URGENT: Submit Your Official Opposition Before May 5
To be counted in the public record before the City Council vote:

• Submit your name and address via Google Form
• Or email with your name and address: clerk@westlafayette.in.gov, cc: CityCouncil@westlafayette.in.gov
• Visit: Facebook page | Website, Sign and share the Petition

A true story starring Julia Roberts still holds a powerful warning for us today.
Erin Brockovich isn’t just a movie starring Julia Roberts. It’s based on real people, a real company, and a real town that never recovered.

In Hinkley, California, PG&E insisted everything was safe. They built facilities near homes. They promised oversight, environmental responsibility, and economic growth. But all the while, they were releasing toxic chemicals into the groundwater, quietly and for years.

The health impacts were devastating. People developed rare, aggressive cancers. Children suffered from chronic asthma, nosebleeds, and unexplained rashes. Mothers lost babies. Families lost loved ones.
Families trusted the company.
They trusted the system.
And they were betrayed.

At first, PG&E denied everything. They tried to hide the truth.

But over time, thanks to the relentless efforts of Erin Brockovich and her team, the truth came out. At the end, the company was ultimately forced to pay a $333 million settlement to over 600 residents who lived nearby.

But the money didn’t undo the pain. It didn’t bring people back. It didn’t heal the trauma.

Today, Hinkley is nearly a ghost town. Its future sacrificed for corporate convenience.

So who was responsible?

PG&E, of course. But not just them.

The elected officials governing Hinkley allowed that plant to be built and operated without asking the hard questions. They failed to stop a disaster that could have been prevented. They did NOT PROTECT their OWN people.

Why tell this story now?

Because SK hynix is using their Icheon facility in Korea as proof that their operations are safe, claiming “over 10,000 residents live within 0.6 miles of the plant.” (Dave Bangert's latest coverage) But they fail to mention that Icheon’s air quality is significantly worse than West Lafayette’s.
PM2.5 levels are higher, and industry is denser.
A professor at the APC hearing told us what this means: PM2.5 exposure increases death risk for nearby vulnerable populations.

And here, in our town, SK hynix is asking to use land next to homes, parks, daycares, and a senior community to I3 heavy industrial to meet their timeline of production in 2028. They must move quickly. But it’s our community that would live with the consequences.

Their outreach meetings began only after pushback and were tightly controlled. Residents had very little time to ask real questions. The events were structured as one-sided PR presentations, followed by praise from those with clear financial interests in the project moving forward.

They called their two years of silence a “small regret.” But we know better.

We don’t have a Julia Roberts. But we have each other.

Let’s not wait to be the next cautionary tale.
Let’s act, before the vote, before the concrete is poured, before the promises start to fade.

Submit your name and address. Send your email. Share this. Speak up.

Superman is not coming. It’s up to us.