wfn.org | Churches hear of Cuyahoga Clean up After River Fire in Cleveland

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Office of News Services
Email: news@ncccusa.org
Web: www.ncccusa.org
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227
	50th Anniversary Newsroom - Nov. 8-12, 1999 call 216-696-8490

NCC11/9/99						
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CLEVELAND'S CUYAHOGA RIVER FIRE SPARKED
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEAN-UP

	CLEVELAND, Nov. 9 - The spectacle of flames on the Cuyahoga River startled 
millions of television viewers in 1969 but the gurgling inferno sparked 
major efforts to clean up the environment, not only in Cleveland but around 
the nation. The Cuyahoga Planning Commission staff told the story to 
participants in an "environmental justice tour" during the National Council 
of Churches anniversary assembly here.
	
The NCC has supported the efforts of Christians committed to healing and 
protecting God's creation. Richard Killmer of the NCC Environmental Justice 
Office expressed hope that tour participants would find in Cleveland useful 
models for addressing similar concerns in their home communities.
	
"Believe it or not, good things did come out of the burning of the river," 
said Virginia Aveni, manager of environmental planning for Cuyahoga 
County.  The terrible publicity gave the mayor and other leaders the 
necessary leverage to demand strong environmental protection laws.
	
The bus toured the grounds of LTV Steel which extend seven miles on either 
side Cuyahoga River.  In 1969, the company was the major polluter of the 
waterway.  "In the 1960s the river actually foamed," Aveni said.  The river 
flows into Lake Erie which was "dying" at the time, according to Aveni.
	
Strong political action led LTV Steel to take drastic measures costing the 
company $100 million to clean up its act.  "Now LTV's discharge is a higher 
quality than the drinking water that comes from the lake for treatment," 
Aveni said.
	
NCC participants also visited the construction site of a recreation center 
on the once-polluted grounds of a former coin-operated laundry. The 
redevelopment is being undertaken by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of 
Cleveland.  The laundry business left carcinogenic chemicals in the soil 
but the archdiocese has helped return the property to residential 
standards, according to Aveni.

The NCC bus visited several other Cleveland "brownfields," a term 
describing decaying urban properties that are too expensive to clean up and 
redevelop.  Among them was the site of an abandoned  woolen mill which also 
attracted national attention when it burned in July 1992.  The site is 
still empty as developers seek the means to improve it.

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