What is this story about?

A wood facility site named JH Baxter polluted the groundwater, air and released hazardous waste for decades. This is the story of how residents have been and continue to be impacted by it and the actions residents took to finally see JH Baxter plead guilty this year.

What did I have to do to make this story a reality

1. FOIA Requests

a. I FOIA requested for all received by the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) regarding J.H. Baxter in Eugene, OR between 2002 to 2022. This helped with my reporting because it offers a glimpse of how residents were reacting to the strong odors and waste produced by JH Baxter.

2. Court records

a. I used Pacer to read and analyze UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. J.H. BAXTER & CO., A CALIFORNIA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, et al. These court records showed specifically what JH Baxter was guilty for. It revealed the corporation and the president pleaded guilty for actions between January 2019 to October 2019. In reality, there is evidence showing JH Baxter had over 20 violations with three different enviromental agencies spanning decades.

3. Interviews

a. I spoke with school teacher Kelly Ferguson and local residents Lisa and Eric Dion. I plan to speak to climate activist Arjorie Arberry-Baribeault and a high school student this week.

4. The data work led me to finding this hyper-local story:

a. I found a list of proposed and current Superfund sites in the National Priorities List by the Environmental Protection Agency. NPL (National Priorities List) Superfund sites are the most hazardous contaminated locations in the U.S.. The EPA identifies these sites for long-term cleanup due to the presence of toxic waste that poses a risk to human health or the environment. These sites are prioritized for federal funding and remediation under the Superfund program.

b. I found all U.S public schools listed under the National Center for Education Statistics. The NCES also lists data on demographics.

c. MERGE. Using GeoPandas and buffering method, I merged the two datasets and discovered 1792 public schools are within a mile away from a current Superfund sites. I also merged proposed Superfund sites with public schools. That's where I discovered JH Baxter and reached out to locals to understand more.

Data visualization goals

a. Use satellite imagery to identify JH Baxter and Bethel neighborhood.

i. To show the satellite images, I used scrollytelling here. I annotated the satellite images using Adobe Illustrator.