Dereliction of Duty: WVDEP Abandons Water Quality Review of Fracked Gas Pipeline

State Surrenders to Fossil Fuel Industry Instead of Protecting Health of West Virginians

CHARLESTON, WV — Today, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) waived its opportunity to review the water quality impacts of the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, states must certify that proposed pipelines will not violate state water quality standards before construction can begin. DEP has the responsibility to determine whether or not to issue that certification for West Virginia, but announced today they are abdicating that responsibility.

DEP previously certified the MVP, but in response to a lawsuit brought by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of a coalition of environmental groups, a federal court set aside that certification and allowed DEP to start over. That coalition is now exploring legal strategies in response to today’s news.

In response, Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Gas Committee Chair Justin Raines issued this statement:

“Instead of protecting West Virginia’s water, DEP has sold us down the river. They had one job to do and they failed to do it, leaving our water in the hands of the federal government and out-of-state corporate polluters who are more interested in making money than protecting West Virginians. If we can’t trust our own state to protect our water, health and tourism, who can we trust to do it? Governor Justice and his DEP have let us all down by abandoning the responsibilities we trusted them with.”

Derek Teaney, Senior Attorney at Appalachian Mountain Advocates, issued this statement:

“This is an outrageous and unprecedented dereliction of duty by DEP. After assuring a federal court that it was committed to reconsidering whether the MVP would degrade the hundreds of streams that it would impact, DEP has thrown up its hands and admitted that it is not up to the task of protecting West Virginia’s environment. This action suggests that DEP does not believe in the laws–including the antidegradation policy–that it is charged with enforcing. It also makes you wonder whether DEP intends to give the Atlantic Coast Pipeline–the other ill-conceived pipeline project it is currently reviewing–the same free pass it has just given to MVP.”

Judy Azulay, Indian Creek Watershed Association President, issued this statement:

“It’s incomprehensible that DEP is not using the authority granted to it by the West Virginia legislature to protect our water. Instead of issuing enforceable conditions for the 401 permit, DEP allows MVP to pen its own free pass to pollute. Instead of overseeing this unprecedented construction project, DEP turns a blind eye to the evidence documented in annotated maps and reports submitted by Indian Creek and other organizations and West Virginians identifying specific areas where the MVP would cause unacceptable degradation of our water. How can our Governor and his appointees allow DEP to abandon its mission and turn its back on the people and our natural resources?”

Angie Rosser, Executive Director, West Virginia Rivers Coalition said:

“DEP is a taxpayer-supported agency whose job is to protect public health and the environment. But when it came to one of the biggest projects DEP needed to review to protect water quality, the agency quit on the citizens of the state. We often hear from our political leaders that we don’t need federal agencies to regulate, that the state can handle it. But waiving their authority to do so is no way to handle it. It appears that political favor to industry has won the day over the agency’s responsibility to do everything in its power to protect the public’s right to clean water.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel, Chesapeake Climate Action Network said:

“Shame on WVDEP Director Austin Caperton and Governor Jim Justice. After directing agency staff to spend over a year’s worth of time, effort, and taxpayer money to look at the impacts to waterways from the massive Mountain Valley Pipeline, they’ve passed the buck to the federal government knowing full well that the pipeline won’t get the thorough review such a massive project deserves. West Virginia’s decision to waive its right to protect hundreds of streams and rivers from MVP is a complete abdication of its duty and a irreparable breach of the public’s trust.

Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager, Appalachian Voices said:

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clearly stated in its Mountain Valley Pipeline Order that construction may not commence without a water quality certification from each state and that states may impose additional conditions to protect water quality. By waiving its opportunity to do that, the WVDEP has utterly failed to fulfill its mission to preserve, protect, and enhance the state’s watersheds for the benefit and safety of all its citizens. West Virginians deserve better, and they certainly deserve clean water every bit as much as citizens of other states.”

###

Contact:
Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
Derek Teaney, 304.646.1182 or dteaney@appalmad.org

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

 

About Appalachian Mountain Advocates

Appalachian Mountain Advocates is a non-profit law and policy center dedicated to fighting for clean water and a clean energy future. Appalmad has a long history of winning precedent-setting court cases and negotiating costly settlements. The organization has secured hundreds of millions of dollars towards conserving natural areas and treating polluted water. We have worked for more than 15 years to ensure that the fossil fuel industry cannot continue to dump its costs of doing business onto the public. For more information, visit www.appalmad.org.

 

About Indian Creek Watershed Association

Indian Creek Watershed Association is a non-profit community based organization whose mission is to preserve and protect Monroe County’s abundant, pure water. For more information, visit www.IndianCreekWatershedAssociation.org.

 

About the West Virginia Rivers Coalition

West Virginia Rivers Coalition is a statewide non-profit organization promoting the conservation and restoration of West Virginia’s exceptional rivers and streams. Since 1989, it has served as the statewide voice for clean, healthy waters for all to use and enjoy. For more information, visit www.wvrivers.org.

 

About the Chesapeake Climate Action Network

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in the Chesapeake region. Our mission is to build a diverse movement powerful enough to put our region on the path to climate stability. We envision an equitable energy future where truly clean sources of power — efficiency, solar and wind — sustain every aspect of our lives, and dirty fossil fuels are phased out. For more information, visitwww.chesapeakeclimate.org.

 

About Appalachian Voices

Appalachian Voices is a leading force in America’s energy transformation, working at the nexus of the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy for the the 21st Century.  As a grassroots and advocacy organization rooted deeply in Appalachia, we defend the region from mountaintop removal coal mining, fracked-gas pipeline building, and other harmful practices while promoting clean energy sources that generate local jobs and community wealth, and sustain Appalachia’s incomparable natural heritage.  For more information, visit www.appvoices.org.

 

D.C. Councilmembers Announce Support for Proposed Carbon Fee-and-Rebate Bill

After the Hurricanes, D.C. Councilmembers Announce Support for Proposed Carbon Fee-and-Rebate Bill

Advocates expect “Climate & Community Reinvestment Act of D.C.” to be introduced in D.C. Council this year

In the face of recent megastorms and other extreme climate events, an historic effort to address carbon pollution in DC gained new momentum on Wednesday, October 25 as three Councilmembers spoke in favor of the bill before a cheering crowd at the Wilson Building. Advocates for the proposed “Climate & Community Reinvestment Act of D.C.” say the campaign has new momentum heading into the fall and expect a bill to be introduced no later than December with the majority support of the Council.
Councilmember Robert White (At-Large) stated: “I’m glad to support a policy that will address climate change while maintaining robust economic growth in the District. Increasingly extreme climate events harm our businesses and threaten the health of our community. The proposal for a carbon rebate is a common-sense solution that would benefit everyone.”
The proposed “Climate and Community Reinvestment Act” would place a fee on carbon pollution in the District and rebate the large majority of revenue raised back to D.C. residents. According to an economic study by the Center for Climate Strategies, this policy would raise incomes for the majority of D.C. residents and result in stable economic growth with a steady boost in jobs. It would also reduce planet-warming carbon emissions 23 percent by 2032 for electricity, natural gas, and home-heating oil consumed in the District.
Councilmember David Grosso (At-Large) stated: “We are currently at a time when our federal government refuses to do anything to address or acknowledge the real threat that climate change poses. In their absence, D.C. must continue to lead and ensure a bright future for ourselves. Though we’ve made significant progress, there is still more work to be done. That is why the carbon fee proposal is so attractive—it provides another avenue through which we can further reduce our carbon footprint.”
Advocates for the proposed policy say the campaign has new momentum heading into the fall Earlier this month, Mary Cheh, head of the Committee on Transportation & the Environment, told a crowd of Ward 3 Democrats that the proposed carbon fee-and-rebate policy is a “fabulous concept” that will “have to have Council support and the mayor’s support – and [it] will.” The coalition expects a bill to be introduced no later than December with the majority support of the Council.
Reverend Kip Banks, Senior Pastor at East Washington Heights Baptist Church, stated: “For too long, climate polluters have not paid for the damage they’re doing to our communities and to our climate. I’m calling as a faith leader for polluters to take responsibility for the harm that their pollution is causing for ‘the least of these.’ This effort in DC can be a beacon to the rest of our country and a source of hope in our warming world.”
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated: “The urgent nature of our climate crisis requires a significant, immediate response.  The movement for strong climate action in D.C. has never been more powerful, and now, with the support of several Councilmembers, we are ready to win. There’s no more time to wait. The time for a progressive and equitable carbon fee-and-rebate policy in D.C. is now.”
Judith Howell, SEIU 32BJ member and security officer in D.C., stated: “Fossil fuel pollution and haphazard development affects the citizens in each and every ward of our city. It is time for those who profit from fossil fuels to pay for the damage to our environment. But we must also ensure the policy would not put the burden on working families. We urge the Council and the Mayor to pass a strong climate rebate bill quickly, for the health and prosperity of our working-class families.”
The “Put A Price On It, D.C.” coalition is comprised of more than 40 climate and justice advocacy organizations, including more than a dozen local businesses.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 25, 2017
CONTACT: 
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network; denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8819
Camila Thorndike, Carbon Pricing Coordinator, Chesapeake Climate Action Network; camila@chesapeakeclimate.org, 541-951-2619.

###

 

Baltimore City Council to Introduce Bill to Prohibit Dangerous Crude Oil Terminals in City

Baltimore City Councilmembers Mary Pat Clarke and Edward Reisinger will introduce a crude oil terminal  prohibition to protect the 165,000 Baltimoreans who are threatened by trains carrying explosive crude oil through the city.

BALTIMORE, MD — Today, City Councilmembers Mary Pat Clarke and Edward Reisinger will introduce a bill to prohibit the construction of new and the expansion of existing crude oil terminals in Baltimore City. City Council Bill #17-0150 defines crude oil terminals as a prohibited land use in the city’s zoning code and if passed, would prevent Baltimore City from becoming a hub for crude oil train transfers – a fate that would put neighborhoods along the train route at significant risk.
Councilman Edward Reisinger of Baltimore’s 10th District and bill co-sponsor, said, “Most of my district is within one mile of the tracks that crude oil has been transported on. I don’t want any more crude oil tank cars putting the neighborhoods in my district at risk.”
Transport of crude oil by rail skyrocketed in the midst of the fracking boom in the Bakken shale fields of North Dakota, and a string of destructive derailments has followed. Crude oil has been known to travel through Baltimore City, and there are two terminals currently permitted to ship crude oil in the city.
165,000 Baltimoreans live in the crude oil train “blast zone” – the area that could be directly impacted if a train were to derail and explode in the city. There have been many close calls with freight trains in Baltimore, including last year’s derailment of 13 train cars in the Howard Street Tunnel.
Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, representative of Baltimore’s District 14 and bill sponsor, said, “In a time of low demand, this legislation freezes in place our current capacity for crude oil storage and transfer. When the next boom comes, this limited capacity will help to protect Baltimore from crude oil train hazards.”
To date, 24 religious leaders in Baltimore City have signed onto a letter urging the City Council to support the bill. Their letter reads: “We sign this letter as faith leaders whose communities would be directly endangered by crude oil trains … We have a responsibility to protect our neighbors inland from the Port of Baltimore. Any terminal that continues to enable the burning of fossil fuels is to us a ‘dangerous object.’”
This bill is being introduced during criminal trials concerning the crude oil train derailment that occurred in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in 2013 that killed 47 people.  Although it is clear that lax regulations and unsafe railroad management policies led to the tragedy there, two railroad workers are being blamed for the explosion.  This incident stands as a reminder that crude oil trains are unsafe for our communities, for our workers, and for the environment and also demonstrates the potential litigation that would result from a derailment and of the rail carriers’ proclivity for avoiding responsibility.
Background:  In 2014, a Texas-based company called Targa Terminals applied for a permit to ship crude oil through an additional terminal in South Baltimore. If approved, the terminal could have brought an additional 380 million gallons of explosive crude oil through the city’s rail lines every year.
The Maryland Department of the Environment denied that permit after it found the company did not meet air pollution requirements. The zoning ordinance introduced on Monday would prevent any future crude oil terminals from being constructed in the city, thus preventing an increase in crude oil train traffic.
In June, the Baltimore City Council unanimously passed a Climate Resolution that outlined specific steps the City should take to protect residents from the impacts of climate change. The resolution notes that crude-by-rail traffic enables “the extraction and combustion of some of the most climate-polluting oil on the planet” and calls for the City to “limit the development and expansion of facilities that handle crude oil.” This crude oil terminal prohibition is an opportunity for the Council to follow through on that commitment.
Baltimore’s terminal prohibition bill follows similar efforts to zone out crude oil terminals around the country. In 2016, Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington passed zoning code changes to protect their residents from dangerous and polluting fossil fuel infrastructure.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 16, 2017
CONTACT:
Jennifer Kunze; Clean Water Action; 240-397-4126; jkunze@cleanwater.org
Taylor Smith-Hams; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; 650-704-3208; taylor@chesapeakeclimate.org

###

Citizens and community groups reject federal commission rubber-stamp on Mountain Valley Pipeline

Hundreds of landowners, businesses, faith leaders and community organizations who have spent three years fighting the proposed fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) are vowing to continue pressing federal, state, and local officials to reject the project, notwithstanding a certificate issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Friday.
The agency has utterly failed to account for the harmful impacts to water resources, private property, local economies and the climate from the proposed pipeline, the groups say. In fact, FERC has yet to competently assess whether the pipeline is even needed.
“This project is far from a done deal. With the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and other agency permitting still necessary, we’ve now begun a new phase of our challenge in protecting our waters, farms and businesses, and our future,” said Roanoke County resident Roberta Bondurant of POWHR, a bi-state coalition of community groups along the path of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The pipeline, proposed by a consortium of natural gas companies led by Equitrans, would run 300 miles from Wetzel County, West Virginia, through Southwest Virginia and connect with the existing Transco line in Pittsylvania County. It would cross streams, wetlands and other water bodies more than 1,000 times in the two states, many of those in extremely  steep mountain terrain susceptible to earthquakes and landslides.
The project still requires numerous local, state and federal sign-offs. Importantly, both Virginia DEQ and West Virginia DEP must still certify that the project would not harm or degrade water resources. West Virginia issued its certification earlier this year, but recently asked the court to remand the permit back to the state for further consideration after a challenge brought by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of several community groups. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is now reviewing tens of thousands of public comments on its draft water quality certificate.  
The U.S. Forest Service, the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and state and local health and zoning departments are among the other government entities that still must also weigh in.
In addition, landowners along the proposed pipeline route have filed two lawsuits against FERC challenging the constitutionality of the use of eminent domain — the taking of private land — by a private company for private gain. (See more background in this fact sheet.)  Attorneys have requested that all activity on the project be suspended until those pivotal questions are resolved.
“We cannot trust FERC to act in our best interests, so we continue to urge state leaders to exercise their right to thoroughly scrutinize this project,” said Lara Mack, Virginia field organizer with Appalachian Voices.  “Scientists have repeatedly warned that impacts to our waters and other natural resources will be permanent. If the MVP is built, communities in its path will suffer the consequences for generations,” said Mack.
“We are living in a climate emergency. In just the past several weeks we’ve seen the tragic consequences of a warmer world, from devastating hurricanes to raging wildfires. Now is the time to move to renewable energy, not build new pipelines that would lock us into climate-warming infrastructure for generations to come,” said Anne Havemann, General Counsel at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
“Here along the proposed path of Mountain Valley Pipeline in Giles County, we’ve had yet another earthquake,” said Russell Chisholm, an Army veteran of Desert Storm. “Mountain Valley Pipeline, a newly formed LLC with no experience building a line this massive, expects us to believe they can safely blast, trench and build though an active seismic zone in Giles. Communities are right to be angry that FERC will allow them to do it on the backs of law abiding, tax-paying residents, many of whom are elderly, served in our armed forces, or worked as public servants in our schools, police and fire departments. It would be a bitter injustice to have these citizens displaced–either literally or effectively– by eminent domain for private gain.”
“Localities face the prospect of whole communities in water crises, disasters that no amount of bonding could compensate,” said Bondurant. “Permitting MVP would be antithetical to our region that boasts clean air, pristine waters, outdoor adventure, scenic byways, fertile farming, and economies of health care, education and burgeoning breweries and distilleries dependent on clean water. That would be a shameful legacy for Governor McAuliffe.”    
“This project poses unprecedented economic and environmental threats,” Chisholm said. “We encourage all Virginians to stand with us and call on Governor McAuliffe and his Department of Environmental Quality to reject this ill-conceived and unneeded project.”

###

 
Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) is a member of Virginia Organizing, a 501(c)3, with member nonprofit and citizen groups spanning from Franklin County, Virginia through Greenbrier and Lewis Counties, West Virginia. For more information on our programs and initiatives, or on how to donate please go to www.powhr.org.
 

WV & MD Unite to Oppose Potomac Pipeline in Historic “Hands Across The Potomac” Event

Largest Action To-Date Against Eastern Panhandle Expansion Included Songs, Flower Drop  

SHARPSBURG, MD- On Saturday, October 14, more than 300 concerned West Virginia and Maryland residents joined hands over a key Potomac River bridge to send a powerful message urging Governor Hogan stop TransCanada from building a fracked-gas pipeline underneath the treasured river. Click here for a photo album on Flickr and here for videos on Twitter.
The group of elected leaders, environmental and social justice advocates, landowners and concerned citizens stood hand-in hand to span the James Rumsey Bridge over the Potomac River in Western Maryland. By connecting the Maryland side of the river to West Virginia, the group showed that they stand as a united front in protesting this pipeline.
Patricia Kesecker, West Virginia landowner who is currently being sued by Mountaineer Gas, said: “when you have put your blood, sweat and tears into the land for almost 50 years and someone can come and take it against your wishes, that is heartbreaking.  When the judge granted Mountaineer Gas the right to our property, she not only robbed us, but she also robbed our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of their heritage.”
The pipeline is being proposed by TransCanada, the company infamous for pushing the Keystone XL Pipeline, and Mountaineer Gas. It would ship fracked gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia, passing through the town of Hancock, Maryland and underneath the Potomac River. This pipeline would not benefit Marylanders in any way, yet it would pose a grave threat to their drinking water and deepen dependence on dirty fossil fuels for years to come.
Brooke Harper, Maryland & DC Policy Director at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said: “This is my home. I’ve worked relentlessly for years to protect my community from the dangers of fracking. Now, TransCanada wants to threaten us yet again with this fracked-gas pipeline, which would increase our dependence on fossil fuels and endanger our water. Governor Hogan needs to say no.”
Over the past few months, a growing coalition of legislators, environmental activists. and concerned landowners has been speaking out against the pipeline. From paddling against the pipeline, to a months-long encampment in the spirit of Standing Rock, the coalition has built a massive movement and drawn national attention to the harms that this project could cause.
Mary Mattlage, spokesperson for Eastern Panhandle Protectors, said: “In the light of the recent and unprecedented storms, wildfires, and other natural disasters affecting our planet, we should not be supporting projects such as the Eastern Panhandle Expansion and Potomac pipeline which we know will contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and threaten the water supply for millions of people.”
Josh Tulkin, Director of the Sierra Club Maryland Chapter, said: “Maryland understood that fracking posed a threat to our air, water, and the natural spaces that we hold dear. This proposed pipeline poses the same threat.” said Josh Tulkin, Director of the Maryland Sierra Club. If Governor Hogan is serious about protecting environmental and human health from the dangers of fracking, he will complete the fracking ban by rejecting this pipeline.”
Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, said: “All pipeline projects have an inherent risk to water quality, but the Potomac Pipeline will cross streams and go through several miles of sensitive karst geology; which magnifies the risks of contaminating the Potomac River and the source of drinking water for millions of people.”
Organizations participating in the action included the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Eastern Panhandle Protectors, Potomac Riverkeepers, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, and the Sierra Club MD Chapter.

CONTACT:
Denise Robbins; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; denise@chesapeakeclimate.org; 608-620-8819
Brooke Harper; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; brooke@chesapeakeclimate.org; 301-992-6875;
Brent Walls; Upper Potomac Riverkeeper; Brent@upperpotomacriverkeeper.org; 443-480-8970

###

Trump's Clean Power Plan Repeal is Shameful. But it Won't Stop Renewable Energy or Local Climate Action.

Statement by Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, in response to the Trump Administration’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan:

The decision of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to repeal the Clean Power Plan is another shocking move by the Trump Administration to deny climate change at the expense of residents across the Maryland, Virginia and DC region. Just after our country’s most devastating hurricane season tore through national shores, the last thing we need is to incentivize dirty climate-warming coal. Today’s decision further highlights the need of states like Maryland, Virginia and DC to push harder for clean energy while moving away from dirty fossil fuels. Pruitt’s EPA can’t stop the incredible growth of renewable energy or the rising grassroots resistance to Trump’s dirty energy agenda. Local- and state-based action has never been more important.

 
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 608-620-8819, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

###

Photo at the top from Flickr user Becker1999

Nineteen Virginians Arrested In Richmond to Protest Gov. McAuliffe’s Fracked-Gas Pipelines during Final Day of “People’s Pipeline Protest” Statewide

After devastating hurricanes, two days of prayer vigils and protests in Richmond, Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Woodbridge, Virginia Beach, Glen Allen and Abingdon culminated on Thursday September 14 with a peaceful sit-in in Richmond. The first-of-its-kind statewide protest connected extreme weather with fossil fuel policies. Protesters showed compassion for storm victims and growing opposition to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline in call for Virginia Governor to reject the pipelines.

RICHMOND, Virginia– On September 14, hundreds of citizens across Virginia gathered for the final day of the “People’s Pipeline Protest,” two days of action at all seven of Governor Terry McAuliffe’s controversial Department of Environmental Quality offices. During the protest in Richmond, activists engaged in a peaceful sit-in at the Richmond DEQ office, effectively blocking the office entrance for over an hour, and resulting in 19 arrests.

Those arrested today included landowners, physicians and faith leaders opposed to the pipeline. Governor McAuliffe plans to make a final decision on water permits for the controversial pipelines this autumn. He has the full legal authority, under the Clean Water Act, to stop them based on the massive impact the pipelines would likely have on drinking water and rivers and wetlands across 1000 miles of their proposed pathways. Protesters today asked the Governor to deny the water permits sought by Dominion Energy and other energy companies. The sit-in arrestees were released by Richmond city police after receiving misdemeanor tresspassing charges.

The protests and vigils this week aimed to honor the victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma while protesting the pro-fracking and pro-pipelines policies of Governor Terry McAuliffe that make climate change worse. Opponents of two controversial gas pipelines called the events the most ambitious and creative environmental protests ever organized in Virginia’s history.

Harrison Wallace, Virginia Policy Coordinator for CCAN Action Fund, said, “​Our human rights to clean air, clean water, and a livable climate are threatened by the dangerous Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines for fracked gas. Today, sat on the frontlines of the Richmond DEQ offer to amplify the pleas of frontline Virginians who are urging Governor McAuliffe to do the right thing.”

Russell Chisholm, Vice-Coordinator of Preserve Giles County along the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and US Army Veteran of Desert Storm, said: “Let DEQ Director David Paylor’s legacy be one of protecting Virginia’s water for generations, especially in vulnerable rural areas like Giles County where we rely on springs and wells. The thousands of people served by the Roanoke river depend on McAuliffe and the DEQ to protect their drinking water. It’s time to reject these pipelines once and for all.”

The seven DEQ offices run from NoVA to Virginia Beach and from the Tennessee border to Harrisonburg. Focused on stopping the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines, these historic protests took place simultaneously on September 13 and 14 as the nation recovers from massive hurricanes and while McAuliffe contemplates a final decision on whether to approve the destructive fossil fuel pipelines.

Faith leaders, students, and others are asking the Governor to consider the growing harm of hurricanes and accelerating  climate change — and to reject the specific water permits needed by pipeline companies, including Dominion Energy. These harmful pipelines for fracked gas would cause the destruction of entire mountain ridgetops, threaten citizens’ property rights, and harm valuable drinking water resources — in addition to exacerbating climate change. The pipelines would trigger new greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to building 46 new coal-fired power plants in Virginia.

April Moore, member of Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, said: “It is moving to me to see many people of different faith traditions demonstrating that the stewardship of our water—on which all life depends—is a sacred duty. We cannot let Dominion Power and other purveyors of dirty fossil fuels rob us of our birthright: clean water for all. Especially when renewable energy sources can provide us with the energy we need now, while also providing an abundance of good jobs.”

Amanda Tandy of 350 Loudoun, said, “These pipelines would harm us all. In addition to the global climate change the pipelines would accelerate, Northern Virginians would be impacted by loss of recreation areas, impacts to the Appalachian Trail, a reduction in water and air quality and our tax dollars going towards any disasters, such as blowouts or leaks, that may occur over the hundreds of miles of these pipelines. Virginians deserve better governance than their executive and his agencies putting the interests of corporate polluters over the interests of the living, taxpaying, voting citizens. New York, West Virginia and Minnesota have pushed back against pipeline construction through their states. Virginia, through its DEQ, needs to do the same.”

Kim Williams, operator of the Norfolk Catholic Worker House, said: “The devastating storms of the past two weeks in Houston and in Florida are a painful reality check. Climate change is now and climate change is here. We need to do everything we can to move immediately off of fossil fuels and to move our energy source to renewables. The climate has changed. Now, the thinking of our Governor and the officials at the DEQ needs to change as well. They need to think beyond the next election cycle. They need to think long-term about what these pipelines would do to cause irrevocable harm to our planet.”

Jason Von Kundra, local Washington County farmer and Virginia Organizing member, said: “These pipelines threaten our our natural resources and health. As farmers, we understand the importance of using the land responsibly. For the sake our next generations, we call on Governor McAuliffe to do the right thing.”

Twenty-five groups endorsed the “People’s Pipeline Protest,” including the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 350 Loudon, Divest RVA, RVA Interfaith Climate Justice League, Preserve Franklin, Norfolk Catholic Workers, Beyond Extreme Energy, Fort Valley Voices for Action, 350 Central Virginia, Indivisible Midlothian, Friends of Buckingham, Yogaville Environmental Solutions, Interfaith Power & Light, Virginia River Healers , 350 Fairfax, Friends of Augusta, Tidewater Pax Christi Community, C-Ville Rising, Preserve Giles County, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Oil Change International, Wild Virginia, Virginia Organizing, Friends of Nelson, and the Interspiritual Empowerment Project.

###

CONTACTS:
Denise Robbins, CCAN Action Fund, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8819;
April Moore, Climate Action Alliance of the Valley, april@shentel.net, 540-333-5497;
Brian Johns, Virginia Organizing, bjohns@virginia-organizing.org, 276-619-1920;

Climate & Faith Groups Announce Bold New Clean Energy Jobs Campaign in MD

Faith, Community and Climate Leaders Announce Campaign To Double Wind and Solar Energy in Maryland

Baltimore, MD –On Wednesday, September 13, at 10:00 a.m. at the Episcopal Diocesan Center, 4 East University Parkway in Baltimore City, Maryland faith, community and climate leaders will announce a new campaign to require that 50 percent of Maryland’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. The campaign will unveil a legislative proposal that calls for expanding and strengthening Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires utilities to buy a certain percentage of renewable energy each year, from the current target of 25% by 2020. The campaign will also call for a substantial investment in training for good clean energy jobs with a livable wage and assistance for minority and women owned businesses working in this field.

Campaign leaders will lift up the more than 300 faith, community, labor, business, climate and environmental groups from across Maryland that have already endorsed this proposal. The Campaign also plans to have hundreds of additional groups endorse in the next few months and will call on Maryland groups to join by going to www.cleanenergyjobs.org/sign.

In addition to being endorsed by the Ecumenical Leaders Group of Maryland and many Maryland faith groups, the Campaign is endorsed by the Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches and is a priority campaign for the Maryland Climate Coalition, whose groups include the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Interfaith Power and Light (DC, MD, NoVA), SEIU 1199, and the Maryland Environmental Health Network.

Quotes from Maryland Leaders:

“We call on the Maryland General Assembly to double our goals for renewable energy during the 2018 Session so we can save lives and transition our energy sector away from harmful fossil fuels and toward a clean energy economy,” said Public Health Advocate Vincent DeMarco, who recently formed a new nonprofit, the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Initiative, Inc., whose goal is to elevate climate issues in the electoral process. “There is no time to waste, so our organization will put all we have into making renewable energy and clean energy jobs one of the top issues in the 2018 state elections.”

“As the federal government moves backwards on climate, Maryland is moving forward,” said Karla Raettig, Executive Director of Maryland League of Conservation Voters. “We believe that committing to a 50% RPS is a reachable and meaningful stepping stone to eventually achieving 100% clean energy in Maryland.”

“The Maryland faith community strongly supports the goal of making sure that by 2030, 50 percent of Maryland’s electrical energy is renewable,” said Rev. Mary Gaut, Chair of the Maryland Ecumenical Leaders Group. “We have a moral imperative to enact this social justice proposal that will help save us from the ravages of climate change and ensure clean energy jobs for our people.”

“The NAACP is committed to making the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Campaign one of their top priorities,” said Gerald Stansbury, President of the Maryland State Conference of the NAACP “We know that all Marylanders, particularly disadvantaged communities, will benefit from from protecting our climate and ensuring good quality jobs.”

Contact: Vinny DeMarco, Founder, MD Clean Energy Jobs Initiative, demarco@mdinitiative.org, (410) 591-9162
Brooke Harper, MD & DC Policy Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, brooke@chesapeakeclimate.org, (301) 992-6875

Groups Deliver over 10,000 Public Comments to DEQ on Fracked Gas Pipelines

RICHMOND, Virginia – Experts, landowners, and environmental groups from across the Commonwealth gathered Tuesday at Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality headquarters in Richmond to deliver thousands of public comments related to DEQ’s 401 water certification process.
The comments, collected by the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Appalachian Voices, Bold Alliance, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, and Oil Change International urged the DEQ to do more in order to meet the agency’s obligations to protect Virginia’s water sources from these pipelines.
“DEQ’s draft Certification is legally and scientifically indefensible,” David Sligh, former Senior Engineer at Virginia’s DEQ, said. “The processes DEQ has conducted have been unfair and inadequate to satisfy the Governor’s promises of thorough and transparent regulatory reviews. The State Water Control Board cannot certify these projects unless it can assure that all state water quality standards will be met. A rigorous scientific analysis would prove such a conclusion is impossible.”
The public comments urge Governor McAuliffe and DEQ Director David Paylor to direct the DEQ to extend the public comment period for these projects and to conduct site-specific reviews and permits for each waterway crossed by both of these pipelines. The DEQ has originally announced to the public that it would undergo site-specific reviews for these pipelines in April, but announced in June that they that the agency would instead opt to rely on the Army Corps of Engineers’ blanket permitting process.
“The Corps’ process is woefully inadequate to protect our water,” Bill Limpert, a property owner in Bath County whose property would be traversed by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, said. “We looked at the Corps’ map of our property and we have two streams that are not even present on that map. How are they supposed to protect our waterways if they don’t even know where they are?”

###

CONTACTS
Jamshid Bakhtiari, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
jamshid@chesapeakeclimate.org, (757) 386-8107
Kirk Bowers, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
kirk.bowers@sierraclub.org, (434) 296-8673
 

McAuliffe’s Opposition to Offshore Drilling Should Lead to Him Rejecting Fracked-gas Pipelines

After years of staunch support for offshore oil drilling off the coast of Virginia, Governor Terry McAuliffe today for the first time declared his opposition to this dangerous practice. The Governor suggested that weak environmental regulation and enforcement under Donald Trump’s federal agencies drove his decision to finally oppose the practice.

Statement from CCAN’s Virginia Policy Coordinator Harrison Wallace:

Citizens across Virginia were relieved today to hear Governor McAuliffe finally opposes the dangerous practice of offshore drilling off the coast of Virginia. While this decision was long overdue, it is nonetheless the responsible course to protect Virginia’s environment and coastal economy. We applaud the governor on this change of policy.

However, Governor McAuliffe still staunchly supports two proposed massive pipelines for fracked gas across Virginia: the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines. If the governor applied the same concerns over weak Trump administration enforcement to these pipelines, he would also declare his opposition. The fact is these controversial pipelines will be built and regulated with oversight from Trump’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency, Trump’s Department of Energy, and Trump’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

If federal agencies under Trump can’t be trusted to keep Virginians safe from offshore drilling, they certainly can’t be trusted to keep Virginia’s water, environment, farmland, and economy safe from fracked-gas pipelines. Governor McAuliffe should reject these pipelines today.

###

CONTACT: Denise Robbins, Communications Director, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org, 608-620-8819;
Harrison Wallace, Virginia Policy Coordinator, harrison@chesapeakeclimate.org, 804-305-1472