NOMINATION 1
Description of individual or organization
Liveable Arlington has been in existence for 2 1/2 years. They are small but mighty. This past year the group took on defeating what most would feel impossible...defeating a deep injection well permit just a few hundred feet from Lake Arlington. This group, through careful and strategic planning, managed to do what many of us with 25 years of experience have never done. They actually convinced BOTH the Councils of Arlington and Fort Worth to oppose this permit. (Editor's Note: Correction from Ranjana Bhandari, leader of Liveable Arlington: "The Fort Worth City Council independently decided to oppose the well.") They also enlisted Rep. Turner and Rep. Tinderholdt in their quest. Liveable Arlington enlisted other groups to help knock on doors in neighborhoods near the lake to inform them that their drinking water for almost 500,000 people was threatened. Even the Tarrant Regional Water District, another tough organization to enlist in environmental issues, was secured in opposing the lake. Liveable Arlington also got thousands of letters in opposition to the Railroad Commission. In the end, the citizens WON! The applicant, due to all the parties enlisted, withdrew their permit. Liveable Arlington was the thrust and backbone of the effort. This organization has also worked to try and get more emergency response methods considered with urban drilling and other endeavors, but this is this group's shining moment.
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
Ranjana Bhandari is the leader of this group. She is the glue that holds Liveable Arlington together. She demonstrates the patience, fortitude and persistence it takes to win an environmental fight. She has gained the respect of officials, city councils and fellow environmental activists.
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
Their impact is that they defeated an injection well permit – something extremely difficult in this oil and gas state – that threatened Lake Arlington.
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
Liveable Arlington worked with legislators, water districts, city council members and fellow environmental groups and others to get this accomplished, including Clean Water Fund, Arlington Conservation Council, Texas Campaign for the Environment.
Other reasons for your nomination
There are very few wins these days in DFW- so a win is not just an accomplishment, it's a MILESTONE. Your awarding this to this group will demonstrate that the smallest of groups can do very BIG things.
NOMINATION 2
Description of Individual or organization
Mission: “Liveable Arlington is a grassroots group that advocates for clean air, clean water, and responsible stewardship of our environment for future generations. We work toward a healthy, sustainable Arlington.”
Liveable Arlington is a small but mighty grassroots group. Working with other groups, they have organized communities living in close proximity to oil and gas facilities. They encourage and assist residents in making complaints to state regulators and city government. Partnering with a larger NGO, they have helped expose the invisible methane pollution escaping from oil and gas facilities in Arlington neighborhoods.
This year, with few resources, the group organized the #SaveLakeArlington campaign to stop an injection well that was planned for the shores of Lake Arlington.
Group leaders model a sustainable lifestyle by driving electric vehicles and using solar.
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
Liveable Arlington is part of the Texas Grassroots Network that is working to get back local control of oil and gas activities. The group regularly helps organize and participates in DFW events to educate the public about how oil and gas air pollution harms health and safety, air and water, and our climate.
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
Liveable Arlington organized the successful #SaveLakeArlington campaign to stop an injection well that was planned for the shores of Lake Arlington, the water supply for half a million people in Tarrant County. The group created a media packet that resulted in many media appearances about the well including: NBC, CBS, Star Telegram, Collegian, Shorthorn, GreenSource DFW, Observer. Their automated protest letter posted on the campaign website (http://savelakearlington.org) generated over 2500 protest letters. They worked with many local groups and larger NGOs and they successfully lobbied elected officials who wrote letters strongly opposing the injection well. They consulted with regulators and attorneys. They manned a booth at Earth Day Texas and passed out educational materials, buttons and bumper stickers. They organized resident participation in a forum organized by Representative Collier with Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton.
The company withdrew their permit application in face of such overwhelming opposition from residents.
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
Group has supported and participated in other campaigns important to the region. In June, the group helped write a report: Oil & Gas Pollution's Impacts on Texas Families (http://earthworksaction.org/txhealthreport). The report to helped support the EPA methane rules passed by President Obama that were under attack by the current administration. They also helped rally people to sign letters and submit comments in support of the methane rules.
In conjunction with the release of Environment America’s report on methane leaks near schools, Liveable Arlington helped organize and spoke at a Fort Worth press conference in October 2016, to highlight the need for cuts to methane emissions.
The group participated in an EPA hearing in Dallas in 2015, to support methane rules to stop emissions from new gas drilling and infrastructure. The helped organize attendance and manned a table with educational materials. They participated in the press event and helped with logistics. Liveable Arlington members delivered powerful testimony to EPA officials who later commented that the Dallas event was the best and most informative of all the hearings they held.
The group attends regular meeting on air quality in the DFW region. The group testified for tougher ozone standards at EPA hearings in held in Arlington, Texas in 2015. Group members spoke against the state's weak ozone plan in 2016.
The group participated in the climate march in Dallas and at a press conference before COP21.
Other reasons for your nomination
Liveable Arlington organized in Arlington, a Tea Party stronghold, when no other groups would. The group has shown determination and has exhibited an excellent understanding of grassroots organizing. They have been successful!
For their next campaign, they plant to tackle an environmental justice situation.
Organizing in Texas against the oil and gas industry's pollution and for clean air and safe water is not easy.
As a grateful and proud recipient of a Green Source award in 2015, I strongly advocate for Liveable Arlington. They deserve this award.
NOMINATION 3
Description of Individual or organization
Ranjana started Liveable Arlington in January 2015. The group worked with Earthworks to document air emissions from drill sites, and present information and FLIR videos of pollution to the Arlington Mayor, city officials, and the EPA. She obtained a small grant from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice this year to support group. projects. In 2017 the group campaigned to prevent construction of a waste water injection well next to Lake Arlington.
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
Ranjana alerted a host of influential people to the potential hazards of permitting an injection well in the proposed location. She lobbied elected representatives, including District 101 Rep. Chris Turner, to write letters to the RRC against the well. She consulted attorneys at three law firms. She engaged RRC staff at all levels to learn how to effectively get Arlington area residents' concerns about the injection well permit heard in the RRC during its decision-making process. She met with the City of Arlington's Council, Mayor and Director of Water Utilities. When District 95 Rep. Nicole Collier arranged a local forum by RRC Commissioner Sitton, Ranjana organized residents' participation.
The SaveLakeArlington campaign succeeded in persuading Arlington residents who were usually sympathetic to the oil and gas industry that an injection well next to their water supply needed to be reconsidered.
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
The group campaigned successfully in 2017 to prevent construction of a waste water injection well next to Lake Arlington, the water supply for the City of Arlington. The company that sought the well permit withdrew its application following the wide-ranging efforts of Liveable Arlington.
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
Ranjana informed people all over the metroplex about the proposed well. She created a media packet that led to stories about the proposed well being run by NBC, CBS, Star Telegram, Collegian, Shorthorn, Greensource DFW, and Dallas Observer. Ranjana organized local groups to opposed the well, providing them with a protest letter template for their members to use. She also created flyers, posters, bumper stickers, and buttons to use in the campaign, and made presentations at community meetings. Groups she worked with include Sierra Club Ft. Worth Group, Indivisible, Greater Arlington Mansfield Democratic Women, Irving Impact, Texas Computer Education Association, National Ground Water Association, Arlington Conservation Council, Texas Campaign for The Environment, Clean Water Action, and TXGrassroots Network. She developed the website savelakearlington.org with volunteer help. Her campaign manned a booth for the three days of EarthDayTexas. She used Halt The Harm Network to put the protest letter online as well. In the end, she delivered more than 2000 protest letters against the well to the Texas Railroad Commission.
Other reasons for your nomination
Liveable Arlington continues to organize volunteers to protect that city's environment.
NOMINATION 4
Description of Individual or organization
Ranjana Bhandari of Liveable Arlington is a key member that brings awareness of the dangers of fracking.
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
She has an extremely positive outlook and is tireless in her pursuit to get things done. She is very knowledgeable and spends hours pouring over records and researching her causes. She will do whatever it takes to get the end result.
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
Ms. Bhandari was instrumental in getting an injection well permit pulled at Lake Arlington recently. This saved the drinking water for over 1/2 million people in the DFW area from contamination. It also saved DFW from additional frackquakes. Through her hard work and perseverance the permit was pulled before the RRC hearing in Austin.
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
She has brought much awareness to Arlington and surrounding communities of the dangers of urban fracking. One examlpe: Liveable Arlington had a booth at various community events including Earth Day Texas 2017
Other reasons for your nomination
Ms. Bhandari has positive calm attitude and is always ready to help other organizations and groups and to give advice when needed.
NOMINATION 5
Description of Individual or organization
Liveable Arlington is a grassroots group that advocates for clean air, clean water, and responsible stewardship of our environment for future generations.
Intensive gas drilling in our neighborhoods has made us unsafe, placed us at risk of industrial accidents, released toxins into our air, endangered our children's health, led to earthquakes. We want to work with our city and state to take real steps to restore the things that make Arlington liveable. 1st major goal was the withdraw of Bluestone's application to put a wastewater injection well by Lake Arlington.
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
Ranjana Bhandari is the leader and founder of Liveable Arlington. I first met Ranjana at Earth Day, Dallas, April 22nd 2017 at the Save our Lake booth. I was instantly drawn to her knowledge, and communication skills. I felt a true calm and trust that drew me in to the cause and made me want to be involved.
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
#SaveLakeArlington campaign headed up by Ranjana that in the end caused Bluestone to withdrawn its application to put a wastewater injection well by Lake Arlington. Ranjana was the force behind the communication and education that brought city leaders and the entire community together on this opposition.
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
Liveable Arlington promotes education on environmental issues that keeps the community informed through Social media outlets. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also promotes businesses that use good safe water as part of their contribution to the community such as division brewery arlington tx.
Other reasons for your nomination
I feel Ranjana and Liveable Arlington has brought attention to our Arlington Leadership to look at other sustainable projects in the future.
NOMINATION 6
Description of Individual or organization
Livable Arlington main objective was to protect the City of Arlington from a proposal to build a waste disposal well near to Lake Arlingto
Leadership (Nominee demonstrates leadership through example, knowledge, attitude)
Ranjana Bhandari was instrumental on creating and running this organization, she was relentless on publicizing the issue and gathering support to stop the well construction. Her knowledge about the impact of this well as well as her leadership were critical to this success
Environmental Impact (Nominee demonstrates a positive impact on the local environment via policy change, product offering, significant volunteer contribution or other achievement)
I strongly believe that Livable Arlington was instrumental on stopping this well's construction. Our city's lake and water will be safe from contaminants thanks to this effort
Community Impact (Nominee demonstrates commitment to DFW green community through involvement with causes, business ventures or organizations)
This organization rallied together many environmentally conscious people that otherwise would have not access.
Other reasons for your nomination
Ranjana needs to be acknowledged for her effort. We need people like her to help keeping our water and city clean for generations to come
