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Rocky Mountain Environmental Health Association

Federal Documentation on MCS Disability

21-Dec-2009

Dear Colleagues,

We want to determine whether and how multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and electrical sensitivity (EHS) housing literature is being distributed to agencies and the public by HUD FHEO's Fair Housing Information Clearinghouse (FHIC) in Rockville, MD.
1-800-343-FHIC,
800-343-3442,
800-245-2691.
FHIC used to charge $3.00 for a packet of MCS cases.

Following is a partial list of federal publications that document MCS as an accepted illness and disability. These documents should be available from the FHIC Clearinghouse or other viable public source.

To err on the safe side, ensure that at least some of these documents are included in your filing when you make a submittal for any MCS-related benefits.

Thank you in advance for any feedback or additions indicating that HUD has indeed studied and supported our accommodation before. We want to counter their too-often arguments that our access requirements are "new" or that "not enough is known" or that each one of us is alone in exploring "uncharted territory." Such arguments are not true.

What is "new" is the clarity with which our community can proceed, when accurately informed.

Sincerely,

Susan Molloy, M. A.

Snowflake, AZ 85937

(928) 536-4625

1. Memo from George L. Weidenfeller, HUD Deputy General Counsel on 4/14/1992, releasing Technical Guidance Memo 91-3 signed by Frank Keating, HUD General Counsel on 3/5/1992, written by Carole W. Wilson, Associate General Counsel for Equal Opportunity and Administrative Law;
   
2. Memo of 6/6/1991 by Leonora Guarraia, General Deputy Assistant Secretary for FHEO, distributed to all HUD FHEA Regional Directors along with TGM 91-3 stating HUD's position on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder;
   
3. HUD Determination on a Fair Housing Act Complaint, 1990, ruling against a property owner for refusal to delay fumigation in order to permit a temporary absence for an MCS tenant;
   
4. Letter of 10/26/1990 from HUD Assistant Secretary Timothy Coyle in response to Senator Frank Lautenberg's request, on behalf of National Center for Environmental Health Strategies, for a HUD position paper on MCS;
   
5. HUD Conciliation Agreement, signed 12/4/1992 by the Director of the FHEO office, Chicago Regional Office of HUD, requiring apartment owners to grant accommodations to MCS tenant James LeRoy, represented by Attorney Earon Davis;
   
6. Decision by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (Raymond Cartright), 1986, that Lincoln Realty Management Company of Audubon, PA was wrong in trying to evict MCS tenant Sally Atkinson on the basis of her disability;
   
7. Letter from Russell K. Paul, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations on 6/17/1992 to Congressman Wally Herger, for constituent Barry Karr, summarizing HUD's TGM 91-3;
   
8. Consent Decree of 8/25/1993, by U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra, requiring an Apartment Owners Management Company in Honolulu to accommodate an MCS tenant who was represented by attorneys Diane Houk and Brian Heffernan, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, U.S. Department of Justice;
   
9. Conciliation Agreement, 1994, in which Patrick Comorato, HUD Mid-Atlantic (Philadelphia) Regional Office Equal Opportunity Specialist, required that accommodations be granted by Bernstein Management and Columbia Realty Venture, to MCS tenant Ellender V. Edwards;
   
10. Settlement Agreement won in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, signed 1/11/1995, requiring accommodation of chemically sensitive resident Melinda Lebens by County Creek Association;
    
11. Letter from Hal C. DeCell, HUD Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, 1998, to Congressman Wally Herger for constituent Barry Karr, stating that the Fair Housing Act does apply to rental and owner-occupied housing including condominium units, apartments, mobile home parks, and single-family homes;
    
12. HUD-sponsored brochures (Grant # FH200G93-00012), published in February 1996, entitled:
    • "Renting or Leasing Publicly Funded or Subsidized Housing"
      
    • "Fair Housing: A Guide for Property Managers Using Non-Discriminatory Practices for Tenants with Disabilities"
      
    • "Low Cost-Low Tech Home Modifications for People with Disabilities"
      
    • "What Do You Require When Looking for Accessible Housing"
      
    • "Your Rights when Renting, Leasing, or Purchasing Private Sector Housing"
    
    
13. Description of the process by which $700,000 was allocated in 1992 through HUD's Section 811 Program to nonprofit corporation Marin Homes for Independent Living for construction of an 11-unit MCS- and wheelchair-accessible apartment house in San Rafael, CA.

On behalf of all of us with these and related accessible housing requirements, thank you to the Civil Rights and Disability advocates within HUD for their continued diligent efforts on our behalf.

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Revised '9-Jun-2014,11:46:16'