05 - Lisa Graves-Marcucci, How to Challenge Industrial Permits

Halt the Harm Podcast

If you are concerned with fracking infrastructure you're going to find this interview with Lisa Graves-Marcucci incredibly valuable.
Lisa shares two decades of experience challenging industrial activity such as coal, oil, and gas projects. She helps us understand what questions to ask, where to intervene, and how to identify the tactics used by industry to discourage us from getting involved.
I hope you enjoy this episode of the Halt the Harm Podcast with Lisa Graves-Marcucci.

As Mentioned in the Show:

• Citizens Toolkit (coming soon!)
• http://environmentalintegrity.org
• @EIPOnline
• https://www.facebook.com/EnvIntegrity

Bio:

Lisa has been a community advocate for over 20 years. Since joining EIP in 2009, her efforts to protect human health from power plant and oil and gas pollution have grown from the community to the regional and national level. Lisa has conducted extensive reviews of permit files for EIP, helped to identify violations, and organized citizen testimony at numerous public hearings before local, state and national agencies. Lisa was invited to speak before the National Academy of Sciences in October of 2004 in Washington, D.C., advocating for more effective regulation of coal combustion waste disposal. Ms. Graves-Marcucci is a life-long resident of Pittsburgh’s Monongahela Valley and is a graduate of Duquesne University.

Main Message:

Industry tries to discourage participation in the local permitting process new industrial activity. But getting involved is critical, and there is a tangible set of tools you can use to challenge industry and start getting results.

What We Talked About:

In this interview Lisa shares how she began a two-decade career scrutinizing industrial projects and learning how to stand up to industry. She brings strength and determination to her work – and in this interview she shares some of the common forms of intimidation that industry representatives and "experts" use to discourage public participation during the permitting process.
In her experience Lisa has seen patterns emerge, and educates people how to stand up to industry and challenge these permits.
Why? Because in her two decades of experience she's never found a permit for an industrial project that didn't have problems or mistakes. She is currently in the process of creating a Citizen's Toolkit, which will be available through the Environmental Integrity Project and help everyday folks like you and me participate in decisions that impact us.
This podcast is a project of halttheharm.net, a powerful resource for anyone confronting the fracking industry. Halt the Harm is a network of leaders who are taking action, sharing resources and information, and supporting each other’s campaigns. Find out more at halttheharm.net
Halt the Harm Podcast is produced in collaboration with Eco-Defense Radio, which you can learn more about at ecodefenseradio.org