I was nervous as I stood at the podium. I looked at my co-director, Jeni Knack, and her hands were shaking. We don’t usually give presentations to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, but we knew this was too important to give into our fear. If we did, hundreds of thousands of people, wildlife, local waterways, and the Pacific Ocean would be harmed.  

The lawyer for the Boeing Company looked confident to the point of arrogance. Boeing always claimed that the impact of water pollution from the Santa Susana Field Lab was minimal, even though Boeing has been fined over $1M for allowing dangerous chemicals, toxic metals, and radioactive waste into the Los Angeles River and Ventura County’s Watershed. The Water Board often sided with Boeing, giving them the benefit of the doubt and allowing the permit to be continuously weakened over time. The Boeing lawyer had no way of knowing what would happen next.

It could have been that Jeni and I looked like the grassroots leaders we are in our matching Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab shirts. Maybe it was because we spoke from our hearts about the science we knew to be true. But what really impacted the Board was that a dozen community members called in during the meeting and shared how the contaminated water at the Santa Susana Field Lab is harming their families as they pleaded for the Water Board to intervene.

The co-chair of the Board, David Nahai, said something I’ll never forget. “Where people are complaining about getting sick, to tell them we think the pollution is minimal and can be ignored, I don’t think that’s good enough.” The board accepted our requests and made changes to the Santa Susana Field Lab’s rainwater permit so that Boeing would be required to limit the pollution they allowed offsite during rain events, to use newer technology to detect pollution, and to study how the site’s contamination impacted local groundwater.

But now, that incredible victory is about to be taken away. Boeing is suing the Water Board to overturn the permit in the California Supreme Court, saying it’s too restrictive. 

We want to invite you to participate in a critical opportunity to help us raise money for Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab’s contribution to file a lawsuit in collaboration with Los Angeles Water Keeper, Los Angeles Heal the Bay, Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility to protect the permit from Boeing.

Our counsel has advised that the likelihood of our lawsuit succeeding is high because we are defending a permit that the regional board has already approved.

Would you take this critical opportunity to have a lasting impact and invest in Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab’s legal fund to protect the waterways, wildlife, the Pacific Ocean, and people living near the Santa Susana Field Lab? 

We would be incredibly grateful for your donation of any amount. You can donate through our Parents Against SSFL website and mark the "legal fund" box. 

All donations to Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab are tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.