can no longer sell their homes to abandon the community (Cole & Foster, 2001).

x

In addition, many polluting companies victimize disenfranchised community members with

economic blackmail. Workers are forced to decide between being unemployed and unable to

provide for their families, and putting the health of themselves and their family at severe risk

(Bryant, 1995).

Cases of Direct Action in Northern Florida

Grassroots organizations today work to expose and combat environmental injustices

occurring throughout the United States. Often times these organizations were created in the late

20th to early 21st century with the improvement of mass communication to unite people against

unfair environmental treatment that began decades earlier (Dowie, 1995). This is such the case with

the organization Help Our Polluted Environment (HOPE) established by Joy Towels Ezell in her

community of Perry, FL (Ezell, 2016). In 1954 the Proctor & Gamble pulp plant in Perry spilled

industrial sewage into the adjacent Fenholloway River. The Fenholloway has maintained a brownish

sewage color and been the site of numerous mass fish killings since then (Averhart, 2015). Joy Ezell

recognized the atrocious condition of the river at an early age and decided to do something about it.

She was originally disliked for combating a major employer in the community, sometimes being

called out as a “radical liberal environmental terrorist” (Ezell, 2016). People began understanding

her concerns when dioxins were discovered in the river in the early 1980s, and in 1986 traces of

Agent Orange3 were measured in the Fenholloway (Averhart, 2015). HOPE was officially

established in 1989 with the help of at least 30 concerned community members to stop water

pollution by trying to find those who could help them (Ezell, 2016).

3 Agent Orange is a powerful herbicide utilized by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War to destroy crops and trees

(Averhart, 2015)

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At the highlight of activity HOPE used postage cards, podcasts, and community meetings to

rally and relay information to over 60 members. Eventually, HOPE transitioned into email and

Social Media to reach a broader audience (Ezell, 2016). HOPE put serious pressure on government

officials to clean up the Fenholloway River, and they had many successes despite the river still

containing pollutants. The people and the state are more aware of the problem, and Ezell believes

that this will cause positive changes (Ezell, 2016). Joy Ezell has lent her voice to grassroots

organizations in Escambia County located in Pensacola, FL in order to face the impact of big

companies improperly placing and managing landfills in disenfranchised communities.

Pensacola, Florida has numerous landfills and superfund sites dotting the area. Many of

these landfills are unlined, meaning it is possible for hazardous pollutants to seep into local sources

of water and soil (Rabb, 2015a). In addition, cleanup of toxic sites statistically begins 12-42% later

in Pensacola in minority communities than white sites (Heiman, 1996b). The Escambia Wood

Trading Company in Escambia County is an example of one of those such superfund sites. The

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) excavated soil from the Escambia Wood Trading

Company, dating back to the mid-20th century, in 1991. The EPA dug up over 344,250 tons of soil

without recognizing the harmful volumes of dioxin within the ground (CATE, 2013). In addition,

the EPA soon estimated that over 145,000 cubic feet of this toxic waste was still underneath the

homes of the adjacent Escambia community (CATE, 2013). Long-term adverse health became

apparent to people breathing in particulate matter containing dioxin blowing from the superfund site

(Horning, 1999). Margaret Williams, shortly after the EPA exposed the toxic soil, founded Citizens

Against Toxic Exposure (Horning, 1999) in order to save the community from the Escambia Wood

Treating Company superfund site soon nicknamed Mt. Dioxin appropriately (Averhart, 2015).

CATE demanded the immediate relocation of all citizens to a safe and clean environment away from

Mt. Dioxin while the site was remediated (Horning, 1999). From 1993 to 2013, the third largest

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permanent relocation of U.S. families as a result of superfunds occurred in Escambia County with

over 358 families relocating out of their poisoned homes (CATE, 2013). Escambia County is

plagued by toxic material being stored improperly within waste sites where industrial profit comes

before human health (Horning, 1999). The Wedgewood community, also in Escambia County,

shows the recent creation of a grassroots organization who is, through countless successes and

struggles, still fighting for environmental justice against landfills to include the Rolling Hills

Construction and Demolition Debris (C&DD) Facility (Morton, 2014).

The Wedgewood Community and Rolling Hills Landfill

The historic community of Wedgewood is considered one of the first black, middle-class

neighborhoods in Pensacola and the United States. Wedgewood was a place for financially stable

African Americans to move to in order to escape rundown complexes in the mid-20th century during

times of segregation (Outzen, 2014a). The Rolling Hills C&D Facility, located at 6990 Rolling Hills

Road, Pensacola, FL 32505, is a 39.4 acre disposal area surrounded by approximately 2,872 people

within a mile of the facility (Health Consultation, 2015). To make matters worse, Rolling Hills is just

one of seven C&D Facilities or borrow pits operating within the Wedgewood area (Savage, 2014).

Rolling Hills officially began operating as a C&D Facility on August 16, 2007 when South

Palafox Properties, LLC took ownership of the land (Final Order, 2015). It began as a shallow

borrow pit that was to be later constructed into a segregated golf course (Horning, 2016a). Borrow

pits are areas where substrate such as soil is removed in order to build elsewhere (Rabb, 2015b).

Rolling Hills was originally responsible for providing much of the dirt that constructed Wedgewood

decades before (Horning, 2016a). County commissioners including Marie K. Young, the

commissioner for the communities in the area, in the mid-2000s voted to make the surrounding

areas of Wedgewood commercial property much to the dismay of community members who wanted

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localized shops (Horning, 2016a). Young and the others planned on building a four-lane Longleaf-

Pinestead connector road through the Rolling Hills property (Rabb, 2015b). South Palafox

Properties wanted in on the potential to sell Rolling Hills to the county when the connector road

came through, and purchased it from Gulf Coast Grading and Paving (Outzen, 2014a). Other

landfills began springing up in Wedgewood after Hurricane Ivan, a category 5 hurricane, on

September 16, 2004. Wedgewood became a dumping ground for garbage and debris, and eventually

the 7 active waste sites were formed that exist today (Coleman, n.d.).

South Palafox Properties purchased a landfill without truly knowing how to properly operate

and maintain them (Rabb, 2015b). South Palafox Properties early on accepted large amounts of

drywall debris following the demolition of the Wedgewood middle school due to asbestos (Horning,

2016a). This would lead to high hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels in the area (Health Consultation,

2015). In 2010, tar balls and mats from the disastrous BP oil spill were unlawfully deposited in the

Rolling Hills and the nearby site Longleaf Waste Management site (Coleman, n.d.). Longleaf was

supposed to store BP oil waste for no more than 24 hours, however the hazardous waste remained

exposed in the landfill for years (Savage, 2014). The Department of Environmental Protection

(DEP) recognized the improper maintenance of Rolling Hills and filed a consent order on March 7th,

2011 regarding multiple violations including unauthorized Class I-II4 waste, high air emissions, lack

of weekly cover, improper working conditions, landfill height, and landfill slope greater than one-

third. Unfortunately, these same unbacked threats were delivered to Rolling Hills by the DEP again

on August 15th, September 29th, September 30th, and October 11th of 2011 (Outzen, 2014a). A

Notice of Violation was filed on February 11th, 2012 and a 120 day Remedial Action Plan was

4 Class I waste is potentially dangerous to human health. It often includes electrical equipment, or contaminated natural

products such as soil containing PCB. Class II waste include medical waste, food waste, plastic materials and most waste

you would expect in a landfill (Final Order, 2015).

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developed later in July 2013 (Outzen, 2014a). It was clear by 2014 neither issue was to be

readdressed (Outzen, 2014a). Wedgewood’s community could not handle much more when on

April 29th-30th, 2014 the 100-year storm5 caused a flash flood in Pensacola that broke the poorly

established berm surrounding Rolling Hills (Savage, 2014). This resulted in contaminated water

leaking into adjacent homes and ultimately into Pensacola Bay (Coleman, n.d.). Rolling Hills

accepted more flooded Chinese drywall6 further increasing the production of H2S from the facility

(Health Consultation, 2015).

The Birth of Justice Escambia

By June 25, 2014 Rolling Hills was over 130 feet high and riddled with violations (Outzen,

2014a). Social justice educator and environmental activist Dr. Gloria Horning met with concerned

community member LaFanette Soles Woods to discuss what needed to be done. Dr. Horning,

LaFanette Soles Woods, and two other members of the community started a Facebook group called

Justice Escambia during the summer of 2014 in Lafanette’s living room (Woods, 2016). Justice

Escambia or Communities United in Environmental Justice (cueJustice) was designed to be a

centralized source for knowledge in the Wedgewood community (Woods, 2016). Woods explained

that when she was born in Pensacola in 1958 the Wedgewood area was considered a nice place to

live. Woods left for Bethune Cookman University and later the Air Force in 1978. It was when she

returned to Wedgewood to retire in 1995 when she discovered the strong odor and landfill s

surrounding the community (Woods, 2016). Woods became inspired to help her community when

she was introduced to the Escambia County Commission meetings by her mother who went to

request something be done about Rolling Hills. Woods does not consider herself an

5 100-year storms or floods are rainfall totals that have a 1 in 100 chance of occurring in any year (Savage, 2014). 6 Chinese drywall is an environmentally hazardous drywall containing numerous chemicals. It is defective drywall

manufactured in China and brought to the United States (Horning, 2016a).

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environmentalist like many people in the environmental justice movement; she is just a neighbor

who wants positive change in her community. She “wants to speak for those who cannot or are

afraid to speak” (Woods, 2016).

Support for Justice Escambia grew quickly in 2014 with the help of active members like Dr.

Horning and Woods. The Facebook group grew to approximately 200 concerned individuals of

Escambia Country and surrounding areas (Morton, 2014; Coleman, n.d.). Justice Escambia follows

the same bottom up model of other grassroots organizations, emphasizing the power in the average

to force change in larger states of government (Schweizer, 1999). Grassroots organizations strive

for source reduction, a “right to know”, and a “right to inspect” (Bullard, 1994). “Source reduction”

is the reduction or complete removal or hazardous waste. In this case, Justice Escambia’s primary

motivation is to get rid of the landfills surrounding the Wedgewood, Olive Heights, and Rolling

Hills communities for the wellbeing of future generations (Woods, 2016; Morton, 2014). Justice

Escambia fights to know how the dump is impacting their health, and how they can be warned

when pollution levels are exceptionally high (Horning, 2016a). Finally, the community has a right to

have facilities like Rolling Hills landfill properly inspected and reported on (Horning, 2016a).

Members of the Wedgewood communities speak through many mediums to get their voice heard.

Beyond the Facebook page, Justice Escambia has done interviews around the United States, online

podcasts, radio talks, and television news stories (Woods, 2016). They also regularly travel to

downtown Pensacola for County Commission meetings where all members are asked to wear bright

orange to stand out (Outzen, 2014a).

A Toxic Nightmare

Often times the potential dangers of landfills is uncertain or debated because landfills emit

pollutants over a long period of time. It is difficult to define a single landfill as point source

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pollution7 (Coleman, n.d.). Operators of Rolling Hills, however, have placed themselves in a

situation where it is obvious that Rolling Hills is responsible for Wedgewood’s woes. Rolling Hills

landfill has left much of their ground up garbage unaccounted for onsite. The debris is left

uncovered, resulting in increased water infiltration and H2S emissions (Health Consultation, 2015).

H2S is a flammable, colorless gas that is easily recognizable by its iconic “rotten egg” smell. The gas

is most often caused by natural sources. However, H2S can be produced from demolition debris

present in anaerobic conditions within landfills (Health Consultation, 2015). H2S is considered a

nuisance gas, which defined by the Office of Environmental Enforcement is:

“Anything which annoys or disturbs one in the free use, possession or enjoyment of his/her

property, or which renders its ordinary use or occupation uncomfortable, or anything which is

detrimental to health or threatens danger to persons or property within the county (Final

Order, 2015).”

Toxic odor is the most apparent effect of H2S. According to the Florida Department of Health

(FDOH), low concentrations of H2S can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. It can even

cause mild headaches or trouble breathing in asthmatic or sickly individuals (Health Consultation,

2015). Loss of consciousness, nerve damage in nose, difficulty breathing, and fluid in lungs are all

possible side effects when exposed to volumes of H2S greater than 100,000 parts per billion (ppb)

(Health Consultation, 2015).

While the owners of Rolling Hills C&D claim their landfill is not responsible for the odors

and it is likely the nearby wetland or an Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) sewer pipe,

FDOH links the landfill in a completed exposure pathway (Final Order 2015, Health Consultation,

7 According to the EPA, point source pollution is a single, identifiable source where pollutants are expelled (Health

Consultation, 2015).

xvii

2015). The Rolling Hills landfill is the source of the H2S pollution and the environmental medium

is air. Those exposed are the people near the community center or in adjacent neighborhoods who

are inhaling the pollutant (Health Consultation, 2015). To prove this, the FDOH installed a Jerome

® 651 Hydrogen Sulfide Monitor next to the Wedgewood Community Center that records all

amounts of H2S at least 3ppb on September 4 th, 2014 (Health Consultation, 2015). A second

monitor was then placed in the backyard of Annie McWilliams who lives next to the landfill on

August 11th, 2015 (Nickinson, 2015). Wedgewood has exceeded the minimum odor threshold of

10ppb almost every day since the monitors were installed (Final Order, 2015). The minimum risk

level (MRL) of 70ppb for H2S, established by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

(ATSDR), has been surpassed multiple times. On February 12, 2015, H2S levels were at least triple

the MRL for three consecutive days (Final Order, 2015). Due to the hard work of Justice

Escambia, four monitors were installed and showed that H2S levels near Rolling Hills were a public

health hazard, especially from July 21st to December 31, 2014 (Health Consultation, 2015).

Another nuisance from landfills like Rolling Hills is dust or particulate matter (PM). These

are microscopic solids that stick to liquid droplets present in the air (Health Consultation, 2015).

Trucks and bulldozers too large for the streets of Wedgewood run through the community all times

of the day kicking up PM (Savage, 2014). PM can cause coughing, chest pain, fatigue and wheezing

within the short term of inhaling it. Long term effects include bronchitis, asthma attacks, and

respiratory infection (Health Consultation, 2015). Too make matters worse, water monitoring wells

have discovered concerning amounts of iron, copper, lead and mercury in surface water

surrounding Rolling Hills (Morton, 2014). With all of these injustices, it is no surprise that Rolling

Hills would be noticed again by governing agencies. Rolling Hills once again received another

Notice of Violation for six different violations to include odor, particulate matter, and water

pollutants on June 17, 2014 (Outzen, 2014a).

xviii

The Violations Pile Up

In response to these activities Justice Escambia contacted the County Commission and

managed to set up a tour of Rolling Hills using their perceived right to inspect (Coleman, n.d.).

Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May, State Representative Mike Hill, and County

Administrator Jack Brown visited Wedgewood on July 22nd, 2014. They traveled around to local

landfills, borrow pits, and trash disposal facilities (Johnson, 2014). The very same day, the FDOH

sent out an air quality health alert informing the community H2S levels were over 340ppb (Health

Consultation, 2015). The County Commission recommended that all individuals either stay indoors

or temporarily leave Wedgewood. Summer camps such as Escambia County Play, Learn, Grow

were relocated out of the Wedgewood Community Center for the children’s safety until the alert

was dropped on August 5 th, 2014 (Johnson, 2014). This was considered one of the peak moments

for Justice Escambia when awareness for the injustices in Wedgewood became more than apparent.

Shortly after the tour, Lumon May said that an anonymous 93-year-old resident of Wedgewood

approached him crying and said:

“I’ve been fighting these dumps for 50 years. I couldn’t get Willie Junior to do anything. I

couldn’t get Marie Young to do anything. You are the first one who really cared. Now I can

die knowing that someone cares about Wedgewood (Outzen, 2014b)."

An official Notice of Revocation was issued against Rolling Hills on July 31 st, 2014 for eight

noteworthy counts of violation (Notice of Revocation, 2014). Count I is “Violations of Surface

Water Quality Standards” due to noticeably high levels of iron in neighboring bodies of water

(Notice of Revocation, 2014). Count II is a “Failure to Implement a Remedial Action Plan” within

120 days of being informed to do so (Notice of Revocation, 2014). Counts III and IV are failures

to provide financial assurances for both the facility and corrective actions respectively (Notice of

xix

Revocation, 2014). The fifth Count is against “Objectionable Odors” still present at the Rolling

Hills C&D despite years of knowing about elevated H2S levels in the landfill (Notice of Revocation,

2014). Count VI refers to the “Disposal of Unauthorized Waste” into Rolling Hills. Rolling Hills

is technically only allowed solid waste coming from construction and demolition sites. The FDEP

also discovered additional illegal waste material not constituting C&D debris such as waste tires,

clothing, and electronics. This goes hand-in-hand with Count VII, which is a “Failure to Remove

Unauthorized Waste.” (Notice of Revocation, 2014). The eighth and final Count is that the

“Facility is Outside of Permitted Dimensions.” Rolling Hills greatly exceeded the 130 foot tall

minimum vertical height for their landfill. (Notice of Revocation, 2014).

The Notice of Revocation gave Scott Miller, owner of the Rolling Hills property, 90 days to

submit an order to close the facility (Notice of Revocation, 2014). 90 days went by and the FDEP

submitted a request to have the permit for Rolling Hills revoked after hearing nothing from Scott

Miller (Abramson, 2015). In the meantime, Justice Escambia continued sharing its story with those

who would listen. On January 31st, 2015, a group of over 60 activists from the global group called

the Extreme Energy Extraction Collaborative visited and supported Wedgewood. Members of the

group partnered with Justice Escambia on this matter because they recognized how the energy

industries produce large volumes of waste that eventually make their way into landfills (Rabb,

2015a). Justice Escambia continued putting pressure on the County Commissioners and making

their voice heard until Administrative Judge D.R. Alexander upheld the FDEP request to revoke

Rolling Hills’ permit on March 3 rd, 2015 (Abramson, 2015). Rolling Hills was ordered to shut down

all operations within 90 more days.

Judge D.R. Alexander upheld FDEP’s request based on two violations in particular. The

first violation was the H2S odors coming from Rolling Hills being a nuisance that prevented

xx

members of the community from using and enjoying their property (Final Order, 2015). The

testaments of members of Justice Escambia including Judy Cook, Aaron Wiley, and Larry Williams

furthered pushed this point. “They’re giving this industry a license to commit genocide. Slow

genocide. When you put profit over human lives, something is wrong with this picture,” said

Aaron Wiley (Savage, 2014). Dust was not considered a problem anymore since the 2014 Notice of

Revocation was introduced despite the fact that truck and bulldozer activity on the streets were still

high (Final Order, 2015). The second violation of Rolling Hills that had its Final Order upheld was

that the cover material was still insufficient in improving the odor, water infiltration, and aesthetic

view of the landfill (Final Order, 2015). In addition, the second violation again cited Rolling Hills

for the operational height of the landfill exceeding 130 feet and being visible from off of the

property. Judge Alexander made further notes that unauthorized land clearing debris was still being

moved into Rolling Hills despite numerous warnings to remove illegal waste (Final Order, 2015).

Rolling Hills had until April 13, 2015 to fix the two violations and, if not fixed, would get fined

$200.00 a day per violation still left unresolved (Final Order, 2015). If Rolling Hills was still not

making improvements by May 14 th, 2015, then the County could shut Rolling Hills down. Rolling

Hills disregarded all warnings and was considered closed on May 29th, 2015 (Horning, 2016a).

Will This Toxic Nightmare Ever End?

Unfortunately, the environmental impacts of a landfill do not simply vanish after a landfill is

shut down. Justice Escambia still has a job to protect its community and its people. The Escambia

County Public Information Officer, Javon Lloyd, announced new emergency notification cards that

allowed the county to send updates on air and water quality to any individual who filled out a card

via phone and/or email on August 14 th, 2015 (Lloyd, 2015). Justice Escambia successfully got the

County to spend $120,000 in May 2015 to purchase three more Jerome ® 651 Hydrogen Sulfide

xxi

Monitors to acquire more accurate air quality readings, one of those being the monitor installed in

Annie McWilliams’ backyard in August 2015 (Horning, 2016a). Loud horns were also installed

above the H2S monitors that emit sound when levels exceed the MRL. This is an example of

Justice Escambia pushing for its right to know what hazards the landfills present to their

community (Bullard, 1994; Horning, 2016a). The County still decides how it will deal with cleanup

of Rolling Hills. SPP released the bond of approximately $651,633 to the DEP for immediate

remediation of the property and $202,318 for long term care of the property (Nickinson, 2014).

This will not be enough to clean up Rolling Hills and alleviate Wedgewood of its environmental

woes. In fact, it cost over $7 million to close the nearby Saufley Landfill years before, and Saufley

was only one quarter the size of Rolling Hills (Abramson, 2015). County taxpayers will ultimately

have to pay major costs for remediation of the area if Rolling Hills is to return to environmentally

safe levels, even though it is the community members who have had to suffer from its problems for

so long (Rabb, 2015b).

So what progress has been made with Rolling Hills today? As with many environmental

injustice campaigns, progress since Rolling Hills’ initial closure in May 2015 has been slow or

stagnate. Rolling Hills has appealed the FDEP Revocation Order and has continued to operate

during that time (Nickinson, 2014). Since Rolling Hills’ closure order, the landfill has caught fire on

May 29th, 2015, June 24th, 2015, October 30 th, 2015, and on February 7 th, 2016. On these days, the

people of Wedgewood are recommended to remain indoors and turn off air conditioning as a ir

quality outside can becoming staggeringly bad (Horning, 2016a). FDEP monitoring wells have still

been revealing high levels of arsenic, boron, ammonia, iron, and lead in surface water since 2012,

showing little improvement in overall water quality in Wedgewood (Outzen, 2014a). Soil tests

conducted by the Wedgewood pavilion and playground area in December 2015 showed heightened

levels of heavy metals in the soil. The soil by the pavilion had arsenic levels recorded at 0.75

xxii

mg/kg when the MRL is currently established at 0.52 mg/kg. Zinc levels were recorded at 7.4

mg/kg when the MRL is 4.3 mg/kg, and lead was found to be at 3.5 mg/kg compared to a MRL of

0.26 mg/kg. At the playground the amount of arsenic was 0.92 mg/kg, zinc was 15.0 mg/kg, and

lead was at 5.1 mg/kg (Wedgewood Area Soil, 2015). It will take ages to restore soil quality to

healthy levels, assuming they are even addressed at all. After losing their operating permit, Scott

Miller refused the Amended Site Access Agreement between South Palafox Properties and FDEP

(Outzen, 2016). On January 4th, 2016, South Palafox Properties changed their gate lock and set up

roadblocks to prevent FDEP access to Rolling Hills where they were planning to bring in 4,400

cubic yards of cover material for the landfill. Scott Miller claimed ignorance, and therefore once

again delayed the people of Wedgewood the justice they deserve (Outzen, 2016). In addition to

this, a judicial circuit court case between FDEP, the plaintiff, and SPP, the Defendant, to be held

on February 26, 2016 was delayed until May 24 th, 2016 (Order Setting, 2016). The motion to

withdraw was filed by Christine S. Cook, the attorney for SPP, who claimed that conflicts between

herself and the Defendant have resulted in attorney-client relationship deterioration (Motion to

Leave, 2016). This was much to the opposition of FDEP who has had the hearing rescheduled for

the second time, originally scheduled for October 5 th, 2015 and delayed because the Defendant’s

main witness was on an extended vacation (Department’s Response, 2016).

As of now Rolling Hills is still emitting H2S, and FDEP has been severely slow-going in

dealing with Rolling Hills’ closure and remediation. The Longleaf Waste Management facility is

beginning to grow as Rolling Hills’ combats its closure orders. This and the fact that Wedgewood

still has seven other landfills within its vicinity leads to the question as to whether or not the

community members will ever be free of this toxic nightmare (Horning, 2016b). The injustices will

continue unless long-term regulatory changes are implemented by devoted officials who want to

remove landfills from the community (Savage, 2014). However, Justice Escambia has made a very

xxiii

big impact on Wedgewood since its establishment in the summer of 2014. The community united

and has brought light to an environmental issue that is harming their wellbeing. Despite the overall

magnitude of their mission, Justice Escambia still remains optimistic. Justice Escambia and the

Wedgewood Homeowner’s Association still have active participation and are always cont inuing to

share their story (Woods, 2016). Organizations such as Justice Escambia are growing as people

start to recognize the obscene amount of environmental injustices occurring around the United

States. Wedgewood is not an isolated issue; similar issues of distributional injustice can be found in

Washington, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and countless other locations (Waste Dive, 2016).

In Shelton, Washington, the city is just now considering cleanup options for the nearby

Shelton Landfill after two years of being told of its adverse health effects in the Washington

Department of Ecology 2014 Assessment. The assessment reported high levels of dioxin, PCB,

pesticides, arsenic, and other metals in the landfill causing soil and groundwater pollution. The

cleanup could still take over five years to complete, if the city ultimately decides to begin

remediation of the suffering community (Waste Dive, 2016). In Tallassee, Alabama, Stone’s Throw

Landfill is still open. It is one of the largest landfills in Alabama and receives over 1,500 tons of

garbage daily. The predominately minority and economically depressed community complains

about the odor and presence of feral dogs in their backyards. The people of Tallassee have sent in

over 298 claims of discrimination to the EPA’s Office of Civil Rights in the past 22 years and still

not received any aid (Hunt, 2016). It is now time for all to step up against environmental injustice,

just as Justice Escambia has, and make this the generation where all can live safely in their own

environments.

xxiv

References

Abramson, Mark. (3 March 2015). Rolling Hills permit to be revoked. Pensacola News Journal.

Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://www.pnj.com/home

This story by PNJ report Mark Abramson reports on the FDEP’s decision to revoke Rolling

Hill’s permit. The decision was upheld on the basis of its numerous violations. The article

also addresses plans to eventually remediate the area.

Averhart, Sandra. (8 Oct. 2015). Activist Assists Wedgewood Families’ Fight Against Polluted

Landfills. WUWF.ORG. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://wuwf.org/post/activist-

assists-wedgewood-families-fight-against-polluted-landfills#stream/0

Sanda Averhart’s story on Joy Ezell and HOPE provides a quick summary of the history of

HOPE and its relation to Justice Escambia.

Bryant, Bunyan. 1995. Environmental Justice: Issues, Policies, and Solutions. Washington, D.C.: Island

Press.

Bunyan Bryant is the founder and director of the Environmental Justice Initiative for

research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Bryant focuses his research on

environmental equity, environmental justice and climate justice. His book is a collaboration

of essays from key players in the environmental justice movement intended to be read by

both policymakers and environmental organizations. The experts all come to a consensus

that the environmental justice movement suffers as a result of a “top-to-bottom” approach.

More importantly, suggestions to bring the professionals and grassroots organizations

together are made, such as the development of environmental justice centers in

disenfranchised communities. It also includes the 1994 Environmental Justice Contract

from Clinton. A detailed analysis of the weak relationship between the activists and the

professionals outlines issues existing throughout the history of the environmental justice

movement. Present solutions can be seen being applied at local levels such as the

Wedgewood community.

Bullard, Robert D. 1993. Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots. Boston: South

End Press.

Robert Bullard is described as the father of environmental justice in the United States. Dr.

Bullard presents a book on the explosive growth of diverse grassroots movements in order

to improve living conditions in local environments. Multiple case studies are mentioned in

the book, with details being provided by environmental leaders of specific environmental

justice campaigns. Unlike other sources, the transition from large organizations to local

minority groups is clearly defined in this book. The results of the shift are defined in

Bullard’s descriptions and the accounts of organizational leaders fighting for an adequate

standard of living.

xxv

Bullard, Robert D. (ed.). 1994. Unequal Protection: Environmental Justice and Communities of Color. San

Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Robert Bullard, father of the environmental justice movement and author of over seventeen

books related to environmental justice and sustainable living, writes this book for all people

who support a sustainable environment for all people. Audiences currently fighting their

own environmental injustices are also encourage to delve into the presented information.

This book provides early history of the environmental movement. In contrast to other

sources, it gives case studies of famous, historical justice cases related to “sacrifice zones.”

Personal accounts of the victims are also provided. This book shows the overall progress

and success of the environmental justice movement since the 1950s.

Camacho, David E. (ed.). 1998. Environmental Injustice, Political Struggles. Durham: Duke University

Press.

Dr. David Camacho received his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Washington

and now focuses on public as well as environmental policy. The book is a collection of

essays intended those interested in civil rights and the environment. The hope is that

political science professionals will also learn valuable lessons to prevent environmental

injustices while reading it. Dr. Camacho looks at the environmental injustices, with a focus

on hazardous waste placement, from a primarily political perspective where he implements

the political process model into the case studies mentioned in the book. He also gives

suggestions as to what the political powers can do to help low-income, minority

communities instead of what the communities can do.

Carson, Rachel. (1962). Silent Spring. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press.

Rachel Carson was a famous writer, scientist, and ecologist who sparked the environmental

justice movement in the United States. She challenged agricultural scientists and the

government on the use of DDT and other dangerous pesticides in communities. The book

made people aware of the different types of dangers that can be placed on communities to

reduce their standard of living. It is an important piece of literature during the environment

justice movement worthy of mentioning.

Clinton, Bill. February 11 th, 1994. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental

Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. Federal Register, Washington D.C.

Vol. 59, No. 32.

This Executive Order brought about some of the first political action on a national level on

environmental justice. It is important to mention because it marks an important moment in

the U.S. history of environmental justice.

xxvi

Cole, Luke W. & Foster, Sheila R. 2001. From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the

Environmental Justice Movement. New York: New York University Press.

Luke Cole was an environmental lawyer and co-founded the Center on Race, Povery & the

Environment located in California. Sheila Foster is a professor on Land Use, Environmental

Law and Civil Rights at Fordham University. The book is intended mainly for people with a

special focus in politics, however it is available for anyone interested in learning more about

these issues. Being lawyers, the book approaches environmental racism and justice from a

legal perspective. The authors admit to environmental justice being a multidisciplinary field

of expertise however. They show the birth of grassroots organizations during the

environmental justice movement and their actions to fight injustice within the legal system.

Coleman, Jessica. Landfill Exposure in the Wedgewood Community: Perceptions of Health, Risk, and Trust .

University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL.

Jessica Coleman was a UWF student who also wrote about Wedgewood with Dr. Gloria

Horning as her advisor. Jessica provides a good summary of the history of Wedgewood and

how Rolling Hills became a toxic landfill.

Dowie, Mark. 1995. Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at the Close of the Twentieth

Century. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Mark Dowie is an Award-winning investigative journalist and recipient of over 18 national

investigative journalism awards. His book is intended for people interested in environmental

history and ethics. Dowie speaks about the progression of the environmental movement as

a whole in the United States versus the other sources focusing solely on environmental

racism. He describes environmental justice and the necessary sprouting of local grassroots

organizations as the fourth wave of environmentalism. A time where unlikely individuals

began considering themselves as environmentalists in order to defend their communities.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences.

Seattle, WA: University of Washington. Updated December 2015. Accessed December 5 th,

2015. http://deohs.washington.edu/environmental-justice#reOther

This website gave a good definition of environmental justice as well as distributional,

procedural, and process justice.

Escambia County Natural Resources Management Department Water Quality & Land Management

Division. (23 Dec. 2015). Wedgewood Area Soil Monitoring: Summary Report for

Monitoring Event. Pensacola, FL. Escambia County Board of County Commissioners.

This summary report provides an in depth reading of different amount of heavy metals in

the soil around Wedgewood in 2015 months after Rolling Hills was shut down. It shows

that the soil in Wedgewood is in fact polluted.

xxvii

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (3 March, 2015). Health Consultation Rolling Hills

Landfill Site (Public Comment Draft). Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida: Florida

Department of Health Division of Disease Control and Health Protection.

The FDEP Health Consultation gave an excellent description to the situation in

Wedgewood. It provides a fantastic description of hydrogen sulfide and the effects of it. It

talks about particulate matter and briefly on soil and water pollution. It describes how these

all became issues in Wedgewood as a result of the growth of Rolling Hills.

Gibbs, Lois M. (ed.). 1998. Love Canal. Connecticut: New Society Publishers.

Lois Gibbs describes her story as leader of one of the first and most well-known battles

against environmental injustices in the United States, Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New

York. Starting as a regular housewife, she eventually became the founder and leader of the

Love Canal Homeowner’s Association. She then became the Executive Director of the

Center for Health, Environment and Justice. The book is intended for members of

grassroots organization for it talks about Gibbs’ story, with all of the struggles and successes,

of running a grassroots organization. The book is very inspirational, and it describes

environmental injustice from a truly “bottom-up” perspective. The story of Love Canal is

an in-depth look at the operation and motivation of grassroots organizations.

(Gloria Horning, personal communication, January 25, 2016a)

I spoke with my advisor Dr. Gloria Horning about how Rolling Hills became a landfill and

how Justice Escambia got started. She provided me with updates about Justice Escambia

and progress made on Rolling Hills. I had regular discussions with Dr. Horning about

Wedgewood.

(Gloria Horning, personal communication, February 8, 2016b)

We primarily spoke about the recent fire at Rolling Hills and fires in the past. Dr. Horning

spoke to me about where Justice Escambia is now dealing with Rolling Hills. She spoke to

me about the direction Justice Escambia is going in.

Heiman, Michael K. April 1996a. Waste Management and Risk Assessment: Environmental Discrimination

through Regulation. Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College.

Michael Heiman is a professor of Environmental Studies & Geography Emeritus at

Dickinson College. This article was developed as part of a special issue of Urban Geography

within the Environmental Studies department. It describes early conflict between grassroots

and industries determining locations for waste facilities. This article goes into the actual

process of siting landfills as done by regulatory agencies in the U.S. Heiman provides a

unique perspective on how waste facility sites are placed where they are, and how the

process can be seen as a case of environmental discrimination.

xxviii

Heiman, Michael K. April 1996b. Race, Waste, and Class: New Perspectives on Environmental Justice.

Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College.

Michael Heiman is a professor from Dickinson used before in another source relating to

environmental justice. In this article, Heiman addresses the evidence that race is the primary

factor in determining placement of waste facilities. This article is important for communiti es

who believe they might be a victim of this problem to read. Heiman refers to the political

process and its role in the matter. He explains how the use of race to justify the disposal of

hazardous material mobilizes communities to action. The article is important in showing

conflicts between classes and races historically. It can then be applied to the Wedgewood

case in point.

Hoban, Thomas M. & Brooks, Richard O. (2nd ed.) 1996. Green Justice: The Environment and The

Courts. Colorado: Westview Press.

Thomas Hoban works as a New Hampshire attorney and environmental consultant.

Richard Brooks founded the Environmental Law Center and now teaches at the Vermont

Law School. The book serves mainly as a casebook for environmental law from 1979 to the

early 1990s. Whereas the other sources present their facts and suggestions in the forms or

stories or essays, this casebook describes the outcomes of specific U.S. court cases associated

with the environment. It provides the accounts of judges in charge of cases coming to a

decision that works best within the questionable legal limit of environmental law. Some of

the cases mentioned in the book describe conflicts around environmental equity and

distributive justice.

Horning, Gloria. (November 1999). Interview with CATE Representative.

These are notes taken by Dr. Horning when she interviewed a representative of Citizens

Against Toxic Exposure. The representative spoke about the mission of CATE and about

the pollution coming from Mount Dioxin. This was a great source to talk about other

grassroots organizations facing environmental challenges in Escambia County.

Hunt, Jazelle. (19 Jan. 2016). Did the EPA Fail to Protect a Black Community from Environmental

Racism? EBONY. Updated 2016. Accessed March, 17 th, 2016.

http://www.ebony.com/news-views/epa-environmental-racism-landfill-

alabama#axzz3xkhzaL28

This article addresses the issues regarding a landfill near Wedgewood that is facing similar

environmental injustices. It is showing that this problem is occurring around the country.

xxix

In the Circuit Court in and for Escambia County, Florida Civil Division. (22 February 2016). Order

Setting Non-Jury Trial (Case No: 2014-CA-1611). Pensacola, FL. Signed by Circuit Judge

John L. Miller.

This document approved of the delay of the Circuit Court meeting from February 26 th to

May 24th.

In the Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit in and for Escambia County, Florida. (18 February

2016). Department’s Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Continue (Case No: 2014-CA-

001611). Pensacola, FL. State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

This is the FDEP’s response to Rolling Hills wanting yet another delay on their circuit

meeting to discuss remediation the closure processes in Rolling Hills.

In the Circuit Court of the First Judicial Circuit in and for Escambia County, Florida. (21 February

2016). Motion for Leave to Withdraw (Case No: 2014-CA-1611). Pensacola, FL. Signed by

Christine S. Cook.

This is the document signed by Rolling Hills’ attorney Christine Cook stating that she cannot

work for Rolling Hills anymore based on Defendant to attorney complications.

(Javon Lloyd, personal communication, August 14, 2015)

Escambia County Public Information Officer Javon Lloyd announced new emergency cards

to Wedgewood. By signing the cards, you could receive weekly or emergency updates as to

when air quality around Rolling Hills was particularly bad. Giving the community their right

to know how the landfill is affecting their health.

Johnson, Rob. (22 July 2014). Pensacola neighborhood draws pollution inspection. Pensacola News

Journal. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://www.pnj.com/home

This is an article about one of the first big victories of Justice Escambia. It was when Just ice

Escambia took some County Commissioners on a tour or Rolling Hills and the surrounding

landfills. That same day, hydrogen sulfide levels were off the chart and the county issued a

health alert. Rolling Hills then received a Notice of Revocation.

(Joy Ezell, personal communication, January 26, 2016)

Joy Ezell, founder of Help Our Polluted Environments, interviewed with me about how she

started her organization and her overall goals. She spoke about the struggles in the

beginning and some of their successes now in cleaning up the Fenholloway River. HOPE

was another good example of grassroots organizations leading into my discussion on Rolling

Hills and Justice Escambia.

xxx

(LaFanette Soles Woods, personal communication, February 15, 2016)

One of the founding members of Justice Escambia and resident of Wedgewood, Woods has

been one of the most active members of the community in fighting Rolling Hills. She

provided important details about what Justice Escambia means to the community and how

she started her fight.

Lester, James P., Allen, David W. & Hill, Kelly M. 2001. Environmental Injustice In The United States

Myths And Realities. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

James Lester and David Allen are both professors of political science at Colorado State

University. Kelly Hill is a former policy analyst for the Conference of State Legislatures.

The book is ideal for people studying or curious about environmental science and policy.

Unlike the other sources, this book looks at environmental justice from a state, county, and

city level. It uses tables and other empirical data to show a direct correlation between

environmental justice and race.

Morton, Joshua. (31 July 2014). Voices From Wedgewood: Landfills And Pits Effect Residents

Personally. WUWF. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://wuwf.org/

The article talks about some of the effects of landfills on the environmental health of

Wedgewood and its people. For instance, he talks about increased amounts of heavy metals

in the surface water as a result of increased water infiltration in the landfill.

Nickinson, Shannon. (24 Nov. 2014). Residents want action, note progress on pits. Studer

Community Institute. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://studeri.org/2014/11/residents-

want-action-note-progress-pits/

This article talks about the closure of Rolling Hills dragging on with little being completed.

Moreover, Rolling Hills is offering little money to restore the Rolling Hills property back to

normal levels.

Nickinson, Shannon. (12 Aug. 2015). Second air monitor added in Wedgewood. Studer Community

Institute. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://studeri.org/2015/08/second-air-monitor-

added-in-wedgewood/

Wedgewood had a second hydrogen sulfide monitor installed by Escambia County. This

shows Justice Escambia’s right to inspect the areas around them to make sure they are safe.

Outzen, Rick. (25 June 2014a). A Shame Before God: Wedgewood Seeks Environmental Justice.

Inweekly. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://inweekly.net/wordpress/?p=19593

Rick Outzen is one of the most active reporters on news in Wedgewood. This article wraps

up everything that has happened regarding Rolling Hills and Wedgewood since June 2014

around the time when Justice Escambia got established. The article goes into great detail on

Wedgewood before Rolling Hills became a landfill.

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Outzen, Rick. (23 July 2014b). Tour de Force for Hill, May and Wedgewood. Inweekly. Pensacola,

FL. Retrieved from: http://ricksblog.biz/tour-de-force-for-hill-may-and-wedgewood/

Another article from Outzen addressing the tour of Wedgewood Justice Escambia. I used a

very emotional quote from one of the members of Wedgewood thanking County

Commissioner May for giving Wedgewood the attention it deserves.

Outzen, Rick. (8 Jan. 2016). DEP blasts Rolling Hills owner for blocking closure efforts. Rick’s

Blog. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://ricksblog.biz/dep-blasts-rolling-hills-owner-

for-blocking-closure/

A story about Rolling Hills blocking their gate and therefore preventing FDEP from

entering the property to add some cover material to the landfill.

Rabb, William. (31 Jan. 2015a). Activists, journalists tour Wedgewood, Bellview landfills. Studer

Community Institute. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from:

http://pensacolatoday.com/2015/01/activists-journalists-tour-wedgewood-bellview-

landfills/

This is a story about the Extreme Energy Extraction Collaborative visiting Wedgewood and

rallying with them against the landfills. Shows networking and partnership within grassroots

organizations. It also shows how these landfills are an interconnected issue.

Rabb, William. (6 Apr. 2015b). How Rolling Hills landfill became a money pit. Studer Community

Institute. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from: http://pensacolatoday.com/2015/04/how-rolling-

hills-landfill-became-a-money-pit/

Savage, Karen. (15 Sept. 2014). An American Nightmare: The Wedgewood Community. BRIDGE

THE GULF. Pensacola, FL. Retrieved from:

http://bridgethegulfproject.org/blog/2014/american-nightmare-wedgewood-community

Article on the toxic nightmare that is Wedgewood. It addresses the destruction of the

Rolling Hills berm as well as the storage of BP oil waste. The article included quotes from

members of Justice Escambia as well.

Schweizer, Errol. July 1999. Environmental Justice: An Interview with Robert Bullard. Eugene, OR: Earth

First! Journal.

Schweizer interviews the father of environmental justice Robert Bullard. He talks about the

definition of environmental justice and the structure and trend of grassroots organizations.

Shrader-Frechette, K. S. (2002). Environmental justice: Creating equality, reclaiming democracy. Oxford:

Oxford University Press.

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Special Master Office of Environmental Enforcement. (13 March 2015). Escambia County, Florida vs.

South Palafox Properties Final Order (CE#14-06-02079). Pensacola, FL. Office of

Environmental Enforcement.

The Final Order is a final notice to Rolling Hills to make the appropriate changes otherwise

they will be shut down. The final order defines hydrogen sulfide as a nuisance gas and

describes its effect on people. Then, it shows what some of the levels in Wedgewood are

like.

State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (31 July 2014). Notice of Revocation (OGC

File No. 14-0415). Pensacola, FL: Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Northwest District.

This is a Notice of Revocation which shows eight significant counts of violation against

Rolling Hills. After Escambia County released a health alert in Wedgewood, FDEP wrote

this to begin the closure process of the landfill.

The Principles of Environmental Justice (EJ). Washington D.C.: People of Color Environmental

Leadership Summit, 1991.

The principles were developed by over 1,000 environmental justice thinkers and grassroots

leaders from around the country. Some of the delegates were also from Africa and South

America. The People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit was a defining moment

in the environmental justice movement. The principles have served to educate grassroots

organizations around the world advocating for healthy environments. The principles can be

used to assess the success of the environmental justice movement throughout history. The

second and fourth principles especially outline the goals of the Wedgewood community.

The Earth Charter. Hague, Netherlands: Earth Charter Commission, 2000. Print.

The Earth Charter was an international meeting hosted by the United Nations to determine

what must be done to make the planet a peaceful and sustainable place. It is a statement

asking countries around the globe to start making the necessary changes to solve multiple,

environmental, economic, and humanitarian issues on a global scale. Part three of the Earth

Charter is on Social and Economic Justice which includes issues of environmental justice

and racism. The Earth Charter emphasizes the environmental justice movement from a

global perspective.

Waste Dive; Landfill. Industry Dive. Updated 2016. Accessed February 21 st, 2016.

http://www.wastedive.com/topic/Landfill/

Waste Dive is a helpful website showing you different examples of landfills and

environmental justice around the world. Great reference if you want to learn more about

landfills.

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Welcome to the Citizens Against Toxic Exposure Website. CATE. Pensacola, FL. Updated 2013.

Accessed February 14 th, 2016. http://www.cate.ws/

This is the main website for Citizens Against Toxic Exposure. It provides a good summary

of CATE and helps to describe other environmental injustices in Escambia County.

Wipf, Brent. (31 Dec. 2014). Hydrogen Sulfide Air Monitoring Results. Pensacola, FL. Escambia

County Water Quality and Land Management Division.

Wipf provides charts and graphs each week displaying levels of hydrogen sulfide in

Wedgewood recorded by the air monitors in the community. Shows levels of hydrogen

sulfide to be well over the minimum risk level.