COMMUNITY GROUPS
We provide support, training, and networking opportunities for community-based groups. Statewide and regionally, we bring community groups together to advocate for broader reforms to make sure no community has to suffer the same problem ever again.
To learn more about the groups we’re working with, check out the interactive map and read about our featured efforts below.
ALLIANCE FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Local · Massachusetts
The Alliance for Health and Environment is a coordinated effort to close a trash incinerator and ash landfill in Saugus, MA. The group includes residents from Saugus, Lynn, and Revere, as well as partner organizations: the Conservation Law Foundation, Just Zero, Clean Water Action, and Neighbor to Neighbor. The Saugus incinerator is the oldest incinerator in the country, and the landfill where toxic ash has been dumped for decades is unlined, leaving very little protection to prevent contamination of the wetland area within which the landfill is located. Given that the state of Massachusetts made it clear in 2021 that the landfill will not be approved for expansion when it reaches capacity in the next few years, the Alliance is now focusing its efforts on a strong closure plan and incinerator retirement. Learn more here.
BE SMART NH
Local · New Hampshire
After over a decade of fighting polluting landfill proposals, neighbors in the North Country were tired of being the dumping ground for the Northeast. So in the winter of 2019, community groups across the region formed Be SMART NH, a coalition committed to shutting down toxic landfills and moving towards real zero waste solutions. Over the past couple years, Be SMART has called on regulatory agencies to prioritize public health over corporate profits, co-written crucial legislation to protect waterways from landfill leachate, and called for meaningful statewide commitment to waste reduction, diversion, and municipal control. Learn more here.
CONCERNED CITIZENS FOR CLEAN WATER
Local · New Hampshire
Since learning about severe PFAS contamination in wells around Londonderry, community leaders have formed CCCW to raise awareness about PFAS, hold polluters accountable, and set up a clean water plan for their town. During the past year, the group has focused on community education, ensuring that Londonderry’s most vulnerable residents understand their test results, know who to call for help, and can access statewide resources. In September of 2022, CCCW organized PFAS office hours at the Londonderry Town Hall, helping their neighbors sign up for the state rebate program and finally get safe drinking water. Learn more here.
DON'T WASTE ME
Local · Maine
Don’t Waste ME is a powerful group of impacted community members and Penobscot citizens that have come together to fight for policies that actually protect communities from the harmful practices of waste facilities. Their core organizing has included watch dogging Juniper Ridge Landfill (JRL), which dumps minimally treated leachate into the Penobscot River, and threatens the drinking water for the region. Don’t Waste ME celebrated a major victory in 2022, with the passage of their bill to close the loophole that allowed for over 200,000 tons of out of state waste to get dumped at JRL every year. However, trash facilities haven’t stopped threatening communities across the state, and so the group continues to watchdog waste management operations in Maine, as well as build momentum to move the region toward zero waste. Learn more here.
FAIRFIELD WATER CONCERNED CITIZENS
Local · Maine
Fairfield Water Concerned Citizens is a group of residents who were devastated to discover that their wells were contaminated with the “forever” chemicals, PFAS, thousands of times above safe drinking water standards. Residents quickly mobilized, and began organizing to ensure water testing for all Fairfield residents with a well, making sure everyone who is contaminated gets access to clean water, turning off the tap of contamination, and making polluters pay. Members have been instrumental in getting the state of Maine to take stronger action on PFAS both at the legislative and regulatory level.
SPRINGFIELD CLIMATE JUSTICE COALITION
Local · Massachusetts
The Springfield Climate Justice Coalition (SCJC) is a seasoned group of grassroots leaders in Springfield protecting the health and future of residents in the Springfield area. Coming off a hard-fought victory against a proposed biomass power plant sited for an environmental justice community, SCJC is now pushing back on a dangerous, unhealth, unnecessary, and unwanted fracked gas pipeline expansion project. SCJC derives its power from a diverse group of stakeholders and allies: environmental activists, labor groups, local elected officials, faith leaders, housing justice advocates, and more. The group is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to anything that threatens the environmental wellbeing of the already overburdened Springfield community.
REJOICE
Regional · Vermont
The REJOICE Project is a collective of organizers, academics, policy experts, and community partners dedicated to crafting environmental justice policy deeply rooted in lived experiences. Over the past five years, project members have worked closely with New American, migrant farmworker, mobile home, senior, disabled, rural, and deaf/hard-of-hearing communities to craft and pass the state’s first-ever environmental justice law. Since celebrating this massive victory in May 2022, REJOICE have been working to hold the government accountable to their promises, ensuring that they implement the EJ legislation thoughtfully and equitably. Learn more here.
NATIONAL PFAS CONTAMINATION COALITION
Regional · USA
The coalition is composed of 30 community groups from across the country that are directly impacted by PFAS contamination. The National PFAS Contamination Coalition envisions a PFAS-free world where people are not exposed to any PFAS, where the environment and public health are protected, where there is justice for the victims of PFAS exposure, and where laws and regulations prevent contamination disasters like this from happening again. Learn more here.
FIX THE GRID
Regional · Northeast
Fix the Grid is a grassroots campaign in the 6 Northeast states that aims to accelerate a just transition to a democratic, transparent and renewable electric grid. The coalition focuses on pushing regional energy regulators to incentivize clean energy like wind, solar, and storage, instead of keeping us hooked on polluting fossil fuels that exacerbate the climate emergency and harm our most vulnerable communities.
FEATURED GROUPS
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