Press Release
This month we mark the 28th anniversary of the successful
grassroots battle to 'Bump The Dump' in Allegany County, NY.
Faced with the prospect of becoming host to a large scale
low-level radioactive waste dump, people mobilized quickly and in a big way. When
5,000 people showed up at the first public meeting, NYs Siting Commission got a
taste for the fierce, unyielding opposition they were about to endure. This
ambitious effort was fought on all fronts and won by citizens from all walks of
life.
An incredible resistance movement sprung up and did not
sleep for the next year and a half. On any given day there were focus groups,
committees, fundraisers, meetings, meetings and more meetings, letter-writing
campaigns, rallies, marches, non-violent actions (civil disobedience), arrests,
court hearings, and media interactions.
The Siting Commission never once set foot on any of the
proposed sites, though they did try! In the era before Internet and mobile
phones, activists relied on land-lines and CB radios to communicate.
Thankfully, video cameras and the media captured archival footage of this
up-lifting struggle, which has been preserved as an important historical record
in the documentary film, 'My Name Is Allegany County.'
Thanks to our friends at Alfred State College for
re-mastering the original film and adding subtitles. To see the subtitles,
simply start the video and click the "CC" symbol immediately below
the screen.
We are proud not only of our neighbor-warriors and the fight
they waged and won, but also of this film, which preserves the record for
future generations. It’s hard to imagine what life in our pristine rural county
would be like now had these citizens not given their all to ‘Bump the Dump.’
Concerned Citizens of Allegany County, Inc., is a 501c3
not-for-profit corporation that continues to fight against pollution, focusing
primarily on ending the proliferation of infrastructure related to fracking and
halting the disposal of hazardous and radioactive gas field wastes in Allegany
and Steuben county landfills.
We meet monthly in Angelica and welcome interested parties
to join the effort to raise awareness and protect our clean water, soil, and
air. Tax-deductible contributions can be mailed to: CCAC P O Box 425, Angelica, NY 14709.
Enjoy this film, and please…. share and comment!
