When "Stuff Happens" How Do Citizens Get Involved?
Tammany Together Annual Membership Meeting April 20, 2009, 6:30 PM

Citizens often hear about something they believe will have a negative impact on their quality of life. It may be a proposed development that will impact drainage, a sewer treatment plant that will discharge into a scenic river, a waste transfer station that might be detrimental to their neighborhood, or some other issue. Often, they do not know what to do to address those issues to influence the outcome.

Mike Murphy, Community Outreach Director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, will speak at Tammany Together's April 20, 2009 meeting on the topic of Louisiana citizens' environmental rights and how to protect those rights by accessing needed information and leveraging available resources.

The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic has been a friend and helpful neighbor to many of the citizens of St. Tammany by advising them and providing referrals to appropriate resources to help them make a difference.

Mr. Murphy and the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic recently helped the Goodbee Civic Association fight potential contamination of the scenic Tchefuncte River from the discharge of treated sewage from a new sewer treatment plant in their area. According to John Martin, President of the Goodbee Civic Association, "Mike advised us how to proceed and gave us resources to help us in our fight. Without the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, we would have been dead in the water."

Tammany Together's Annual Meeting is open to the public. It will be held on Monday, April 20, 2009. The meeting will be held at the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church located at 28662 Krentel Road, just north of the intersection of I-12 and Highway 434 (I-12 exit 74) in Lacombe. Doors will open at 6:00 PM, and the meeting will begin at 6:30 PM. A map showing the location of the meeting is available at http://www.tammanytogether.org/files/NSUUC.jpg.

At this meeting current members will elect new board members and vote on a by-laws change to allow the organization to be able to take action more quickly when a new issue arises. See http://www.tammanytogether.org/notice_of_2009_annual_meeting for nominees and the text of the proposed by-law change.

All members who have not yet paid their 2009 dues are reminded to bring their dues to the meeting so that they can vote on the new board and the by-laws change.