The Sierra Club, at its heart, is a grassroots organization, and although we are the nation's largest and oldest conservation organization, our locally elected, democratic leadership at times actively works to elevate smaller community groups' messages to protect the planet and people. A Sierra Club member in Hinesburg recently reached out to the Vermont Sierra Club about a proposed artificial turf athletic field at Champlain Valley Union High School. You can help stop this proposal.
Why is Sierra Club concerned?
Synthetic turf is a predominantly petrochemical product category whose manufacture, use, and disposal expose communities to toxic chemicals. Use of synthetic turf in place of natural green spaces negatively impacts human and environmental health. Sierra Club envisions a world in which natural alternatives are used in outdoor settings such as landscaping, public spaces, play surfaces, and athletic fields. (See the full Sierra Club Policy here)
Response from Community Members
The artificial turf field proposed by a small group of individuals is a threat to Hinesburg's protected well water, the health of residents, and those downstream. Community members are speaking up to say they deserve peace of mind when it comes to their water source, property values, and family health. To prevent the exposure of student athletes to toxins and to keep town wells safe and clean, they are advocating for improving grass fields on the Champlain Valley Union High School campus.
Take action and sign the petition
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-school-board-approval-of-artificial-turf-proposal?source=direct_link& (See the petition language below.
To: CVSD School Board and Superintendent
From: [Your Name]
To the CVSD School Board and Superintendent,
We, the undersigned, ask you to pause the Community Field Project (CFP). As we have learned more about the project, community trust in the school board and the Superintendent has collapsed. The Superintendent promised not to “move forward if there is uncertainty about legal compliance, environmental impact, or community trust.”1 We are now at a point of deep mistrust.
A pause includes, specifically, not signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU); doing so would limit or even foreclose other approaches to improving the CVU playing field/s. If board members were to go ahead and sign the MOU, they would then be personally responsible for the community division generated by the CFP proposal.
The reconstruction of a CVU playing field is a public project for a public school, and as such the project needs to be based on the public’s input. At the moment, the school board is allowing a private funding group to set the agenda. Instead, the board must recalibrate the process so that the public’s voice is central. The community does not consent to a small group of donors making key decisions about the health of its children and environment.
Many of the community’s questions and concerns have gone unsatisfactorily answered. Using the pause time thoughtfully, as we detail below, gives the school board an opportunity to build toward a genuine consensus with the community.
Some Reasons Why the CFP Proposal Is Problematic and Must Be Paused
As detailed by multiple sources multiple times, the product chosen for this project — artificial turf — has a long history of serious damage caused by its chemical components, which are extremely difficult and astronomically expensive to remediate. The risk of exposing people to heavy metals, microplastic contamination, dozens of carcinogens, and any of the approximately 15,000 forever chemical compounds is unacceptable to us.
The burden is on the manufacturer to prove — not assert — there are no intentional or unintentional forever chemicals in its product. The manufacturer FieldTurf, however, has refused, for groundless reasons, to allow independent testing of its product; there are of course protocols to ensure product samples retain their integrity when transported from one location to another. The CFP proposal to install two acres of potentially PFAS-containing materials cannot take any forward steps without first testing the product at a laboratory recommended by PFAS experts.
The CFP proposal is fundamentally flawed because it makes FieldTurf’s product — rather than improved playing fields — the goal. If improved fields were the foremost goal, CFP would be open to any method of reaching that goal, but they are not. It is highly irregular to make a proposal contingent on a single vendor, and the lack of public bidding for a project of this size, located in a public school district, flouts clear Vermont regulation.
CFP proposes to improve conditions on one field only, which raises the question of equitability. We want the district to work towards a project that improves more CVU fields so that more students benefit. Further, artificial turf is not equitable for children with pre-existing health conditions who cannot play on hard, toxic, overheating surfaces.
Artificial turf has a terminal lifespan of 10-12 years, which builds steep replacement and disposal costs into the project. We are opposed to adding excess toxic waste to the global ecosystem, and we are opposed to adding needless expenses to our households. Perhaps worse, given industry and regulatory trends, in a decade, artificial turf may be entirely banned and CVSD would have to create a proper natural grass field. Better to do it now, once.
Our Requests While the CFP Project is Paused
*Hold a genuine public hearing. The superintendent promised a “transparent community dialogue,” “in the spring.” The following are not substitutes for a comprehensive and evenhanded public hearing: a school board meeting, with or without technical difficulties; a promotional event by FieldTurf; and a factual informational panel presentation, the contents of which have not been fully discussed or addressed publicly by the School Board.
*The public needs to be able to review the gift restrictions proposed by the CFP and other donors so that the public can understand the full ramifications of accepting these donations.
*We request transparency and community input on arrangements with the environmental consulting firms that the school board hired whose names have been withheld. We note that a consulting firm can merely provide a guess at the potential risks. It is up to the community, not the school board, to determine if those risks are worth taking.
*As discussed above, FieldTurf must provide a product sample that can be comprehensively and independently tested at CFP’s expense.
*In light of reports that CVU students and teachers who are opposed to artificial turf have felt intimidated, the school board should take time during the pause to create a safe space for staff, teachers, and students to speak freely.
*When designed and maintained at a high standard, natural turf offers significant environmental and long-term economic benefits: excellence in absorbing carbon, filtering stormwater, reducing surface temperatures, supporting soil health, longevity, and of course not introducing microplastic pollution into surrounding soils and waterways. A stadium-quality natural grass field built with proper subsurface drainage, a sand-based root zone, and professional maintenance can remain durable, safe, and highly playable for decades. Over a 25-year period, such a field can be more cost-effective than artificial turf.
* Due to the advantages of natural grass, we request that the board fund a feasibility study to determine the performance improvements that are achievable with natural turf and the estimated costs. Cost proposals for the study should be solicited from design firms experienced in advanced natural turf field design, and possible sources of funding for the study investigated.
Conclusion
School district leaders have a duty of care to students of all ages, their families, and the neighbors who support the schools in multiple ways, including financially. In addition, the school board must respect the community’s right to self-determination, and the state's Public Trust Doctrine. The community — the public — must not be sidelined. Pause the CFP, re-center the community, and together we can move forward to find a solution to improve the CVU playing fields.