Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter

Protecting the Future of Our Community

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Ring the Bell

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“RING THE BELL CAMPAIGN!”

“NO ZONING/NO SMELTER”

Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter [CANSS] is launching a fundraising campaign. “Ring the Bell for CANSS!” All funds raised in this campaign will go directly to the legal fund to continue the court appeals for the illegal land sale and to prevent the Pend Oreille County Commissioners from rezoning property that would pave the way for Pac-West to build a smelter.  Norm Semanko, CANSS attorney, has made it clear this battle will be won in the court system. The Ring the Bell campaign is to beef up our ‘war chest’ for the coming onslaught. We are in a battle, we are the soldiers and we need ammunition to win this war. Together our voice is being heard. No Smelter! Not now! Not ever!

Issues:

  1. The legal team is working to appeal the illegal land sale by PUD to Pac-West. This property was purchased illegally as it was sold to Pac-West without being made public. This appeal will take place on July 25, 2019.
  2. Norm Semanko is also keeping us in the loop about the RG*New appeal of the SEPA application for the blanket rezone because the county chose to ignore any future environmental issues that could arise from a blanket rezone. SEPA is the State Environmental Policy Act. The re-zone would pave the way for the property purchased with money issued by the State of Washington Department of Commerce from the Governor’s strategic reserve fund. Currently, this property is not zoned for industrial use. Our legal team will be submitting this appeal on July 24, 2019.
  3. The Pend Oreille County Commissioners are trying to do a blanket re-zone of public lands. If they succeed, we will need to have the resources ready at hand to appeal to a higher authority.
  4. Even if the county does not commit to the county wide rezoning, Pac-West can still apply for a rezone of their property.

According to our attorney, the zoning issue is our single, best chance of stopping the smelter. We need to have the funds to push our appeals as far as necessary. Citizens, this is a legal battle. We have come a long way by delaying PacWest at every turn. We must give Norm Semanko the green light to do whatever is necessary to protect the health of our families, keep our water clean and protect the land and wildlife.  Now is the time to donate. Norm Semanko is working with the Gonzaga team of lawyers. We need his professional expertise to win this race.

Many reputable organizations have published letters against the smelter. A coalition of healthcare providers and physicians after extensive research have gone public in strong opposition to a smelter being built on the Washington/Idaho state line. The pollution would encompass a 165-mile radius. You would be swimming in polluted lakes, breathing smog and the produce from your garden will not be organic.

We are soldiers in a war that is happening right now. Our enemy is clearly a foreign corporation coming to pollute our land. The threat is real. The time is right now!

Please step up to stop this atrocity.

For more information go to canss.org or join the CANSS Facebook page. There are files of documents and letters. The canss.org website has lots of information. Scroll through the menu.

Here are the ways to donate:

You can donate in one of four ways:

  1. GoFundMe campaign at Stop the Smelter
  2. Deposit into our Spokane Teachers Credit Union account and mention “CANSS” at any branch.
  3. Mail your CANSS check to: PO Box 1347, Newport, WA 99156
  4. PayPal
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