Green New Deal seeks most diverse justice coalition in Virginia

ROANOKE, VA – Dels. Sam Rasoul and Elizabeth Guzman are partnering with the Sunrise Movement, NAACP-VSC, Sierra Club-VC, Virginia Organizing, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Food & Water Watch, and a host of intersectional organizations to introduce Green New Deal Virginia. This coalition is breaking down silos around economic, environmental, and social justice issues which impact our Commonwealth and seeks to be the most diverse coalition for justice in Virginia.
“You cannot separate social, economic, and environmental justice issues,” said Delegate Sam Rasoul. “Virginia has the opportunity to make major strides in eliminating poverty and ensuring prosperity in the Commonwealth by creating tens of thousands of good paying jobs in clean energy.”
“Growing up in coastal Virginia, I saw how rising floodwaters tore apart our homes and communities,” said Dyanna Jaye co-founder and Campaign Director, Sunrise Movement. “No one should have to live in fear of losing the people they love or the places they call home. Virginia needs a Green New Deal. We all have a right to clean air, clean water, healthy food, good jobs, and a livable future. We’re encouraged by Representatives Rasoul and Guzman’s leadership and we look forward to working with them to ensure a Green New Deal for Virginia addresses climate change with the ambition demanded by science and justice.”
“The VSC NAACP is proud to be a part of the Green New Deal Virginia. Communities of color historically have had disproportionately less access to jobs and wealth creation opportunities in the energy sector and polluting facilities are far too often sited in communities of color,” said President Kevin Chandler, VSC NAACP. “We are pleased that the plan includes a sharp focus on eliminating poverty in Virginia by promoting large investments in renewable energy, tens of thousands of high paying green jobs, clean air and water and local-scale agriculture.”
“Investments in climate solutions are smart investments in our economy’s future. As we forge a clean energy-based, living economy together, it is our responsibility to avoid duplicating the inequities of the dirty energy past,” said Kate Addleson, Director of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “The Green New Deal Virginia coalition stands for essential principles that align with the Sierra Club’s values, including providing access to affordable clean energy, protection of our clean air and water, and expanding opportunities and rights for workers and working families.”
“Virginia Organizing participates in environmental work, and in efforts like the Green New Deal, because climate change and pollution hurt all of us, especially low-income communities and people of color,” said Del McWhorter, Chairperson, Virginia Organizing State Governing Board. “Our environmental justice aims to stop targeted pollution, of which communities of color all over the Commonwealth always receive far more than their share.”
“We at the CCAN Action Fund are fighting for an equitable energy future where dirty fossil fuels are phased out and Virginia is powered by 100% clean energy. It’s time for the people of Virginia to write the rules, not energy monopolies like Dominion,” said Harrison Wallace, Virginia Director of the CCAN Action Fund.
“Green New Deal Virginia is the type of urgent and powerful clean climate movement our country needs and chief within the mission to stop climate change is deliberate action to transition our states off of fossil fuels,” said Jorge Aguilar, Southern Region Director, Food & Water Watch. “In Virginia, the OFF Act is core to this movement and moment of moral clarity. We’re ready to lead the way to renewable energy once and for all.”
“A Green New Deal gives us the opportunity to build clean, safe, renewable 21st century infrastructure and create tens of thousands of sustainable community jobs now and for future generations.” said Andrea Miller, Executive Director of People Demanding Action.
Policy themes of the Virginia Green New Deal include:

• A just and equitable100% renewables plan that leaves no workers or communities behind
• Direct large investments & job-training programs in renewables, building an energy efficient smart-grid, residential and commercial energy efficiency, and more
• Clean water and air for all Virginians
• Investments in local-scale agriculture in communities across Virginia

New EPA-wide policy makes FOIA review process more transparent, equitable, and functional

Washington, D.C. — Following a lawsuit brought by a pair of environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has improved its document disclosure policy under federal open records law, the Freedom of Information Act.

See the new memo from the EPA here.

The nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network brought the lawsuit in part to challenge EPA’s previous policy and practice — which was initiated by former administrator Scott Pruitt — of allowing senior staff to delay FOIA production until they reviewed and approved of such disclosures.
The new policy, which was distributed internally to EPA staff on Nov. 16, imposes a maximum three-day limit for these so-called “awareness reviews,” which, the memo clarifies, are only intended to make senior officials aware of select releases before they go out.
The move decreases the politicization of the FOIA process at EPA. Instead of the prior practice of allowing political appointees to make decisions regarding approval, withholding, or release of records, those decisions are now properly the responsibility of EPA’s FOIA team, which is made up of civil servants. The FOIA team must also release records at the end of that three-day period regardless of whether the request has actually been reviewed.
“This new EPA policy is good news.  It makes clear that the agency can’t use political reviews to hold up responses to Freedom of Information Act requests,” said Sanghyun Lee, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project.  “Our lawsuit, and several letters from U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, cited evidence that these reviews were being used to block or delay responses to requests from environmental and public health organizations this administration doesn’t like very much.  The new guidance gives the agency’s Chief of Staff and other political managers a three day advance notice before sensitive documents are released, but no power to block those disclosures.”
“Public information should be just that: public,” said Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, which partnered with EIP on the lawsuit challenging the administration’s information delays.  “Instead, the Trump Administration has been dragging its feet and obstructing legitimate information requests. It’s unfortunate that it took a lawsuit to force EPA to release this information, but we’re glad to see the agency switch gears.”
As a result of this policy change, the groups will drop the policy-related claim in their lawsuit. They are still challenging EPA’s decision to deny their specific FOIA requests. 
 
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8819
Anne Havemann, General Counsel, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 202-997-2466, anne@chesapeakeclimate.org
Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org or (202) 888-2703

FERC Should Halt All Construction on Project Immediately

Opponents to the two fracked-gas pipelines planned for Virginia honor and celebrate an old-growth forest threatened by Dominion Energy’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline and call on Dominion to spare Virginia’s forests

LITTLE VALLEY, Virginia — Today, dozens of faith leaders and activists joined for an interfaith ceremony to honor all forests threatened by Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline and EQT’s Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The “Ona Commemoration Celebration” took place on Miracle Ridge, an old-growth forest filled with 300-year-old trees, including one that Bill and Limpert — who own the property — have named “Ona.” Ona has inspired residents from all across the Commonwealth to unite for the “No Pipeline Summer” protest encampment on the Limperts’ land. Now, they have gathered again for a ceremony that featured Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, the Indigenous Peoples’ Prayer, and more.
“Lynn and I are pleased to have faith leaders and others from all over Virginia join us to celebrate Ona and our ancient forest, which has been virtually untouched by the hand of man,” said Bill Limpert. “We have been blessed to be part of this beautiful land which has spiritually sustained us for nearly 10 years now. We appreciate the outpouring of love and grace from like minded friends, and will always hold them close to our hearts.”
During the ceremony, the faith leaders installed a sculpture at the base of Ona that is intended to signify the life of the forest. Shaped in the form of an embryonic baby named Hope, with a curl reminiscent of maple seed embryos, it carries the following message: “All life is connected, interdependent, and sacred.”
Weston Mathews, co-founder of the Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice, who was not able to attend, said, “This group gathered today to honor the sanctity of God’s creation. If constructed, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would threaten Ona, Miracle Ridge, and the Bath County Community. As communities of faith it is our obligation provide moral clarity on such a clear injustice.”
“We gather to do Creation Care, in a Circle of Protection around Great Grandmother Ona, maple tree,” said Heidi Dhivya, owner of Blue Ridge Wellness. “We gather to lean on each other , to feed each other and to receive the eternal blessings from Mother Nature’s eternal, bountiful beauty and wisdom. In the Wiccan tradition we remember who we truly are , by calling on all that we are to be present in the form of the 4 directions and Mother Father God; to guide protect and awaken us. And to remember that we are not alone, that we can draw from that Source that feeds us all.”
Andrew Tyler, who gave the Indigenous Peoples’ Prayer during the event, said, “We, as Indigenous People, have a direct connection to the land. For thousands of years, long before the first ‘settler’ arrived, we were here. And despite 500 plus years of colonization, we are still here. My intention is to honor this connection with this ceremony.”
The event included songs written and sang by the Limperts, a song by the Richmond-based band Lobo Marino, and prayers of the Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu traditions.
This ceremony concludes a successful summer-long encampment on the Limpert property to save “Miracle Ridge” — the land once referred to as a “classroom camp in pipeline fight” — in which over 200 campers and visitors toured the property and visited “Ona” to view the pipeline right of way that would destroy hundreds of old-growth trees. Like-minded “no pipeline” supporters shared concerns surrounding the danger for those living in the blast zone and the risks to water pollution as the pipeline travels slopes in sensitive karst geology. The Limpert property has taken center stage as one of many sites of grassroots pipeline resistance, showing the strength of the movement taking place across Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina in opposition to new fossil fuel pipelines.
CONTACT:
Jamshid Bakhtiari, Virginia Field Coordinator, jamshid@chesapeakeclimate.org, 757-386-8107
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-396-2022

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4th Circuit Court of Appeals Issues Decision Vacating
Nationwide Permit Approval

RICHMOND, VA — Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act for the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The ruling revokes MVP’s authority to construct its pipeline through waterways in the Corps’ Huntington District, and implicates MVP’s ability to trench through streams and wetlands anywhere along its route  Attorneys from Appalachian Mountain Advocates argued the case on behalf of the Sierra Club, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Indian Creek Watershed Association, Appalachian Voices, and Chesapeake Climate Action Network. The case was argued before a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit just last Friday.

Because the MVP’s certificate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) specifies that all necessary permits must be in place before the project can proceed anywhere, MVP must also halt work along its entire route.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:

“We applaud the Fourth Circuit’s decision to vacate the permit for the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Today’s decision shows polluting corporations trying to run roughshod through Appalachia will be held accountable. In their haste to make a quick buck, MVP rushed essential processes because they knew there was no way their dirty project would ever satisfy commonsense protections for water and health. Now, FERC must require MVP to immediately stop construction on the pipeline.”

Howdy Henritz, President of the Indian Creek Watershed Association said:

“Indian Creek Watershed Association applauds the Fourth Circuit decision today. We have been saying for years that the impacts of this MVP project on the waters of our state need to be assessed on an individual stream crossing analysis. The steep slopes and karst topography of WV watersheds deserve independent evaluation.”

Chesapeake Climate Action Network General Counsel Anne Havemann said:

“By vacating permit after permit for the MVP, the Fourth Circuit has been forced to do what the federal government should have been doing all along: protecting the public and the environment from this harmful and unneeded pipeline. Today’s welcome decision is just one in a string of decisions invalidating MVP’s federal permits. The public deserves no less than for regulators to take a real look at the impacts of this massive project. Once they do, we’re confident they will conclude that there is simply no safe way to build the Mountain Valley Pipeline.”

The SWCB Failed to Require Individual Reviews of Pipelines’ Impact, Putting Virginia’s Waters at Risk for Pipelines that Have Already Caused Numerous Violations

RICHMOND, VA — Today, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality provided misleading and incomplete information to the Virginia State Water Control Board during its review of whether the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12) for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline is sufficient to protect Virginia’s water quality. The Board failed to take its opportunity to revoke this permit, instead calling on the DEQ to aggressively enforce the erosion and stormwater controls for the pipelines and respond to complaints promptly.
The Department of Environmental Quality, headed by the controversial David Paylor, continued to strongly recommend that the Board allow pipeline construction to proceed, despite mounting evidence that MVP and ACP have already harmed water quality.
Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, issued the following statement in response:

“The pipeline companies have cut corners and aggressively pushed for approval before complete information about the impacts were understood. Reviewing federal courts have thrown out key permits for both pipelines, finding that agencies failed to adequately protect endangered species, national forests, and treasured places such as the Blue Ridge Parkway. These invalidated permits were so critical that FERC has halted construction on both pipelines.

“David Paylor’s DEQ likewise pushed for approval from the State Water Control Board before the impacts of the pipelines were understood — the agency recommended approval before critical pollution mitigation plans were in place. Today was the Board’s opportunity to hit pause on construction and require the agency to fully account for impacts to Virginia’s waters — a desperately needed pause for the landowners whose drinking water, streams, and property are threatened by these pipelines. We’re sorely disappointed that the Board passed up this critical opportunity.

“Instead of requiring an individual review, the Board instead called on DEQ to conduct aggressive compliance efforts. While we are still reviewing the Board’s decision it appears to have no teeth, and could allow sediment to continue to be dumped into the water with impunity. In the midst of public outcry and ongoing harm to water quality, we cannot applaud a decision that merely requires the DEQ do the job it should have been doing all along.

“Today is a shameful day for David Paylor’s Department of Environmental Quality, and a sad day for Virginians. But, the fight is not over. We will continue taking these pipelines to court. We are confident that the federal courts will continue to overturn the insufficient permits for these pipelines, and evidence will prove once and for all that these pipelines should never be built.”

Background Information
The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been issued six notices of violation for failing to prevent erosion and sediment from damaging streams. Five notices were issued by the West Virginia DEQ and one by Virginia’s DEQ, which addressed six separate areas of concern. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is not yet under construction in Virginia, has been issued one notice of violation for tree-felling in buffer zones meant to protect stream and wetland crossings. Additionally, the citizen monitoring group Mountain Valley Watch has submitted 58 reports of suspected improper erosion controls at Southwest Virginia construction sites to the DEQ.
The majority of comments submitted concerning this permit (9,100 of 17,000) urged the Board to reject the Army Corps’ “blanket” permit, and to conduct individual stream crossing reviews instead. According to an analysis conducted by Wild Virginia and the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition, 815 of the comments submitted were unique, 695 of which were opposed to the permit or the pipelines in general. The comments in opposition also provided far more detailed information than the comments in support.
DEQ even misrepresented the public opposition to the projects.  An analysis of the comments by Wild Virginia and the Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition found that a majority of commenters questioned whether the Army Corps’ nationwide permit was sufficient, with 9,141 opposing and 8,318 in support. The DEQ presented a much different number: Only 4,582 opposed and 8,086 in support.  The discrepancy can be explained by the fact that DEQ disregarded all petitions, though it did not disregard form letters. This decision skewed the result in favor of the NWP 12. This approach is unsupportable. If form documents that express no unique opinions and provide no unique information are to be counted individually, then petition signatures should also have been counted.
This hearing came at an opportune time, as a federal appeals court has revoked key permits for both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline, leading the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order a halt to all new construction activity for both pipelines.
CCAN is involved in a lawsuit challenging FERC’s certificate of public convenience and necessity for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and efforts to  challenge the Army Corps’ permit for the pipelines.
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8810
Anne Havemann, General Counsel, 202-997-2466, anne@chesapeakeclimate.org,
Jamshid Bakhtiari, Virginia Field Coordinator, 757-386-8107, jamshid@chesapeakeclimate.org

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Governor Hogan’s Dangerous Potomac Pipeline Cleared Important Regulatory Hurdle — Groups Fight Back

Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Potomac Riverkeeper Network Request Rehearing of Federal Approval of TransCanada’s Proposed Fracked-Gas Pipeline Underneath the Potomac River

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, environmental groups requested a rehearing for a key permit that was recently issued for a highly controversial fracked-gas pipeline known as the “Potomac Pipeline.” This pipeline is set to be built underneath the Potomac River, threatening the drinking water of millions of residents who rely on the Potomac as a drinking water source.
The permit, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), was called into question by two FERC commissioners who raised concerns about the agency’s examination of the pipeline’s impacts on climate change. Commissioner LaFleur also voiced concerns  about the impacts from a closely related pipeline under construction in West Virginia.  These are among the issues the groups raised in their rehearing request.
From the very beginning, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan put his thumb on the scale in favor of building this pipeline. He coordinated with the Canadian-based company behind the project, TransCanada (which owns Columbia Gas), to exempt the risky drilling process for this pipeline from state oversight. Hogan’s Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) then failed to carry out a thorough water certification process under the Clean Water Act, under which the department would have had the authority to reject the pipeline.
The Potomac Pipeline would run through sensitive karst geology underneath the Potomac River, making it more likely that a leak or explosion could happen during and after construction. It would also deepen our dependence on fossil fuels and lead to an expansion of fracking in Pennsylvania. Fracking wells leak the powerful greenhouse gas methane into the air, making it as bad or worse for global warming than coal.
Anne Havemann, General Counsel at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, issued the following statement:

“Governor Hogan has been working relentlessly to expand fracked-gas infrastructure throughout the state of Maryland. Now, the Trump Administration has given Hogan what he wanted: A greenlight to build a fracked-gas pipeline underneath the invaluable Potomac River, endangering the water supply of millions of residents and locking us into a new source of fossil fuels for decades.

“Hogan has shirked his responsibility to protect the people of Maryland or listen to their concerns. And now the federal commissioners at FERC have failed the people of America by refusing to examine the climate impacts of the Potomac Pipeline. Even two FERC commissioners know this pipeline could be a disaster for the climate.

“We are committed to taking any and all opportunities to protect our communities from the dangers of this pipeline and all other future pipelines to come.”

Katlyn Schmitt, Staff Attorney at Waterkeepers Chesapeake, stated:

“We are incredibly disappointed by FERC’s failure to adequately consider the cumulative water quality impacts from drilling a fracked gas pipeline under the Potomac River. Ultimately this decision could endanger the area’s largest drinking water supply and local ecosystems that are critical to the Chesapeake Bay.”

More information about the Potomac Pipeline and Governor Hogan’s plan to expand fracked-gas infrastructure in Maryland is available here.

CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8810
Katlyn Clark, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, katlyn@waterkeeperschesapeake.org, 240-320-7711
Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, Brent@upperpotomacriverkeeper.org, 443-480-8970
 

MD Wind and Solar Businesses Appeal to Lawmakers and Grassroots to Expand Renewable Portfolio Standard

Leaders say two environmental nonprofits are outliers and calls to end RPS could hurt wind and solar employees

ANNAPOLIS, MD — This week, top leaders in The Maryland wind and solar industries called on state legislators and grassroots activists to embrace a bill that would rapidly expand Maryland’s renewable electricity standard.
The leaders — Andrew Gohn of the American Wind Energy Association and Cyrus Tashakkori of the Maryland Utility-Scale Solar Energy Coalition —  pointed to the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) as the key to success for Maryland’s wind and solar industries thus far. They explained that expanding the RPS further would lead to continued expansion of the wind and solar industries, creating thousands of new jobs in Maryland.

Listen to the conference call recording in full here.

There is broad consensus that the RPS incentivizes construction of new wind and solar plants. However, two recent reports from Food & Water Watch (FWW) and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility (CPSR) have contradicted this broad consensus.
During the conference call, Gohn and Tashakkori explained how these outlier reports used outdated information to come to the wrong conclusions. For instance, the CPSR report continually references data from 2016 to claim that 46 percent of the energy incentivized by the RPS is “brown” energy, or energy from burning black liquor or trash. But in 2020, the RPS will incentivize 80 percent carbon-free energy, with only 20 percent going to “brown” sources. And by doubling the RPS through the Clean Energy Jobs Act, this makeup will be 94 percent clean by 2030.
They also explain why the criticism of “unbundled” Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) is misguided. “There’s a mountain of evidence that RECs incentivize renewables,” Gohn said on the call, pointing to independent analyses from the Brattle Group as well as from national labs like Lawrence Berkeley.  “Just about everybody agrees that RPS policies have been the thing that has driven new renewables in the region.” Tashakkori referenced an analogy he also made in a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed:
“RECs help efficiently manage renewable supply and demand across our region in the same way banks enable us to deposit $20 at one branch and withdraw it at another. It’s a different $20 bill, but that’s irrelevant; we still have $20. CPSR’s critique of unbundled RECs is analogous to insisting that the $20 bill we withdrew be identical to the one we deposited across town, a pointless and inefficient system with hugely negative implications for ratepayers.”

Listen to the conference call recording in full here.

The Clean Energy Jobs Act calls for Maryland’s RPS to increase to 50% by 2030, and provides a path for Maryland to achieve a future powered by 100% clean energy. Read more about it here.
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8810
Andrew Gohn,  Eastern State Policy Director, American Wind Energy Association, agohn@awea.org, 202-809-7044
Cyrus Tashakkori, Board Member, Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition,  cyrus@openroadrenewables.com, 512-921-8643
 

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