Climate Insider: IPCC Report, Virginia Climate Commission, Anti-Wind Bill

The biggest climate news of the past few weeks came when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its first comprehensive report since 2007. Although the information wasn’t surprising, the urgent tone of the report and its claim that the worst impacts of climate change are still to come caught the world’s attention. According to the New York Times, the report “concluded that ice caps are melting, sea ice in the Arctic is collapsing, water supplies are coming under stress, heat waves and heavy rains are intensifying, coral reefs are dying, and fish and many other creatures are migrating toward the poles or in some cases going extinct.”
The report highlighted, among other threats, the devastating impacts climate change will have on the world’s food supply, a crisis that will adversely impact developing nations.
“There are those who say we can’t afford to act,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “But waiting is truly unaffordable. The costs of inaction are catastrophic.”

In order to mitigate these impacts, the US and other major energy consumers must transition to renewable, clean energy sources. Although progress is slow, it is noticeable.
So far in 2014, new wind energy construction has broken records as demand for renewable power has risen. “Now the cheapest means of generating electricity in many parts of the country, net power generation from wind energy was up 19 percent year-over-year in 2014, meeting 4.13 percent of U.S. grid demand, according to ACORE and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).”
Congress is still debating extending the wind power Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC), which would further boost new clean energy investments. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee voted to pass a tax extenders package that included both the ITC and PTC. Read more about this important development in the Virginia section of this post.
The Southeast US isn’t usually synonymous with clean energy generation, but we’re starting to see significant progress. Currently, half of the solar currently installed in South Carolina is on one roof at a Boeing factory. But the hesitance to develop renewable energy is fading. “We now have three of the major energy providers in South Carolina recognizing the benefits of solar energy, which is a huge shift from just five years ago,” according to Andrew Streit, a former board member of the South Carolina Solar Council. Although the political climate of many southern states is hostile to renewable energy development, South Carolina utility SCE&G’s plan to go from 4 to 20 megawatts of solar is a step in the right direction.

Perhaps an argument that will help renewable energy thrive in these traditionally conservative states is the potential for renewable energy to create jobs for veterans. Compared to other industries, there is a relatively large number of veterans working in solar power: they make up 9.2 percent of the almost 143,000-member solar-power workforce compared to just over 7 percent of the national workforce. “Veterans view climate change as a threat to national security. Working in solar is one way for them to continue in their service as defenders of our nation.”

News in Virginia:
After a fruitful legislative session, we bring you more good news for renewable energy in the commonwealth. Community Housing Partners (CHP) and the town of Blacksburg are initiating a program that makes rooftop solar power a huge money-saver for town residents. “It works like this: If a site looks promising, one of two local solar installers working with the program will do a thorough assessment and provide an estimate for a system to meet the homeowner’s needs. The town and CHP will provide information to the homeowners on the federal tax credit, financing for their systems and other details.” More than 230 people have signed up for the program since its launch last month. The program will help homeowners save on their monthly electricity bills, and also potentially generate income by selling their renewable energy certificates to utilities looking to offset their own energy use.

This week, Governor McAuliffe announced plans to reactivate a commission to advise him on what can be done to protect Virginia from the threats of climate change. He focused on Hampton Roads and other coastal Virginia communities, saying, “It rains a day or two or three, and their roads are shut down. That’s just rain … We cannot afford to ignore this. We’ve got to prepare our coastal communities to deal with climate change and all natural disasters.” The climate commission hasn’t met in over four years, largely, according to McAuliffe, because the former attorney general of the state of Virginia didn’t believe in human-caused climate change. Governor McAuliffe acknowledges climate change as a serious threat to the commonwealth, and ran for governor on a platform that included a commitment to addressing that threat. He has a real opportunity in his first year in office to set a tone of action on climate change, and Virginians across the commonwealth are holding him to his promises.
Last week saw an important step in encouraging new wind power development. The Senate Finance committee voted to pass a tax extenders package that included an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC). According to Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, “This provides a critical signal for our industry, which has created up to 85,000 jobs and has a bright future ahead, as we grow from 4 percent of the U.S. power grid to an expected 20 percent and beyond, so long as we have a predictable business climate.” Both Virginia Senator Mark Warner and Maryland Senator Ben Cardin supported extending these important tax credits. Virginia needs a strong climate champion in Senator Warner, so click here to let him know you appreciate his vote.

News in Maryland:
Farmers rally against HB 1168The Maryland legislative session has come to a close, and not all of the results were positive for Marylanders concerned about the climate and environment. You can see the Baltimore Sun’s take on the “good and bad” of the 2014 session in this slideshow. Of note, HB 1168, the so-called “anti-wind bill” is included in the “bad,” along with this call to action: “Governor O’Malley, who appears somewhat perplexed by this legislation, should veto it.”

The legislation in question would put a hold on offshore wind development in all or parts of 12 Maryland counties for thirteen months, a move that would kill the Great Bay wind farm under development now on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and threaten to scare off future wind development in the area, which the Maryland Energy Administration estimates is worth $1 billion to the state economy. While backers of the bill claim they were acting on radar testing concerns at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the wind farm developers and the U.S. Navy have been negotiating for over a year and have nearly finalized an agreement that would ensure the project does not interfere with “Pax River.”
Opposition to the anti-wind bill has come from Marylanders of varying backgrounds, including labor union activist Joe Uehlein, who wrote this piece in the Baltimore Sun, and Mary Anne Peterman, the owner of a 100-acre farm in Somerset County. According to this interview on WYPR, Peterman planned to have a wind turbine installed on her property to power “the homes of about 500 neighbors without any pollution,” but the project is put on hold because of the bill. “It would generate extra income so our children would have the income. Our house was built in the 1840s, we’d like to keep that for our kids.” Peterman isn’t the only Eastern Shore landowner to feel this way. Last week, 25 Marylanders, including two farmers who rode a pair of tractors rallied in Annapolis to show their opposition to HB 1168. You can see pictures of their rally here.

After last week’s explosion at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility in Plymouth, Washington, the fight to stop a proposed liquefied natural gas export facility at Cove Point in southern Maryland has taken on even more urgency. The explosion occurred at 8:30 am on Monday, March 31st. Four hundred people who live within a two mile radius of the facility had to be evacuated from their homes, and five workers at the facility were hospitalized. According to the Benton County sheriff’s Deputy Joe Lusignan, it’s “a little bit of a miracle that no one was killed.”

This Reuters piece points out that the Plymouth explosion could emphasize the “risk of storing massive gas supplies near population centers.” When the “processing vessel” exploded, it sent “chunks of shrapnel as heavy as 250 pounds as far as 300 yards.” One of those pieces pierced an LNG storage tank causing leakage.
The incident has left Marylanders living in the vicinity of Cove Point to ask if their safety should really be left up to a “miracle.” The Bay Net reports that, “The citizens group is calling on FERC to complete ‘an objective and transparent quantitative risk assessment for Dominion’s proposed LNG export facility.’” You can read the full text of the press release here.

In this letter to the editor, Sarah Bur makes the compelling case to stop the Cove Point export project. She sums up the concerns of Quakers (Friends) from nine Quaker Meetings in central and southern Maryland:

“The Cove Point project has far-reaching potential impact on human health and environmental quality in every phase of the process — extraction, transportation, liquefaction, shipping, re-gasification and distribution of the natural gas abroad. We are especially concerned about the impact Dominion’s proposal will have on climate and air quality in Maryland. The proposed 130 megawatt power plant required to liquefy the natural gas would be Maryland’s fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter, just behind our three major coal-fired power plants.”

The conclusion is simple: “For the sake of future generations, Cove Point must be stopped.”

 

Calvert County Community Group Demands Cove Point Answers and Safety Risk Assessment in the Wake of Plymouth, Washington LNG Facility Explosion


Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community
Contact:
Sue Allison: 410-474-0262, sueallison@comcast.net
Tracey Eno: 410-326-4222, traceyeno@comcast.net

Calvert County Community Group Demands Cove Point Answers and Safety Risk Assessment in the Wake of Plymouth, Washington LNG Facility Explosion

Citizens demand a full and transparent quantitative risk assessment of Cove Point hazards—including explosion risks—especially given the LNG export facility would be the first ever located so close to so many people
Seeing ‘our lives are literally on the line,’ citizens say they will no longer accept ‘business as usual’ at FERC and ‘vague assurances’ from Dominion
The liquefied natural gas facility explosion that rocked a Plymouth, Washington community on Monday, March 31, 2014, has Lusby residents demanding answers about a proposed expansion that would enable the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to become an LNG export facility. The incident should also reignite debate on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s role as a sole siting authority and safety regulator, given the agency’s apparent ongoing failure to fully consider the worst-case, compound safety risks of locating LNG facilities within close proximity to people’s homes. [1]
In light of the concerns and questions outlined below, Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community is demanding that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission complete an objective and transparent quantitative risk assessment for Dominion’s proposed LNG export facility—an assessment open to public scrutiny and including all potential mishaps, including the worst-case domino effect of explosions like the one that occurred last week in Plymouth.
If FERC refuses to do such an analysis, we call on Governor O’Malley to order the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to conduct a similarly thorough updated risk analysis. With our and our neighbors’ lives literally on the line, we deserve no less.
WHAT WE KNOW: Dominion’s plan for Cove Point poses unique safety risks and vulnerabilities that could make the consequences of a similar explosion far more severe.
The still unexplained explosion and subsequent fire at the Williams Northwest Pipeline Facility in Washington State shook homes more than a mile away, injuring five workers and sending a “mushroom cloud” of black smoke into the air, according to the Associated Press.[2] Of special concern to Lusby residents, shrapnel from the explosion caused the failure of a single containment LNG storage tank, which led to the formation of a flammable vapor cloud and the evacuation of residents within a two-mile radius. As reported by Reuters, local authorities feared that a second blast could level a 0.75 mile “lethal zone” around the plant.[3]
The day after the horrific incident, LNG expert Jerry Havens, who helped develop the vapor dispersion models that federal regulators used until recently to evaluate hazards from similar facilities, went on record with The Oregonian [4]:

“We’re still learning about the safety of all these ventures because we’re moving into a whole new area where we’re handling such large amounts of LNG. … We’re talking about so much energy and so much potential for a catastrophic event to occur. We should really think about whether we should allow these things to be built close to any population center.”

The events in Plymouth, Washington were a chilling warning for Lusby residents, especially given the following factors:

  • The tanks in Plymouth were single containment tanks, considered the lowest integrity tanks with respect to protecting nearby residents from LNG spills and the resulting flammable vapor clouds.
  • The tanks at Cove Point are also single containment tanks. Yet, it should be noted that the largest tanks at the Cove Point terminal are designed to hold more than twice as much LNG volume as the tanks in Plymouth, WA.
  • Unlike the Plymouth site, which is in a relatively remote area, the Cove Point site is located within 4,500 feet of approximately 360 homes and is adjacent to a public park.
  • The proposed Cove Point export terminal footprint would crowd together additional hazardous processes that the Plymouth site doesn’t have, including a large scale liquefaction train utilizing high pressure, highly explosive liquefied propane gas.

WHY WE’RE CONCERNED: Dominion’s export plan is inherently more dangerous. Meanwhile, a state risk analysis from 2006 indicates that flash fire hazards ALREADY extend offsite at Cove Point, contradicting Dominion and FERC assurances.
If approved, the Dominion facility will be only the second LNG export facility ever built in the lower 48 states and will be the only LNG export facility to ever be built in such a densely populated area. LNG export terminals are believed to be inherently more hazardous than LNG import terminals. The explosion of a liquefaction train at an LNG export terminal in Algeria in 2004 caused massive devastation, killing 27 people and injuring more than 70 people.
FERC is well aware of the Algeria incident—they sent representatives to study it. Bill Powers, an engineer based in California who has studied LNG terminals, along with siting issues for both onshore and offshore proposals, also studied the Skikda, Algeria plant disaster. Noting that Halliburton engineers had missed a weak link in their safety planning for the facility, Powers delivered this stern warning [5]:

“That highlights the importance of putting these facilities in places where, no matter what, people will not be at risk. If a company like Halliburton missed a scenario that could cause this, that tells us that we cannot account for all possible accident scenarios at LNG facilities.”

The members of Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community are demanding answers that go beyond the mere assurances Dominion executives have given citizens and local leaders that no risks from the new expansion will go offsite. In fact, Lusby citizens have recently become aware of a report commissioned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that appears to directly contradict Dominion’s assurances [6]:

  • Apparently, Maryland DNR officials were tasked with producing an independent risk analysis of the 2006 Cove Point expansion, which included the two largest LNG single containment tanks on the site today.
  • The DNR report was a quantitative risk assessment that looked at every possible mishap scenario, including terrorism. The DNR report clearly shows that risks DO extend offsite as the plant exists today.
  • Indeed, if one of the new Cove Point tanks were to rupture and spill all of its contents, according to a chart on page 23 of that report, citizens within 1,300 meters (4,265 ft.) of that failed storage tank could be exposed to a fatal flash fire risk.

The DNR study of the last expansion appears to be much more extensive from a safety perspective than the limited prescriptive hazard assessment utilized by FERC. The worst mishap scenario referenced in the FERC Environmental Impact Statement for the 2006 Dominion Cove Point expansion was a one hour LNG storage tank leak from a 24 inch sump line into a sub-impound area. [7] The Plymouth, WA incident proves that a one hour LNG leak from an LNG tank is not the worst-case scenario at an LNG facility in the United States.
Lusby residents are demanding answers of our local, state and federal regulatory agencies. Specifically, we demand to know:

  • Why were Lusby residents never informed about the involuntary fatal risk hazards we were exposed to with the last expansion at Cove Point?
  • Would full containment tanks (in lieu of single containment tanks) have mitigated those risks? [8]
  • If FERC safety criteria stipulate that no fatal hazards from LNG terminals may extend offsite, why was the last expansion approved by FERC?

WHAT WE DEMAND: FERC must complete a comprehensive quantitative risk assessment of the worst-case, compound explosion hazards of Dominion’s LNG export facility—involving the full and open participation of residents living in its shadow.
Dale Allison, a father from Lusby, Maryland who is a retired U.S. Navy civilian aerospace engineer, responded to the news of the Plymouth LNG facility explosion with a fourth submittal to FERC’s docket on the Dominion Cove Point LNG export expansion, reiterating his concerns regarding the explosive hazards which residents will face with the addition of a utility-scale power plant and a large-scale, extremely hazardous liquefaction train at the already crowded footprint of the Dominion property, which is less than a half mile from his home. [9] Allison reacted to the events in Plymouth:

“The unfortunate mishap which just occurred at the Plymouth LNG facility once again highlights the absolute requirement that LNG terminals only be sited in remote locations. Cove Point is not that site.

“But, if you insist on proceeding, here is what we require. Because the proposed Cove Point liquefaction site is so tightly packed with hazardous process equipment and materials, and because there are so many homes in close proximity, we demand that a full quantitative risk assessment be performed that not only looks at ALL individual mishaps, but also addresses ALL POSSIBLE MISHAP ESCALATIONS. Unfortunately, the Plymouth, WA mishap also shows us that escalations are REAL. A full QRA is the only way that all residents living close to the Cove Point plant can possibly know the full cumulative risk they face—their probability of loss of life—based on their separation distance from the plant.”

Dale’s wife Sue Allison, who has become quite adept at translating her husband’s engineering jargon for neighbors, explained it this way:

“I think the Plymouth incident highlights the fact that even when safety precautions are taken, accidents can happen and one mishap can lead to another, and another. In Plymouth there was an explosion, which led to shrapnel flying through air, which led to a ruptured LNG storage tank, which led to an LNG leak, which led to a flammable vapor cloud, which led to a two-mile evacuation. In a word, there was a serious ‘escalation’ event in Plymouth.

“We continue to hope that FERC will require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Cove Point, but whether the safety analysis for the Dominion expansion is done as part of an Environmental Assessment or an EIS, it must be done right and it must consider worst-case scenarios for residents, which would include escalation events. Residents are often told by our elected officials that we really don’t have a right to complain about the expansion because we bought our homes knowing the plant was there and the expansion will be built inside of the existing Dominion footprint. But the fact that Dominion’s Cove Point facility is constrained by that footprint is exactly why we should be concerned—the closer the hazardous equipment and materials are on site, the greater the chances are that a mishap can escalate.

“I recently spoke to a mother of young children whose house faces the plant on Cove Point Road. She explained that she is very anxious about the expansion. FERC’s safety analysis must be able to show that mother, based on how close her house is to the proposed expansion, exactly what her family’s safety risk would be should any foreseeable accident happen on site, which could include an explosion, a full tank leak, or both. If an objective QRA, done right, shows that the expansion will subject residents to an unacceptable level of safety risk, Dominion and our Calvert County government should start planning on buying some houses.”

The lesson from Plymouth is clear: It can no longer be “business as usual” at FERC where the safety of residents is concerned. The stakes are way too high at Cove Point. The members of Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community continue to believe that Cove Point is not an appropriate site for such a hazardous endeavor. We stand behind our neighbor, Dale Allison, who has spent countless hours researching these safety issues to protect his family and his neighbors. We join him in his call to FERC for an objective, transparent QRA that is open to public scrutiny and that includes all credible mishaps, including explosion mishaps and escalation events.
If FERC refuses to do such an analysis, we call on Governor O’Malley to instruct the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to do another independent risk analysis for the current expansion—one that will become a public document.
Our lives are literally on the line. We deserve nothing less. We will no longer accept vague assurances about Dominion being a “good neighbor.” We are all good neighbors. It is time to get all the safety facts out on the table.

###

Plymouth Radius
CONSIDER THIS: An 850 foot radius from the LNG storage tank that was ruptured at the Plymouth, WA facility reaches the boundry of that site (see graphic above).  An 850 radius from the proposed location of the gas turbine compressors at the Cove Point terminal puts you at the front doors of homes on Cove Point Road!
Cove Point Radius
[1] “Some community groups and government officials fear that LNG terminals may expose nearby residents to unacceptable hazards. Ongoing public concern about LNG safety has focused congressional attention on the exclusivity of FERC’s LNG siting authority, proposals for a regional siting process, the lack of ‘remote’ siting requirements in FERC regulations, state permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act, terrorism attractiveness of LNG, the adequacy of Coast Guard security resources, and other issues.” [Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import Terminal: Siting, Safety, and Regulation, Paul W. Parfomak, December 14, 2009, RL32205]
[2] “Blast Rocks Washington Gas Plant; 5 Workers Hurt.” Associated Press, March 31, 2014, http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hurt-natural-gas-blast-washington-plant-23129473
[3] “Blast at U.S. LNG site casts spotlight on natural gas safety.” Reuters, April 6, 2014, http://news.yahoo.com/blast-u-lng-casts-spotlight-natural-gas-safety-111335070–sector.html?soc_src=copy
[4] “Gas explosion at LNG facility in Washington prompts concerns about proposed export terminals in Oregon.” The Oregonian, April 1, 2014, http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/04/gas_explosion_at_lng_facility.html
[5] “Report sheds new light on LNG blast in Algeria,” Source: Washington Times, April 14, 2004, http://www.gasandoil.com/news/2004/05/nta41868
[6] “Cove Point LNG Terminal Expansion Project Risk Study.” Maryland Department of Natural Resources, June 28, 2006 (Revised January 14, 2010), http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/images/CovePoint_Expansion_Risk_Study_MDDNR_UpdateJan2010.pdf
[7] Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP & Dominion Transmission, Inc. ‘s Expansion Project under CP05-130 et al., 10/28/2005, Accession #20051028-4000, Environmental Analysis Section page 4-158.
[8] A description of full containment LNG tanks available at this link: http://www.canaportlng.com/storing_lng.php.
[9] Mr. Allison’s letter to FERC regarding the Plymouth, WA incident is submittal # 20140402-5033, Case #CP 13-113; his previous FERC submittals are # 20140331-5110 March 31, 2014, Submittal # 20140307-5131 March 7, 2014, and submittal # 20140205-5035 February 5, 2014.

Climate Insider: Climate Report, Calling on Obama, Green in Virginia

Climate change is a serious global threat. Ok, you already knew that. But a new report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science hopes to convey that not only does climate change pose a dire threat to life as we know it, it’s a threat we have to address right now. It contains language that is “sharper, clearer and more accessible than perhaps anything the scientific community has put out to date.” The report is only one component of a campaign to dispel climate myths and spread the truth far and wide. “The report warns that the effects of human emissions of heat-trapping gases are already being felt, that the ultimate consequences could be dire, and that the window to do something about it is closing.”
On the international stage, President Obama is joining EU leaders in Brussels in an effort to tackle climate change. The US and EU will pledge to cut emissions in the first quarter of 2015 in an effort to set an example ahead of the 2015 UN summit in Paris. That summit’s “aim must be to limit any global average temperature increase to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels ‘and should therefore include ambitious mitigation contributions, notably from the world’s major economies and other significant emitters.” The EU has talked about increasing their emissions reductions targets to a 40% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030, up from a 20% reduction by 2020 which they have very nearly achieved. “The United States by contrast has said it will reduce carbon by 17 percent by 2020 compared with 2005, which equates to a fall of 3.5 percent below 1990 levels.” 

This week, the White House launched its climate change data website, aimed at making climate data available to researchers, businesses, and governments working to adapt to climate change. You can check out the early phase of the website here. “The project includes the introduction of a climate-focused section of the federal government’s open data platform at climate.data.gov; an innovation challenge to solicit ideas from the private sector to demonstrate coastal flooding; and collaboration with companies like Google and Ersi to provide technological support.”

Speaking of the White House, 16 environmental groups wrote a letter to President Obama on Tuesday calling on the administration “to reverse course on this plan [to expand natural gas extraction] and commit instead to keeping most of our nation’s fossil fuel reserves in the ground, in line with the recommendations of most of the world’s leading climate scientists.” The letter called on the President to demand an Environmental Impact Statement for Cove Point as a good faith first step. You can read the full letter here. The letter was announced in a tele-press conference with CCAN director Mike Tidwell, 350.org director and world renowned climate activists Bill McKibben, and Sierra Club Director Michael Brune. It generated press coverage across the country. Read articles from the Wall Street Journal, Wisconsin Gazette, Chicago Tribune, and local Baynet. The arguments against exporting American natural gas aren’t just environmental; the costs to our wallets and ur daily lives of exporting our energy sources are often very high.

National Geographic has entered the gas exports conversation, pointing out that gax exports would mean that “Not only would Americans pay more for heating fuel, but manufacturers, who use natural gas not only for power but as a feedstock for a wide array of plastic products, would see higher costs as well.” The article also points out that there is strong opposition to natural gas exports from industry leaders, including Dow Chemical, who oppose the price increases that would accompany exporting American natural gas.

Cove Point isn’t the only big environmental issue in Maryland. As the General Assembly session is wrapping up, we bring you news from Annapolis. CCAN’s DC and Maryland Policy Director, Tommy Landers, is quoted in this piece about the House committee’s failure to pass a bill to exclude dirty “black liquor” from maryland’s clean energy standards. “As a result, Maryland ratepayers will again send over $20 million in 2014 to out-of-state paper mills that have been burning this carbon-intense industrial waste called black liquor for decades and, for the last seven years, selling the power back to us as ‘clean’ energy,” Landers said. Bill supporters will return to Annapolis next year to build on existing momentum and ensure that the black liquor bill passes in 2015.

Environmental groups are still fighting in Annapolis against a bill that would kill wind turbine projects in Maryland. The bill would put height restrictions on wind turbines and would “essentially kill a wind turbine project in Somerset County.” While supporters of the Cove Point project claim it would create jobs that negate the serious environmental risks involved, this anti-clean energy bill doesn’t toe that party line on job creation; Adam Cohen, vice president and founder of Pioneer Green Energy points out that this bill would “deprive the poorest county in Maryland of a $200 million investment doesn’t seem to be a solution.”
Now that Virginia’s legislative session is over, the Commonwealth’s primary energy and climate news relates to its biggest polluter, Dominion Virginia Power.
Every two years, Dominion is required to submit a 15-year plan called an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the State Corporation Commission. This year’s IRP significantly increases Dominion’s fossil fuel dependence and carbon emissions, and it ignores our state’s potential for clean energy and energy efficiency. The State Corporation Commission is tasked with making sure our state’s energy plans are reasonable and within the public interest, so we’re telling them to demand clean energy from Dominion. Submit your public comment now, and tell the SCC that Dominion needs to develop a plan that serves the public interest and invests in clean energy.
For more information on how Dominion is standing in the way of energy progress in Virginia, listen to the first installment of Sandy Hausman’s Going Green series.

‘Stop Cove Point’ Coalition Delivers Over 40,000 Public Comments to MD Regulators

‘Stop Cove Point’ Coalition Delivers Over 40,000 Public Comments Urging MD Regulators to Reject Fracked Gas Export Facility

On deadline for public input, health, faith, environmental, student, and community leaders hand-deliver record number of comments to Public Service Commission headquarters
Opponents warn Cove Point plan would cause rising heating bills, pollution and climate change costs—all to boost the gas industry’s bottom line
BALTIMORE—Health, faith, environmental, community and business leaders converged in Baltimore this morning to hand-deliver a record 40,000 public comments urging the Maryland Public Service Commission to reject a controversial liquefied natural gas export facility proposed at Cove Point in southern Maryland. Today is the final day for public input on a key state-level permit that Virginia-based Dominion Resources needs to construct the Cove Point facility, which would take gas piped from fracking wells across Appalachia, liquefy it along the Chesapeake Bay, and export it to Asia.
The activists carried a giant replica of a rising heating bill “courtesy of Dominion,” along with boxes containing over 40,000 comments to the Public Service Commission headquarters. The comments were collected by 19 community, regional and national groups, from Lusby-based Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community to western Maryland-based Citizen Shale to Environmental Action and CREDO. At a press conference preceding the delivery, speakers outlined the overwhelming case that Dominion’s proposal would harm the “public interest”—which is the basic criterion the PSC must consider.
Activists cited studies commissioned by Dominion and the Department of Energy that confirm exporting gas from Cove Point would raise energy costs and lower real wages at home—ultimately harming every sector of the economy except the gas industry and hitting low-income, elderly and other vulnerable Marylanders especially hard. The proposed 130-megawatt gas-fired power plant and liquefaction facility that Dominion is seeking the PSC’s permission to build would force the public to bear the costs of rising heating bills, worsening climate change, increased smog pollution, and degraded quality of life in Calvert County—all in exchange for zero electricity to Maryland’s grid. The Public Service Commission must rule on Dominion’s application by May 30, 2014.
Groups contributing to the public comment delivery include: Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Citizen Shale, CREDO, Earthworks, Environmental Action, Food & Water Watch, Green America, HoCo Climate Change, Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVA), Maryland Environmental Health Network, Maryland Sierra Club, Maryland Student Climate Coalition, Myersville Citizens for a Rural Community, Oil Change International, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Public Citizen, Waterkeepers Chesapeake and 350.org.
Statements from groups and community leaders delivering comments to the Public Service Commission today included:
Zack Malitz, CREDO’s campaign manager: “If Gov. O’Malley lets the Cove Point project go through, he will be responsible for unleashing a massive expansion of fracking and exposing Marylanders to huge risks from the project. Gov. O’Malley must stand up to the fracking industry and reject this dangerous project.”
Betsy Nicholas, Executive Director, Waterkeepers Chesapeake: “Chesapeake communities depend on the Bay and local rivers for food, livelihood and way of life – all of which are threatened by the substantial increase in tanker traffic, and dumping of billions of gallons of wastewater into this large and complex estuary. The only ones who stand to benefit from this project are the gas companies. Everyone else—from Bay fisherman to residents living downstream from fracking fields—will suffer.”
Sue Allison, Lusby mother and member of Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community: “I’m a mother raising two daughters within 2,200 feet from the single containment LNG storage tanks at the Cove Point terminal. I believe that the PSC decision could be a matter of life or death for the families in my neighborhood, given the catastrophic events that took place at an Algerian LNG export facility in 2004 and the terrible events at an LNG facility in Plymouth, Washington on Monday. It is unimaginable that the PSC would consider approving a power station for the first LNG export facility to ever to be built in a residential area—within 4,500 feet of about 360 homes and next door to a public park.”
Fran Teplitz, Policy Director of Green America, which released a letter yesterday with the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Council from 50 Maryland businesses urging the PSC to reject the Cove Point project: “Maryland business leaders and associations realize that our state’s economic vitality going forward depends on our development of clean energy. The Cove Point LNG facility is a threat to human and environmental health while producing far fewer jobs than renewable energy can.”
Heather Kangas, a Baltimore resident and student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work: “As a social work student with a fixed income, higher gas prices will impact my budget while Dominion continues to profit from dirty energy. The clients I work with as a social worker will also face a financial burden and hardship.”
Jorge Aguilar, Southern Region Director for Food & Water Watch: “The proposed Cove Point gas export facility is an economic and environmental disaster waiting to happen. The ramifications of this project will not only be regional. The social, environmental, and economic ramifications of this project will have a domino effect nationally that will be a burden to future generations of Americans.”
Gina Angiola, Board Member, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility: “The Cove Point LNG facility is a direct threat to the health of residents living nearby due to the additional air pollution it will create, the additional strain it will place on water supplies, and the potential for fires, explosions, and other catastrophic events—as just occurred Monday at a natural gas storage facility in Washington state. Most critically, it will contribute further to climate change, the biggest public health threat we face. For the health and well-being of Maryland residents, we urge the MD Public Service Commission to deny Dominion’s permit for this project.”
Chiquita Younger, a Lusby native and Program Associate at Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVA): “Congregations across Maryland feel called to protect our climate and our water, so they have sent in comments opposing Dominion’s plans to build a major climate polluter that will export fracked gas. But I’m here to deliver their messages today to the Public Service Commission myself because, for me, this is personal. I grew up in Lusby, and my family has deep roots here. I’m here to speak out for my niece, my sister, my mother, my grandmother, and all those in Calvert County who have not been able to get their questions answered about the pollution Cove Point will cause and the dangers it poses to their neighborhoods.”
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network: “The Public Service Commission has all the evidence it needs and, as shown today, a popular mandate to reject Dominion’s Cove Point application. The more than 38,000 public comments submitted today help to shine a bright light on clear facts Dominion would rather keep hidden, namely that their plan promises to sacrifice our climate, our economy and our environment to let an already rich industry get richer.”
View a summary of the economic, environmental and quality of life case against a PSC permit for Cove Point.
View the full post-hearing brief submitted to the PSC by the Sierra Club and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
Contact:
Kelly Trout, 240-396-2022, 717-439-0346 (cell), kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

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Business, Farmer, Labor and Environmental Leaders Decry ‘Anti-Wind Power’ Bill in Annapolis

Groups say HB 1168 will immediately shut down $200 million wind farm investment on Eastern Shore and trigger $1 billion in lost economic development and jobs for one of the state’s poorest regions
HB 1168 called totally unjustified given the U.S. Department of Defense’s statement this week that it is satisfied a proposed wind farm can co-exist with Naval radar tests
ANNAPOLIS—A group of business, farmer, labor rights, and environmental leaders today announced their strong opposition to legislation they said is intended to shut down most of Maryland’s land-based wind industry and could cost the state up to a billion dollars in lost business and jobs.
The leaders released an open letter (included below) to the Maryland Senate detailing their overwhelming opposition to HB 1168. They contend that the bill, which will go before a Senate committee on Tuesday, April 1, is a patently unnecessary and harmful attempt to shut down Eastern Shore wind development over military testing concerns that have already been resolved to the satisfaction of the Department of Defense.
Leaders emphasized the growing opposition to the bill, which now includes the president of the Somerset County Farm Bureau, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, the Labor Network for Sustainability, and the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition.
Leaders also addressed false reports in the media. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski does not support HB 1168. She has not taken a position on the bill and has not lobbied to kill or support it.
The full letter follows below. Key leaders who oppose HB 1168 released the following statements:
Joe Uehlein, Director, Labor Network for Sustainability: “Wind power on the Eastern Shore is a clear instance where a cleaner environment also means putting Marylanders to work. Wind energy could help revitalize Maryland’s struggling industrial sector if HB 1168 doesn’t pull the rug out from Maryland workers first.”
Mary Ann Peterman, a fourth generation landowner in Somerset County whose property is an active farmland: “Revenue from wind power can be huge for farmers, especially small farmers, on the Eastern Shore. HB 1168 takes economic opportunities away from an area of the state than can least afford it.”
Bruce Burcat, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition: “The Eastern Shore could be a $1 billion investment for the wind industry. Our companies are ready to build here, but if HB 1168 passes, then this would certainly present a deterrence for any company from considering to make an investment here.”
Karla Raettig, Executive Director, Maryland League of Conservation Voters: “For the past eight years, the O’Malley administration has made great strides in advancing wind power for our state and sent a clear message that Maryland is ready to lead our region’s transition into a clean energy economy. But, HB 1168 would send a message that Maryland wants to put a devastating hold on our actions to combat climate change. That is unacceptable. The Senate must reject it.”
View the full text of the letter below or view the PDF online here.
Contact:
Kelly Trout, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Tommy Landers, 301-442-0134 (cell), tommy@chesapeakeclimate.org

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OPEN LETTER OPPOSING HB 1168, RELEASED BY OPPONENTS TODAY:

Chesapeake Bay Foundation ● Maryland League of Conservation Voters ● Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition ● Sierra Club – Maryland Chapter ● Maryland Environmental Health Network ● Clean Water Action ● Environment Maryland ● Assateague Coastal Trust ● Chesapeake Climate Action Network ● Food & Water Watch ● League of Women Voters of Maryland ● Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVA) ● West/Rhode Riverkeeper ● Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry for Maryland ● Eddie Johnson, President – Somerset County Farm Bureau

Dear Maryland Senators,
We are writing to clarify the record on one of the most important bills you will be asked to vote on during this legislative session, the so-called “anti-wind power” bill or HB 1168. As leaders from the fields of business, agriculture, labor rights, and the environment, we are positively alarmed by the harm that would come from HB 1168. If passed, it would effectively shut down an emerging $1 billion wind industry on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
But the very good news is this: The U.S. Department of Defense officially stated recently that it believes that the Great Bay Wind Energy Center – the state’s largest most mature wind farm in development – can be built and operated in a way that satisfies radar testing needs at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. This essentially resolves the core reason supporters of HB 1168 introduced the bill. Again, for the first time, the DOD indicated this week that an agreement – already agreed to by a key wind company developing along the Eastern Shore – makes the DOD satisfied. That agreement is simple: The proposed Eastern Shore wind turbines will totally shut down and stop spinning whenever the Navy needs to test its radar system. After the test, the windmills can spin again. This approach, according to the DOD, creates “a feasible and affordable mitigation measure.”
That’s the good news. The bad news is that, if HB 1168 passes despite DOD satisfaction with radar measures, then the state of Maryland – and especially Eastern Shore communities, laborers, and farmers – will lose enormously. This is guaranteed. The president of one proposed wind farm in Somerset County – Pioneer Green – has emphatically stated that HB 1168 will kill the $200 million wind farm just as construction is nearly ready to begin. Passage of the bill will place a moratorium on wind development in all or parts of 12 Maryland counties, sending a message to the national and international wind industries that Maryland is effectively closed for business. The potential loss of investment opportunity for the Eastern Shore is conservatively estimated by the Maryland Energy Administration to exceed $1 billion. Simultaneously, a wind turbine manufacturing company currently considering opening a Baltimore plant may choose to go elsewhere if this bill passes. The cumulative loss of jobs, income, tax revenue and other economic benefits would be enormous.
Therefore, we appeal to you to carefully consider what is best for ALL of Maryland. HB 1168 will harm the entire state of Maryland – for decades to come – in an unnecessary attempt to resolve a problem that has already been resolved. Our state has made tremendous progress over the past decade in the fight for clean energy and a stable climate. Please do not vote to end that.
Sincerely,
Assateague Coastal Trust
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Clean Water Action
Environment Maryland
Food & Water Watch
Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVA)
League of Women Voters of Maryland
Maryland Environmental Health Network
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition
Sierra Club – Maryland Chapter
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry for Maryland
West/Rhode Riverkeeper
Eddie Johnson, President, Somerset County Farm Bureau

National Leaders to Obama: Rush to Export Gas Would Significantly Undercut U.S. Climate Action

National Environmental Leaders to President Obama: Pell-Mell Rush to Export Gas Would Significantly Undercut U.S. Climate Action

Leaders of 16 national and regional groups call on the president to reverse course—and order a full review of the ‘Cove Point’ LNG export project in Maryland as a first step in the right direction

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Leaders of 16 national and regional climate advocacy groups sent a letter to President Obama today, calling on him to revisit proposals to radically expand U.S. exports of fracked and liquefied natural gas, which would significantly undermine his administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis. As a first step in the right direction, the letter urges the president to ensure a comprehensive federal environmental impact review for one of the most controversial liquefied natural gas export proposals currently before his administration—the Cove Point facility proposed by Dominion Resources just outside of Washington, D.C. on the Chesapeake Bay.

“President Obama, exporting LNG is simply a bad idea in almost every way. We again implore you to shift course on this disastrous push to frack, liquefy, and export this climate-wrecking fossil fuel,” the letter states.

“As a first step, tell [the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] to drop its shameful and unacceptably weak permitting process for Cove Point in Maryland. Demand a full Environmental Impact Statement for this massive $3.8 billion project just a short drive from your house. An EIS will put more facts on the table and, we believe, will persuade you and the nation that a pell-mell rush to export gas is a pell-mell rush to global climate ruin,” the letter continues.

Continue reading

Climate Insider: Stop Cove Point escalates, KXL nearing decision time, #Up4Climate

The past three weeks have been busy ones in the climate movement. Right here in Virginia and Maryland, citizens have been fighting to pass critical clean energy legislation even as we fight to stop a potential climate disaster in our backyard — the proposed Cove Point liquefied natural gas export facility. Across the country, students, farmers, and environmentalists continue upping their game to stop Keystone XL, as the Obama administration’s decision time nears. And we’ve seen a show of support from U.S. senators, who delivered an all-nighter of speeches about the urgency of climate action.
We begin with updates from the Cove Point fight, which has moved into high gear with a series of protests leading to peaceful arrests across the state. On February 27th, four activists were arrested for blocking the entrance to the Allegany County Courthouse in Cumberland. They were released a short time later with misdemeanor charges. This was the first time any Cove Point protest had ended in an arrest, and the media took notice. The Associated Press picked up the story and it made impressions around the country.
That weekend, the Maryland Public Service Commission held a public hearing in Lusby about the Cove Point project. After seven hours of testimony, the PSC had heard from 85 speakers, the majority of whom spoke in opposition to Cove Point gas exports. In a setback the day before the hearing, a state appeals court ruled in Dominion’s favor in the company’s ongoing legal battle with the Sierra Club over its right to export gas from Cove Point. But Dominion still needs a series of permits, including from the PSC, before it can move forward with any construction. The company will almost certainly face additional legal challenges, too. To have an impact right now and add your voice to the fight, submit a public comment to the Maryland Public Service Commission. They need to hear from you that Dominion’s Cove Point project is NOT in the interest of Maryland’s public — and comments are due by April 2nd.
The week following the hearing, four more activists were arrested in a protest in Frederick. They carried signs reading, “FERC: We Demand Justice for Myersville,” and, “FERC: Don’t Bully Frederick County,” while chanting against both Cove Point and Dominion’s plan to build a compressor station less than a mile from the elementary school in nearby Myersville, MD. (You can submit a comment to the Maryland Department of the Environment here to let them know that a compressor station polluting the air of Myersville’s kids is not acceptable.) Like in Cumberland, the “Frederick Four” were released after a short time with misdemeanor citations.
Senators Cardin and Mikulski have taken notice of the momentum building against Cove Point. They wrote a letter last week to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission calling on them to respond promptly to a request from environmental, faith, health and community leaders to hold statewide public meetings about the proposed project. FERC has yet to respond to their request.
This past Wednesday, however, FERC “announced it will issue its environmental assessment on the proposed Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas export project May 15 and will issue its decision by Aug. 31.” A coalition of Maryland faith, health, and environmental groups responded to FERC’s announcement, calling it “a slap in the face to citizens and leaders across Maryland who have repeatedly called for a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)—a type of review most protective of public health and safety and customary for a polluting project as huge as Dominion’s.”

The next day, six more protesters were arrested in Calvert County as they peacefully protested the facility outside the courthouse in Prince Frederick. The activists specifically highlighted recent revelations that a six-story high and three-quarters of a mile long wall that Dominion plans to build around its facility would also be part of an apparently untested system to contain potential releases of flammable vapor clouds. They were held for over eight hours before they were finally processed and released with misdemeanor charges.

Protests have also been happening across the country in the final weeks before President Obama makes his decision about the Keystone XL pipeline. The project, which has been stirring up fierce resistance for more than three years, would transport filthy, climate polluting tar sands from Alberta through the American plains, to be exported from the gulf coast. However, citizens from every walk of life and all along the political spectrum see the pipeline as a dire threat to our climate and way of life. They point out that the tar sands oil moving through the pipeline would be shipped overseas and have little to no impact on American energy security. Additionally, the jobs estimates for the project are thought by many, including President Obama, to have been overstated.
The deadline to submit public comments to the State Department has passed, and an estimated 2 million-plus comments against the project were delivered last Friday.

Some of the vocal student activists opposed to the plan converged on the White House on March 1st for XLDissent, and 398 youth were arrested in what is being called the largest youth sit-in of this generation. The protests aren’t just coming from students; a coalition of tribal communities, farmers, and ranchers, Canadian First Nations and others are coming together in Washington for “Reject and Protect,” a week of actions to send a clear message to President Obama: Reject Keystone XL now. You can sign up to join Reject and Protect here.

A number of United States senators took up the anti-Keystone rallying cry earlier this week during #Up4Climate, a night of floor speeches about the urgency of action to address climate change. Thirty-eight senators took the floor, including Virginia’s Tim Kaine and Maryland’s Ben Cardin. Sen. Kaine emphasized moving forward to a cleaner energy future, saying, “We can solve the problem of climate change for the good of the economy and the good of the planet. The story of American innovation is a story of solving the hard problems and I know we can solve this one.” You can read Senator Kaine’s full remarks here. Senator Cardin emphasized that federal facilities “are being jeopardized because of the climate change that’s occurring in our communities.” He also highlighted the economic benefits of growing clean energy, emphasizing that, “Green energy will give us more jobs than the fossil fuel industry, and we need good paying jobs, and we can leave our children and grandchildren a cleaner planet and a better future.” You can watch his full speech here.

The legislative session is over in Virginia, and we made some great progress. Governor McAuliffe officially signed repeal of the hybrid tax into law two weeks ago. As of July 1st, this arbitrary and unfair tax on Virginians doing their part to reduce carbon pollution will be wiped off the books. Two other significant clean energy bills — to eliminate tax barriers to solar power development (SB 418/HB 1239) and to fix a major loophole in Virginia’s renewable energy law (SB 498/HB 822) — are on their way to the governor’s desk for his signature. If you’re a Virginian, click here to thank your legislators and Governor McAuliffe for their action this session. 

Cove Point: Six Marylanders Arrested at Calvert Co Courthouse Over Fracked Gas Export Plan

Cove Point Protests Go Statewide: Six Marylanders Arrested at Calvert County Courthouse Over Fracked Gas Export Plan

Peaceful sit-in led by local retired nurse and southern MD students comes less than 24 hours after federal regulators release apparent rubber-stamp review timeline
Protesters cite revelations over Dominion’s plan to build a giant vapor cloud containment wall as latest cause for a full federal environmental impact statement
PRINCE FREDERICK—Following on the heels of recent protests in Cumberland and Frederick, six Maryland residents were peacefully arrested this morning outside the Calvert County courthouse in Prince Frederick protesting Virginia-based Dominion Resources’ plan to build a liquefied natural gas export facility at Cove Point in nearby Lusby. The protesters, led by a retired nurse and former Air Force reservist from Lusby and including five students, blocked the courthouse entrance to demand justice in the federal handling of Dominion’s controversial $3.8 billion plan.
Less than 24 hours before the protest, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) formally announced it intends to release an “Environmental Assessment” on the project in May, a move strongly condemned by statewide and community leaders. The timeline ignores repeated demands made by local citizens, health, faith and environmental leaders, Maryland’s attorney general and the Baltimore Sun for a full Environmental Impact Statement—a more rigorous type of review that is customary for a polluting facility as massive as Cove Point. The plan also omits any specific commitment to public participation or hearings.
Holding signs like “Vapor Cloud Danger: We Need Answers” and “Dominion Pollutes the Truth,” the protesters in Calvert County cited recent revelations that Dominion plans to use a massive barrier wall as a means to contain potential releases of flammable vapor gas clouds as the latest reason for concern.
“Those of us who live in southern Calvert County are really concerned about our quality of life being degraded by a large industrial facility being built so close to our homes, schools and churches,” said David Hardy, a retired registered nurse and retired engineer craftsman in the Air Force Reserves who lives just three miles from the proposed facility. “Now we learn that Dominion has failed to reveal information about the serious possibility of a flammable vapor cloud reaching our homes. What else is Dominion hiding? We’re here to demand full answers from federal regulators whose first job should be protecting our safety.”

In recent a filing with FERC, Dominion publicly admitted for the first time that a six-story tall and three-quarter mile long wall—previously referred to only as a “sound abatement wall”—is part of an apparently unprecedented and untested barrier wall system that would be constructed to protect nearby residents from vapor gas clouds. Local citizens said this revelation only underscores the need for FERC to hold Dominion’s plans to the highest level of scrutiny by completing a full Environmental Impact Statement.
“Dominion’s proposal makes it quite clear that they aren’t concerned with our health or safety. What if their untested, sky-scraping concrete vapor barrier fails? Who gave them the right to put local families at risk?” said Ashok Chandwaney, a senior at St. Mary’s College. “I’m here today because I want a future with clean air and water. I want safe jobs so families can have both their health and food on the table. I want a future where St. Mary’s hasn’t been inundated by the rising sea levels that Cove Point would accelerate.”

The students arrested today included four studying at nearby St. Mary’s College and a student leader at the University of Maryland College Park. They echoed protesters from Cumberland to Frederick in drawing attention to the statewide impacts that could be triggered by the Cove Point export facility, including expanded fracking, new pipelines and compressor stations and, ultimately, significant new carbon pollution.
“How do you put a price on the future generations affected by the climate crisis that Cove Point’s greenhouse gas emissions will worsen? What is the cost of clean air and water?” said Ruth Tyson, a student at St. Mary’s College. “We’re speaking out because we can’t sit back anymore. We should be investing our resources in clean, renewable energy, which will create far more jobs, and it’s time for Dominion and our leaders to start listening.”
From Cumberland to Frederick to Calvert, the sit-ins reflect growing community opposition to Dominion’s plan that has spread across Maryland in recent months. Citing rising constituent concern, Maryland’s powerful U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski sent a letter to FERC last week calling on the agency to “go the extra mile” in engaging the public. The senators asked FERC to respond promptly to a request for public meetings on Cove Point in Garrett, Frederick, Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties made by health, faith, community and environmental groups—a request ignored in FERC’s timeline announcement.
“I have spent countless hours fighting against this facility—I have petitioned, rallied, met with senators, testified in front of the Public Service Commission, and more,” said Ori Gutin, director of sustainability for the University of Maryland Student Government Association, which officially voted to oppose the Cove Point project. “And today, I physically plead with our lawmakers and regulators like FERC to stop siding with corporate profits, and to start protecting the planet and the people on it.”
RESOURCES:
See statements by the six Marylanders on why they engaged in civil disobedience over Cove Point.
View photos of today’s protest on Flickr.
Contact:
Kelly Trout, 240-396-2022 (office), 717-439-0346 (cell), kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org

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Why Six Marylanders Risked Arrest in Calvert County to Stop Cove Point

Today marks the third group of arrests in a series of peaceful Cove Point protests that have crossed Maryland — from Cumberland to Frederick to Calvert County — over the past few weeks. Six Maryland residents were peacefully arrested today outside the Calvert County courthouse in Prince Frederick protesting Virginia-based Dominion Resources’ plan to build its Cove Point liquefied natural gas export facility in nearby Lusby. The protesters, led by a retired nurse and former Air Force reservist from Lusby and including five students, blocked the courthouse entrance to demand justice in the federal handling of Dominion’s controversial $3.8 billion plan.
This demonstration comes shortly after Dominion publicly admitted for the first time that a six-story tall and three-quarter mile long wall—previously referred to only as a “sound abatement wall”—is part of an apparently unprecedented and untested barrier wall system that would be constructed to protect nearby residents from vapor gas clouds. Local citizens said this revelation only underscores the need for federal regulators to hold Dominion’s plans to the highest level of scrutiny by completing a full Environmental Impact Statement.
In the following statements, the six Marylanders explain why Cove Point threatens our communities, and why they engaged in peaceful civil disobedience to stop it. (Click here for a PDF of their statements.)

David Hardy
David Hardy Lusby, Maryland
My name is David Hardy. I’m a retired Registered Nurse and retired Civil Engineering Craftsman from the Air Force Reserves. I live in Chesapeake Ranch Estates about 3 miles from the proposed Dominion Cove Point LNG Export Facility.
Personally, I have a lot of concerns regarding this project.
I’m concerned about Little Cove Point Road and the traffic on this small state road with buses hauling construction workers in and out and large construction trucks hauling equipment, materials and supplies. I feel sorry for the folks who live in this area who will have large lowboys rumbling through in the middle of the night while they deliver the generators and compressors. Dominion promises to deliver the heavy equipment during the night to cut down on traffic problems. But they haven’t promised to repair the road after the oversized and overweight trucks tear it up. Looks like the State Highway Administration will foot the bill for keeping it repaired since it is a state road.
I’m concerned about the dust and emissions from the construction. It’s going to take an awful lot of truckloads of dirt to build the noise barrier. My rough calculations, figuring a 3/4 mile by 60 foot high dirt monument, comes to roughly 533 thousand cubic yards of material. That’s about 53,000 dump truck loads of dirt. Where is that coming from and how is it getting to the site?
I’m concerned about the perpetual noise from the compressors running night and day. The carbon dioxide from the 4th largest power plant in the state that is going to be built to provide power to the compressors and refrigerators that are needed to cool the dirty gas down 300 degrees to make it a liquid.
I am worried sick about the hazardous chemicals that are going to be removed at Cove Point, that come from the ‘fracking’ process, that now have to be disposed of. Where??? At Sweetwater Road landfill? There will be a lot of things like mercury, benzene, and heavy metals that will have to go somewhere.
I am concerned about the danger of explosion of all of the volatile gasses that will be coming through the pipeline from the gas fields. There have been some recent gas pipeline explosions and fires causing destruction and death in neighboring states. Do we want this in Calvert County? I am concerned about the emergency evacuation route that passes through Chesapeake Ranch Estates. Our roads can’t handle a mass evacuation of Cove Point residents added to our own.
This export plant is planning for 100 ships a year to export this gas to Japan and India. And they have a permit for 200 ships a year. Why?? We need the gas right here in the USA to power our homes, factories and power plants.  We don’t need the gas to be shipped overseas halfway around the world to keep our gas prices inflated at home.
I’m concerned about pipeline leakage contributing to more and more greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere causing more and more global warming.  It was recently reported that gas pipelines leak over 3% of their capacity. Dominion is projecting 5 million tons of production a year. That’s 15,000 tons a day! A 3% loss would be 450 tons of methane and ethane and other volatile gasses lost into the air we breathe each and every day. As if we don’t have enough asthma, COPD and other breathing problems now. And this is a very conservative estimate of pipeline losses. Some reports have the number at twice what I’m saying.
I’m frankly frightened by the prospect of a LNG plant being 3 miles from a nuclear power plant. I sure hope there is some of that tax money spent on increased security offshore for both facilities. We could have our own Armageddon if an LNG ship was to explode at the nuclear plant.
I’m concerned about the offsite areas that Dominion needs just for construction of the plant. About the pier within yards of the Thomas Johnson Bridge; our only evacuation route in case of an accident. One misdirected barge carrying large compressors could close down this vital highway artery.
I’m concerned with the ballast water that the ships from Japan and India will be delivering to waters in or near our beloved Chesapeake Bay. Water that is contaminated with radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. The water from the inbound India ships will be contaminated with Vibrio and other disease forming microbes and Pfisteria and other algae which can produce toxic blooms. We don’t need more invasive species in the Bay to destroy our valuable fisheries and recreation resources.
Those of us who live in Southern Calvert County are really concerned about our quality of life being degraded by a large industrial facility being built so close to our homes, schools and churches. Several of our homeowner associations have already gone on record to protest this invasion of our quiet enjoyment of our property.
We need jobs in Southern Maryland, but please let them come from other enterprises that do not harm our environment or force people to listen to constant noise or breathe polluted air or drink hazardous water.
Thank you for listening to my concerns.

Ashok ChandwaneyAshok
St. Mary’s City, Maryland
My name is Ashok Chandwaney. I’m a second semester senior at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and I live in a world that is on the cusp of a global climate catastrophe. With reckless disregard for our health or safety, companies like Dominion are trying to construct export facilities from coast to coast, including near where I was born in Washington State.
These fights all have something in common: radical companies, bent on profiting off fossil fuels no matter how it affects the local community and the world at large. In Washington, they want to run asthma-causing coal trains through densely populated areas. Here, Dominion’s proposal makes it quite clear that they aren’t concerned with health or safety either. They’re concerned their stockpiles of chemicals may produce “fireballs,” a risk they plan to “mitigate” with an untested and skyscraping concrete wall. What if the wall fails?  Who gave them the right to put local families at risk?
But even if they weren’t planning on explosions at Cove Point, the expansion Cove Point will affect the people who live nearby. This proposal is an environmental nightmare: it will poison the air and soil that over 300 families breathe and live in. Dominion’s own workers will be exposed to these dangerous airborne chemicals too, and facing (along with local families) high risks of asthma and heart disease.
Once Dominion builds this gargantuan facility, they’re going to want more natural gas to sell from it to make their profits. That means building more leaky natural gas pipelines across the state, which means seizing people’s back yards and farmland with eminent domain and then tainting them when their pipes inevitably leak. That means starting to frack here, bringing earthquakes and flammable tap water to Maryland.
I want a future with clean air and water my children can swim in and safe jobs so families can have both their health and food on the table. I want a future where St. Mary’s hasn’t been inundated by the rising sea levels that Cove Point would accelerate. I want a future with clean energy, not Cove Point — and that’s why I participated in a civil disobedience today.

Ruth TysonRuth
St. Mary’s City, Maryland
As a local student and passionate environmentalist, I don’t see any other way to stress the urgency of raising awareness about this plan. This is something worth fighting for. Dominion has their voice being heard. They have funds to make sure their story is shared. I don’t have money to buy radio commercials or place fancy posters all over the state with the full story. What I do have is my body and a right to express myself. I’m willing to put everything on the line if that will make people pay attention.
Cove Point expansion will jeopardize the health, economies, land, and water of local people affected by the fracking gas that is processed as well as communities surrounding the facility. Are a few jobs really worth our health? How do you put a price on the future generations affected by climate change that Cove Point’s greenhouse gas emissions will greatly contribute to? What is the cost of clean air and water? We should be investing our resources in clean, renewable energy. Liquified natural gas isn’t the answer to anyone’s energy crisis. I want legislators, Dominion, and most importantly, the people, to see that this isn’t a wise decision. We value our environment and our people’s health. This isn’t a time to be passive and accept business as usual. We’re speaking out because we can’t sit back anymore and it’s time for Dominion to start listening.

Emily TannerEmily
St. Mary’s City, Maryland
I am one of the students being arrested at the courthouse this Thursday in opposition to the proposed LNG Export Facility at Cove Point.
I did not grow up in Maryland. I grew up on the coast of Virginia, and I did not know much at all about Maryland until I came to St. Mary’s College in the fall of 2011. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay and now I live by the St. Mary’s River and it always feels wrong to me when I’m away from the water. Growing up, I watched the Chesapeake Bay deteriorate as more and more pollutants were shuttled in to the precious estuary and I heard about the endangerment of the blue crabs, sea birds, and oysters that call the Bay home. I watched as more and more trash washed up on protected beaches and every time I heard about a new oil spill far away, I worried that it would one day be my home.
My friends in Virginia make fun of me now because I’ve fallen so deeply in love with Maryland and all that the state represents. Now I see a new threat to my new home on the horizon. The Cove Point LNG Export Facility would be located about 20 miles away from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and any problems on the site would undoubtedly create problems here. The potential for disastrous spills, air pollution, and water contamination is undeniable. The site is a high risk area and, as we know, pipelines leak so a pipeline carrying gas across the entire state seems like a pretty bad idea if you ask me. I am worried about Maryland, I am worried about St. Mary’s, and I am worried that we are soon to follow in the United States’ new legacy of oil spills, fracking, and the careless treatment of our precious Earth.
Cove Point will open Maryland to Fracking, in addition to the multitude of other issues it would bring to the state. What we have been told is that the natural gas basins in Maryland (with the exception of the Marcellus Shale in the West) are too deep to frack, but the Marcellus Shale was once too deep for drilling too. If Fracking is profitable for gas companies, it will find its way into Maryland and Cove Point is setting that dangerous precedent for us right now. With fracking comes destruction and I don’t want to see my new home go the way that so many others have. I want our water to be drinkable, our air to be breathable, and our world to livable. Cove Point has the potential to take all of that away from me and from you. It’s time to stand up and say no to Dominion.

Ori GutinOri
College Park, Maryland
People often think that activists, environmental or otherwise, enjoy getting arrested. People on the periphery of environmental or social movements think activists get some type of pleasure, or high, from engaging in civil disobedience. Well, to those people I say, you could not be more wrong. No child grows up wanting to be arrested or to engage in civil disobedience. However, children do grow up loving the planet around them, the trees, waters, fresh air, bugs in the dirt, birds in the sky, and fish in the sea. In fact, I was one of them. I also grew up naively thinking that no one would ever try and take away those things that I loved. Unfortunately, childhood is fleeting, reality is stark, and money is powerful. The truth is there are many people out there who are constantly trying to marginalize the things that I and many others love in the name of profit.
Dominion Resources is the perfect example. They are an out of state company that wants to come into my beautiful home state of Maryland and build a 3.8 billion dollar environmental catastrophe. Why? To boost their profit, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. They are not here because they want to help Maryland’s economy, provide jobs, or even provide LNG to foreign markets. They are here to make money. Dominion is willing to compromise the health of the bay, the air quality of the surrounding community, and not to mention the climate because they want money, plain and simple. And after they’ve made their money and have left Maryland, who will be left with this damage in a few years? Me. My brothers and sisters. My friends. My classmates. My entire generation. This cannot happen.
I have spent countless hours fighting against this facility. I have petitioned, written op-eds, rallied, testified in front of the Public Service Commission, gotten the UMD Student Government Association to officially oppose this project, made phone calls to Senators, met with Senators, written letters, and more. And to some extent it is making a difference, but not nearly enough, and not nearly quickly enough.
So, no; no activist wants to get arrested. We don’t get a high or take pleasure in it. But when an issue like Cove Point arises that is so potentially damaging to all the things you love in this world, and nothing else seems to be making a big enough difference, how can you not do absolutely everything in your power to stop it? So today, I will put my body on the line to physically plead with lawmakers and regulators like FERC and PSC to stop siding with corporate profits, and start protecting the planet and the people on it by saying no to Dominion Cove Point. I pray that they listen.

Gabriel McKinneyGabe
St. Mary’s City, Maryland
As a Christian, my morality is based on the Love of God whom I believe created all things. In my Love for him I find my love for all of his creation, be it the Earth or the Animals or plants or Humans. That love which I hold forbids me to destroy this glorious, beautiful, and nurturing creation. While I do not believe that the fight to save this creation from those who wish to destroy it for their own personal gain is The End, I do believe that The End is Love, and that I therefore must participate with all of my power to make sure that That End is achieved. And towards this End of Love, I must fight with all radical, peaceful, and Loving ways to preserve this thing given to us by a God whom I know to be Loving, radical, and peaceful.
In the building of a structure which will destroy the habitats and livelihoods of the humans and of the wildlife in that area known as Cove Point, I do not see any Love. In giving wealth and power to a few while subjugating many others to depravity and the destruction and perversion of this, our World, home, and all our material sustenance, I do not perceive any Love. In justifying this action of the destruction of the wealth and homes of those, plant, animal, and humans by saying that we are giving jobs to other Americans and strengthening our nation, not only do I fail to glean where Love might reside in this action but I fail to perceive the logic. What use is it to wrench the livelihood of one man from his hands to place it into another? How does destroying the very ground on which we walk, the air we breathe, and the water we drink, build the Nation in which we live? To achieve this End, Love, I wish to use any peaceful power at my disposal towards preventing this heinously unloving action.

MD Groups: Cove Point Federal Review Timeline Fails to Serve the Public

Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community ■ Chesapeake Climate Action Network ■ Citizen Shale ■ Food & Water Watch ■ HoCo Climate Change ■ Interfaith Power & Light (MD.DC.NoVa) ■ Maryland Sierra Club ■ Myersville Citizens for a Rural Community ■ U. of Maryland Student Government Association

MD Groups: Cove Point Federal Review Timeline Ignores Key Safety and Environmental Concerns and Fails to Serve the Public

ANNAPOLIS—Late Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released its official notice of a schedule for reviewing Dominion Resources controversial $3.8 billion proposal to construct a liquefied natural gas export facility at Cove Point in Southern Maryland. The timeline formally commits the agency to releasing an “Environmental Assessment” on May 15, and omits any mention of opportunities for public participation. Maryland community, faith, environmental and student groups responded with the following statement:

“Federal officials are serving Dominion, not the public interest, in formally endorsing a low bar of scrutiny on a fast-tracked timeline. The announcement is a slap in the face to citizens and leaders across Maryland who have repeatedly called for a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)—a type of review most protective of public health and safety and customary for a polluting project as huge as Dominion’s.

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