s0747 SENTURIA, BEN (1943-� ), ADDENDA, 1969-1988
104 FOLDERS

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-ST. LOUISS
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS

s0745 SENTURIA, BEN (1943- ), ADDENDA, 1976-1987
s0752 SENTURIA, BEN (1943- ), Campaign Finance Reform, Records, 1975-2000

Ben Senturia donated these papers to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri-St. Louis on November 18, 1994

Since 1966, Ben Senturia has served in a variety of capacities to advance environmental, peace, and political reform campaigns, especially in organizing the political and informational activities of nonprofit organizations. He also gave much of his personal time to environmental affairs and political reform. Through his Center for Active Citizenship, organized in 1989, Senturia taught activists how to establish and govern nonprofit organizations, how to mount ballot initiatives and organize campaigns in support of those initiatives. This collection reflects those efforts in several areas.

The collection is related: Coalition for the Environment, and sl 454, Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, 1980-1986.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

SERIES 1 COALITION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, 1969-1991, FOLDERS 1-50

Organized largely as a volunteer effort in 1969, the Coalition dealt with numerous environmental problems in the St. Louis area, including air pollution, disposal of solid wastes, clean water, land usage, the advent of nuclear power generation, the Coalition mounted public initiatives and informational campaigns in an effort to solve the problems. Ben Senturia was active in the Coalition during the 1970s, notably as executive vice-president, 1970-1972, then as executive director from 1972 through 1977, and finally, as a member of the Coalition's Board of Directors. Two major questions the Coalition confronted pertained to the proposed development of the Missouri Bottoms area in west St. Louis� (later known as Earth City,) (f. 1-4), and air pollution in the St. Louis area (f. 9-13, 24-25, 28). Also, a significant part of this series deals with the administrative affairs of the Coalition (f.37-50).

SERIES 2 NUCLEAR WEAPONS FREEZE CAMPAIGN, 1982-1988, FOLDERS 51-72

Senturia served as political education/outreach coordinator for the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, St. Louis Clearinghouse in these years.� The NFC was a national organization working to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation in the 1980s. Senturia was particularly active in the NFC’s efforts to influence election campaigns and ballot initiatives to convince Congress freeze the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons. In 1987, NFC merged with another anti-nuclear weapons organization, the Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy (usually referred to as SANE.) Senturia served on the SANE/Freeze executive committee for a number of years after the merger. A large part of these records deal with the administrative affairs of the NFC. (f.51-63).

SERIES 3 ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE, EAST-WEST GATEWAY COORDINATING COUNCIL, 1967-1982, FOLDERS 73-85

The East-West Gateway Coordinating Council was incorporated in 1965. The Council brought together St. Louis City and surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois in a voluntary organization so that city and county leaders could deal more effectively with metropolitan problems. The Council dealt with such major issues as mass urban transit, air pollution control, solid waste disposal, and land use policy. Senturia served on the task force as a representative of the Coalition for the Environment. The task force examined a broad range of issues affecting the environment, including flood plain management, air pollution, solid waste disposal, mass transportation, and the generation of electricity.

SERIES 4, ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNS, FOLDERS 86-104

Senturia had a general interest in environmental and consumer affairs beyond the particular organizations he represented. Records in Series 4 reflect this interest. Most of the material here deals with St. Louis area issues but some pertain to questions throughout Missouri.

FOLDER LISTING

BOX 1 (062519)
Folders 1-21

Series 1-COALITION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, 1969-1991

1. Development of Missouri Bottoms (Earth City), 1970s
2. Development of Missouri Bottoms
3. Development of Missouri Bottoms
4. Development of Missouri Bottoms
5. Opposition to Landfill in St. Louis County, 1971-1973
6. Opposition to Landfill in St. Louis County, 1971-1973
7. Opposition to Landfill in Jefferson County, 1969-1972
8. Landfill Problems at Jefferson Barracks, 1971
9. Federal Clean Air Act, 1976, as Amended in 1977
10. St. Louis County Air Pollution Control Appeal Board, 1971-1982
11. Air Pollution Issues, late 1970s
12. Air Pollution, Alpha Portland Cement Co., 1969-1976
13. Illinois Environmental Air Pollution, 1970-1971
14. Billboard Regulations, St. Louis County, 1986
15. Billboard Regulations, St. Louis County, 1986
16. Governance of Forest Park, Proposal, 1991
17. Three Mile Island Protest, March 28, 1981
18. Dr. John Gofman, Anti-Nuclear Power speaker, Oct. 1980
19. St. Louis Streets, Roads, and Land-use Policy, 1971, 1979
20. Environmental Reform and Its Impact on Jobs, 1970s
21. Environmental Activity in Kansas City, 1973

BOX 2 (062520)
Folders 22-36

Series 1 (cont'd)

22. Lead Poisoning in St. Louis, 1969-mid 1970s
23. Opposition to Dam Construction on the Meramac River, 1971-1980
24. Missouri Air Conservation Commission, 1968-1980
25. Air Pollution and Generating Electric Power, 1977-1978
26. Environmental Impact of the Demolition of Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project, 1974
27. Solid Waste Disposal Laws in Missouri, 1968-1980
28. Missouri Agencies Concerned with Air Pollution, 1969-1972
29. Missouri River Quarterly, early 1980s
30. Monsanto and Environmental Issues, 1969-1970
31. Implications of the Federal Environmental Protection Act, 1969-1975
32. Implications of the Federal Environmental Protection Act, 1969-1975
33. Information on Recombinant DNA, 1970s
34. “Talks” on Environmental Issues, 1970, by Ben Senturia
35. Environmental Effects of Nuclear Waste Disposal, 1970s
36. Water Quality Problems, 1984-1985

BOX 3 (062521)
Folders 37-61

SERIES 1 (cont'd)

37. Conference on the Future of the Coalition for the Environment, Oct. 1972
38. Board of Directors Meetings, Coalition for the Environment, 1973-1985
39. Board of Directors Meetings, Coalition for the Environment, 1973-1985
40. Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Planning Committee, 1985
41. Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Finance, late 1985
42. Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Planning and Policies, 1980s
43. Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Legislative Issues, 1984-1985
44. Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Nominating Committee, 1985
45. Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Finance and Planning, Nov. 1991
46. Issues of ALERT, monthly newspaper of the Coalition for the Environment, 1980s
47. Coalition for the Environment, Dispute with Fund Raising Firm, Hudson Bay Company, 1982-1984
48. Coalition for the Environment, Trash to Energy Programs, 1970s
49. Coalition for the Environment, Trash to Energy Programs, 1970s
50. Coalition for the Environment, Proposal to Missouri State Committee for the Humanities, 1973

SERIES 2 NUCLEAR FREEZE CAMPAIGN, (St. Louis Clearinghouse) 1982-1988

51. Internal Operations, 1982-1986
52. Planning and Strategy, 1982-1986
53. National Conference Material, 1982, 1983, 1984
54. Third National Conference, Feb. 1983
55. Fifth National Conference, Dec. 1984
56. Newsletters and Updates, 1982-1985
57. The Freeze Fact Sheet, Numbers 1-6, 8, 1983
58.  State and Local Activities, 1980s
59. Memos to Local Organizers, 1983, 1985
60. Material on 1982 California Nuclear Freeze Initiative
61. Political Campaign Activities, 1982-1985

BOX 4 (062522)
Folders 62-83

Series 2 (Cont'd)

62. Freeze Voter Campaign, 1984
63. Freeze Voter Efforts, 1986
64 Off prints and Articles on a Nuclear Freeze, 1982-1984
65. Nuclear Freeze Informational Sheets and Pamphlets, 1980s
66. Information on Hiroshima/Nagasaki Week, August 1985
67. Nuclear Freeze-SANE Merger, background phase, 1985-1987
68. Organizing the Freeze-SANE Merger, May-Sept., 1987
69. Nuclear Freeze-SANE Strategy Discussions, 1986-1988
70. Professional Study for Nuclear Freeze, “How to Organize a Political Campaign,” 1983
71. Nuclear Freeze Campaign Handouts, 1980s
72. Artifacts

Series 3, ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE, EAST-WEST GATEWAY COORDINATING COUNCIL

73. General, 1970s
74. Reorganization of EWGCC, 1979
75. Impact of Road Construction in St. Louis, 1971-1972
76. Flood Plain Management, 1972-1973
77. Air Pollution Issues, 1967, 1977-1979
78. Air Pollution Issues, 1977-1979
79. EWGCC Procedures, 1971, 1974
80. Air Quality Advisory Committee, 1978-1979
81. Various copies of CONTACT (Continued Action on Transport), 1979-1981
82. Solid Waste Disposal, 1971-1973
83. Solid Waste Disposal, correspondence and supporting plans and studies, 1974

BOX 5 (062523)
Folders 84-104

Series 3 (cont'd)

84. Regional Forum on reorganizing EWGCC, Transportation Issues, 1979-1980
85. Material on Electric Proposal to Build a Power Plant, 1971-1972

Series 4, ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNS, 1969-1988

86. Annual Reports from Union Electric, 1969-1982, various
87. Consumer Criticisms of Union Electric, 1970, 1971, 1973
88. Consumer Criticisms of Union Electric, 1970s
89. Alberta Slavin, Consumer Activist, 1971-1972
90. Material Published by Missourians for Safe Energy, 1979
91. Material Generated by Missouri Statewide Energy Coalition, 1981-1982
92. Citizens Utility Board, Review of Utility Rates, 1982
93. Proposition B, Electric Rate Payers Protection Act, 1984
94. Student Environmental Teach-In, Washington University, 1970
95. Studies on Air Pollution, Center for the Biology of Natural Systems (Washington University), 1969, 1971, 1972
96. THE SPIRIT, an East-West Gateway Coordinating Council Urban Planning Project, 1978-1979
97. The Environmental Defense Fund, 1969-1972
98. Information on a Proposed Domed Stadium in Earth City, 1986, 1988
99. Inner City Health Issues, 1970s
100. Friends of the Earth, Opposition to Enlarging Lock and Dam 26, 1977
101. Discussions on Solid Waste Disposal, Bi-State Development Agency, 1977-1979
102. Records, Missouri Citizens, 1974-1978
103. Protection of Wildlife, 1971, 1981-1982
104. Missouri Conservation Federation, early 1970s