Our Mission
The school’s enrollment drew upon not only Pomona, but from neighboring cities, like Walnut, Diamond Bar, and Chino Hills (to name only a few).
St. Joseph Elementary School, Pomona, was and continues to be a school whose families/students come from diverse socio-economical, as well as racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
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We believe...
Both paper mills in question were accused by the federal government in the early 1990’s of illegally dumping chemicals via effluent into the Pacific Ocean. This resulted in the eventual settlement of these said companies with the government, as well as the EPA by the mid-1990’s. Which in turn caused the Palos Verdes Shelf to be declared a Superfund site.
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We believe...
These sites (properties at St. Joseph's, Pomona, Ca, and former paper mill) continue to be a public health threat to this day due to residual contamination.
We believe...
Not only do the parishioners and school children continue to be put at unnecessary risk everyday, but so do the surrounding community, including local businesses and residences.
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Through our own research, we have found evidence there appeared to be contamination of the groundwater in the vicinity of the school and parish community during the early to mid-1990’s. More information has become available to us, as a result of numerous PRA and FOIA requests over the last several months. As a result we have voiced our concerns in a formal letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), and other government officials.
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In part, our mission has included us formally requesting that US EPA, in conjunction with CalEPA, and other governing bodies test for residual contamination at both the school and parish community of St. Joseph's Pomona.
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We mattered then and we matter now. And we believe the public would share this sentiment if they truly knew the dangers of toxic exposure lurking in their communities because sadly, next time it could be them.
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