Veronica Coptis Engages with Residents in Southwestern PA
Veronica Coptis is the executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice (CCJ), an environmental and economic justice advocacy organization working to invest in and shift power back to the residents of Washington and Greene Counties (southwestern PA). Read on to learn about her work with CCJ.
What are you working on now? Can you tell us about a recent or ongoing project you are excited about?
An ongoing project I am excited about is building a stakeholder table of community members, government, non-profits, and businesses to develop a plan to diversify our economy in Greene County. Greene County's economy has been dependent on fossil fuel extraction for decades. I am excited to develop the leadership of a new organizer as we engage community members to decide what type of investments our communities need—moving those residents to advocate for the state, federal, and private funds to improve our communities' infrastructure, education, and homes.
What encouraged you to take action in your community?
In my community, so many people depend on fossil fuel income for economic stability/survival, and advocating for better protections could risk that. I learned this very clearly while waiting tables at a local diner and realized the privilege I had to speak up about the harms of coal mining because my family or myself did not have jobs in the industry. I heard story after story about how people are impacted from coal and gas extraction and the companies. Then after the Dunkard Creek Fish Kill (43 miles long), I learned about the Center for Coalfield Justice and that I could work with others to take action.
What has been your greatest success in your fight against environmental injustice?
Protecting streams in Ryerson Station State Park from being undermined and harmed. Even when the state failed to protect this public resource, I feel proud to have worked with the community to collectively raise funds and challenge the permits in court and stop the mine from going under Kent Run.
I also am proud of the growth of the Center for Coalfield Justice and the deep leadership investment over the past five years. We have grown a team of two staff to ten staff, with the majority of the residents from environmental justice communities.
What are the greatest environmental justice challenges that still need to be tackled?
Organizing through apathy and getting decision-makers to trust/believe that EJ communities know what is best for them.
