Poll: Virginia Voters Oppose Governor McAuliffe on Fracked-Gas Pipelines, Coal Ash Disposal

Contact:
Kelly Trout, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org
Citizens announce a three-day picket outside of Governor McAuliffe’s Richmond offices in early October to demand protection from fossil fuel harm
RICHMOND, Va. — Statewide poll results released today show that, on the hot-button issues of fracked-gas pipelines and coal ash disposal, Virginia voters disagree with the approach being taken by Governor Terry McAuliffe by significant, bipartisan margins.
The results of the poll, conducted by the nonpartisan firm The Cromer Group, indicate that:

  • Only 28% of Virginia voters support Governor McAuliffe’s efforts to build two major fracked-gas pipelines, while 55% oppose the Governor’s efforts, a nearly 2-to-1 margin of opposition.
  • Opposition to Governor McAuliffe on pipelines was especially strong in rural Virginia, among Independents, and among women.
  • An overwhelming majority of voters — 71% — believe Governor McAuliffe should follow the approach of other southern states on coal ash disposal, requiring removal of the ash to modern landfills instead of allowing Dominion to bury it in place by rivers.
  • The coal ash results show a 5-to-1 margin against Dominion’s approach and in favor of the approach of other southern states — including a majority across every party, regional, and demographic group surveyed.

“This poll shows that Governor McAuliffe’s cheerleading for fracked-gas pipelines is not only dangerous for communities and the climate, but decidedly unpopular in Virginia,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “The Governor likes to dismiss both the pipelines and coal ash as ‘federal issues’ beyond his influence, but that’s untrue. He has direct executive power to act on behalf of Virginians facing direct harm now. Governor McAuliffe has the means and the moral responsibility to reject the pipelines and to reform coal ash disposal, and his legacy depends on it.”
The poll results were released by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Virginia Organizing during a tele-briefing this morning, which also included Virginia citizens who are being directly affected by the proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines and by water contamination linked to coal ash.
“Governor Terry McAuliffe was elected on promises to protect our environment, and that’s what Virginia voters clearly still expect him to do,” said Janice “Jay” Johnson, a Newport News resident and State Governing Board member of Virginia Organizing. “By putting the welfare of people over polluters, Governor McAuliffe can gain the support and trust of a growing grassroots movement. He can protect me and my neighbors in Hampton Roads who live in daily fear of flooding and extreme weather, wondering when ‘the big one’ will hit us.”
Citizens on the call announced plans for a first-of-its-kind, three-day picket outside of Governor McAuliffe’s Richmond offices during the first week of October. The picket line will unite dozens of Virginians across the state in bringing this message to the Governor: “Yes, you can, and yes, you must, protect our welfare from pipelines, coal ash, and rising seas.”
“I’ll be bringing drinking water from my family’s well near Possum Point to Governor McAuliffe’s offices to ask him directly, ‘Would you let your kids drink this?,’” said Dan Marrow, a father from Dumfries whose family lives within 1,000 feet of a Dominion coal ash waste pond and whose drinking water recently tested positive for several toxic heavy metals. “If Governor McAuliffe lets Dominion continue with its ‘cap in place’ plan, more families like mine will face contaminated water and unknown health risks. Polling shows the public understands this threat and expects Governor McAuliffe to follow the safer approach of neighboring states.”
“My father and I will travel from Southwest Virginia to Richmond to appeal to the Governor to protect our 10th-generation family land, our water, and our heritage,” said Don Jones, the son of 86-year-old Korean War veteran George Jones, who owns property that would be bisected by the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Giles County. “Instead of doing the bidding of gas companies, it’s time for Governor McAuliffe to stand with citizens, and help stop these pipelines.”
“Our churches and seventy-five percent of our membership make up the ground-zero zone of the proposed compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” said Pastor Paul Wilson, who ministers to the Union Hill and Union Grove Baptist churches in Buckingham County. “Dominion’s message to us has been that 200-plus lives don’t matter, so we’re asking, does Governor McAuliffe agree? If the Governor believes in environmental justice, then he must commit to using his state authority to reject the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors must also reject Dominion’s permit request.”
During the three-day protest in October, citizens will press Governor McAuliffe to make a positive difference on three major pollution threats facing Virginia, specifically by:

  • Rejecting permits for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines for fracked gas, using state authority under the Clean Water Act, as Governor Andrew Cuomo has done in New York State.
  • Requiring Dominion and other utilities to permanently protect Virginia waterways from toxic coal ash, as state authorities in the Carolinas and Georgia are doing.
  • Committing to serious clean energy and adaptation solutions to keep coastal communities above water, including a dedicated state funding stream for flood protection.

The Cromer Group poll, commissioned by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, surveyed 732 randomly-selected Virginia registered voters in an automated phone survey. The survey carries a margin of error of + 4.0 percent at 95 percent level of confidence.
View a PDF summary of the poll results and methodology at: http://chesapeakeclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Gov-McAuliffe-Survey-Results-Sep-16.pdf
Listen to a recording of this morning’s tele-briefing on the poll results at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0k8OB0-Dp5ReFU3T3l4SDZqcnc/view
Download a copy of the poll results graphic at: http://chesapeakeclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/VA-2016-Poll-Results-Graphic.png

###

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the biggest and oldest grassroots organization dedicated to fighting climate change in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. CCAN is building a powerful movement to shift our region away from climate-harming fossil fuels and to clean energy solutions: www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

 

Community and Conservation Groups Condemn FERC’s Review of Proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline

Contact:
Joe Lovett, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304-520-2324, jlovett@appalmad.org
Laurie Ardison, Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights, 304-646-8339, ikeandash@yahoo.com
Kirk Bowers, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, 434-296-8673, kirk.bowers@sierraclub.org
Kelly Trout, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Lara Mack, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, lara@appvoices.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal regulators today released a draft environmental review for the proposed fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline that public interest advocates say fails to adequately assess the public need for the project and the widespread threats to private property, public lands, local communities, water quality and the climate.
The controversial $3.2 billion pipeline, proposed by EQT and NextEra, would cut 301 miles through West Virginia and Virginia — crossing public lands and more than 1,000 waterways and wetlands — and require the construction of three large compressor stations. The Mountain Valley Pipeline is one of six major pipelines proposed for the same region of Virginia and West Virginia where experts warn the gas industry is overbuilding pipeline infrastructure. (See below for a bulleted list of impacts as defined by FERC.)
In preparing its draft Environmental Impact Statement, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relied heavily on gas company data to assess the public need for the project, the groups say. A report released earlier this month concludes there is enough existing gas supply in Virginia and the Carolinas to meet demand through 2030. The groups also fault the agency for dismissing clean energy alternatives.
In response to requests from numerous elected officials and organizations, FERC has extended the usual 45-day period for public comment to 90 days. Comments are due December 22.
While legal and environmental experts are continuing to review the nearly 2,600-page document, they have identified major gaps in FERC’s analysis, including:

  • The core issue of whether the massive project is needed to meet electricity demand, and whether other alternatives including energy efficiency, solar and wind would be more environmentally responsible sources;
  • A complete analysis of the cumulative, life-cycle climate pollution that would result from the pipeline;
  • Any accounting of other environmental and human health damage from the increased gas fracking in West Virginia that would supply the pipeline; and
  • Thorough analysis of damage to water quality and natural resources throughout the pipeline route.

“It’s shameful that FERC did not prepare a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement,” said Joe Lovett, Executive Director of Appalachian Mountain Advocates. “It would allow a private pipeline company to take private property for private profit. Apparently FERC decided it didn’t have to do the hard work necessary to determine whether the MVP is necessary. Such a lack of diligence is remarkable because FERC has the extraordinary power to grant MVP the right to take property that has, in many cases, been in the same families for generations.”
“The resource reports MVP has already submitted to FERC are the alleged backbone upon which the DEIS is created. These reports are, however, uncatalogued collections of partial surveys, studies and desktop engineering notions which are rife with omissions, and inadequate and incorrect data,” said Laurie Ardison, Co-Chair of Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR). “The DEIS is fatally flawed for a variety of process and substance matters, not the least of which is MVP’s insufficient, unsubstantiated foundational material.”
“FERC once again has its blinders on to the full climate consequences of fracked gas,” said Anne Havemann, General Counsel at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “FERC’s limited review ignores the full lifecycle of pollution the pipeline will trigger by acting as if gas comes from nowhere. FERC also provides no clear explanation of exactly how it arrived at its limited estimate of emissions. If FERC did a full accounting of the climate harm of this fracked-gas project and clean energy alternatives, it would have no choice but to reject it.”
“Recent studies have shown that our region has the necessary energy to meet demand through 2030 already. We know that clean, renewable energy is available and affordable, and by this time, it will be the only choice to preserve our environment and climate. Additional fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley project, are not needed to keep the lights on, homes and businesses heated, and industrial facilities in production — despite the claims by MVP developers,” said Kirk Bowers, Pipelines Campaign Manager with the Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club.
“This would be the first fracked-gas pipeline of this size to cross the Alleghany and Blue Ridge mountains. Running a massive gas project through the steep, rugged terrain laced with dozens of rivers and headwater streams is a perfect storm for major damage to our water resources,” said Lara Mack, Virginia Campaign Field Organizer with Appalachian Voices. ”FERC also fails to meaningfully address the safety issues and other concerns so earnestly voiced by hundreds of homeowners and landowners along the route.”
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline could result in taking people’s property in West Virginia solely to benefit out-of-state companies,” said Jim Kotcon, West Virginia Sierra Club Chapter Chair. “To make matters worse, it will affect all West Virginians because it will result in higher gas prices for local consumers. Low cost energy is one of the few advantages that West Virginia has in attracting new businesses, and this pipeline will make our energy costs higher while lowering costs for competitors in other states. That pipeline is bad business for West Virginia businesses.”

###

Highlights of major impacts of the MVP route as identified by FERC in the DEIS:

  • About 67% of the MVP route would cross areas susceptible to landslides.
  • The pipeline would cross about 51 miles of karst terrain.
  • Construction would disturb about 4,189 acres of soils that are classified as potential for severe water erosion.
  • Construction would disturb about 2,353 acres of prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance.
  • The pipeline would result in 986 waterbody crossings; 33 are classified as fisheries of special concern.
  • The MVP would cross about 245 miles of forest; in Virginia, it would impact about 938 acres of contiguous interior forest during construction classified as “high” to “outstanding” quality.
  • In West Virginia, the pipeline would result in permanent impacts on about 865 acres of core forest areas which are significant wildlife habitat.
  • The 50-foot wide operational easement would represent a permanent impact on forests.
  • FERC identified 22 federally listed threatened, endangered, candidate, or special concern species potentially in vicinity of the MVP and the Equitrans projects, and 20 state-listed or special concern species.
  • MVP identified 117 residences within 50 feet of its proposed construction right-of-way.
  • Construction would require use of 365 roadways.
  • A still incomplete survey of the route shows the pipeline could potentially affect 166 new archaeological sites and 94 new architectural sites, in addition to crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway Historic District, North Fork Valley Rural Historic District, and Greater Newport Rural Historic District, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Committee Schedules Hearing for Baltimore Oil Trains Safety Study

BALTIMORE – This morning, 12 concerned Baltimore residents wearing red shirts bearing the message “Hear the Oil Trains Bill” attended a City Council hearing to protest nine months of inaction on a common-sense bill to address the health and safety dangers of explosive oil trains that travel through Baltimore. At the start of the hearing, Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Kraft informed the community activists that he had just scheduled a committee hearing for this bill on November 1, 2016.
Clean Water Action and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network issued the following statement in response:
“We applaud Councilman Jim Kraft for listening to the concerns of his constituents and the greater Baltimore community and taking this simple, yet important step toward action on the public health and safety risks of oil trains. We look forward to working with him to ensure that Council Bill 16-0621 passes successfully so that Baltimoreans will be better informed of, and the City will be better prepared for, the dangers of explosive crude oil trains.”
Council Bill 16-0621 was introduced on January 26, 2016 by City Council President Jack Young and co-sponsored by an overwhelming majority of the City Council. The bill would require the first-ever city study of the health and safety impacts of oil trains in Baltimore, where more than 165,000 people live within the one-mile potential impact zone of a derailment and explosion.
The bill was assigned to the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee where it languished for nine months with no action. Today’s announcement that a hearing has been scheduled marks an important step before the bill goes before the full Council. The Committee also requested reports on the bill from the City Solicitor, the Health Department, and the Department of Finance. These reports have not yet been received by the Committee.
Contact:
Jamshid Bakhtiari, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, jamshid@chesapeakeclimate.org, 443-826-9784
Jennifer Kunze, Clean Water Action, jkunze@cleanwater.org, 410-235-8808

Six Hundred Virginians ‘March on the Mansion’ to Tell Gov. McAuliffe: Put People Over Polluters on Pipelines, Coal Ash, and Climate Action

For Immediate Release: Saturday, July 23, 2016
Contact:
Kelly Trout, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 717-439-0346 (cell), kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Amanda Pohl, Virginia Organizing, 804-337-1912, amanda@virginia-organizing.org
Sharon Ponton, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, 434-420-1874, ponton913@msn.com

Six Hundred Virginians Join ‘March on the Mansion’ to Tell Gov. McAuliffe: Put People Over Polluters on Pipelines, Coal Ash, and Climate Action

As record warm temperatures strike the U.S., Virginians call for clean energy instead of fracked-gas pipelines, polluted water, and flooded homes

First-of-its-kind climate justice rally in Va. unites people on the front lines of fossil fuel harm and social justice, faith, landowner, student, conservation, and climate movements

RICHMOND, Va.—As record warm temperatures strike the U.S., 600 activists marched to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s house on Saturday to demand that he put the welfare of people ahead of the interests of polluters. Waving banners that included “McAuliffe: Climate Justice Can’t Wait,” the protesters demanded that the Governor become a full-time champion of renewable energy solutions, and stop supporting fossil fuels that harm communities and worsen global warming.
The “March on the Mansion” brought together people from Norfolk to Northern Virginia to the New River Valley who face first-hand effects from dirty energy policies that Gov. McAuliffe supports. Farmers whose land is threatened by the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline marched shoulder-to-shoulder with Virginians whose drinking water is polluted by coal ash and coastal residents whose homes are being flooded by rising seas.
With colorful signs, chants, songs, and a 40-foot-long mock pipeline, rally-goers paraded from Brown’s Island Park along the James River to Capitol Square, calling on the Governor to listen to their voices and stand up to polluters like Dominion Resources and EQT/NextEra.
Rally speakers included Pastor Paul Williams, a minister in a primarily African American community in Buckingham County, the proposed site of a massive compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline; Carolyn Reilly, whose family farm in Franklin County would be divided by the Mountain Valley Pipeline; and Dan Marrow, whose family lives near Dominion’s Possum Point coal ash ponds and is forced to drink bottled water due to trace contaminants in his well water.
Nebraskan Jane Kleeb, a key leader of the “Cowboy and Indian Alliance” that defeated the Keystone XL pipeline, also joined Saturday’s rally in solidarity. The event came on the heels of a new report showing that the surge of fracked-gas pipelines proposed in Virginia and across the Appalachian basin are incompatible with a safe climate future, and fail the “climate test” applied to Keystone XL.
More than 60 landowner, social justice, faith, student, riverkeeper, and climate groups organized and endorsed the rally, demonstrating the growing movement across Virginia calling for swift and serious action to transition to sustainable and just energy. The groups will continue working together to challenge the stranglehold that polluting companies have over energy policy in Richmond.
In an open letter to Gov. McAuliffe in June, the groups laid out a vision for affordable, clean energy development that matches the scale of the climate crisis, gives local communities a voice, and advances social, racial and environmental justice. To put Virginia on a path to tackle climate change and protect community health, the organizing groups Saturday called on Governor McAuliffe to:

  1. Oppose gas and oil projects that hurt Virginians and our economy, including using state authority to deny Clean Water Act permits for proposed fracked-gas pipelines. The proposed Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines, related compressor stations and gas plants, and offshore oil rigs will worsen the climate crisis and create racial, rural, and economic sacrifice zones when affordable clean energy alternatives are available.
  2. Stop supporting reckless coal ash disposal plans that pollute rivers and drinking water. The Governor and the Department of Environmental Quality must reject utility company plans to dump millions more gallons of coal ash wastewater (containing toxic heavy metals) into our rivers and to bury the ash in unlined pits. Coal ash must be properly isolated and stored in a way that permanently protects our water.
  3. Explicitly commit to reducing total climate pollution from Virginia power plants through federal and state clean power rules. The Governor must reject Dominion’s plan to increase climate pollution from power plants. Instead, take positive action to protect public health and natural resources, and ensure a transition to renewable energy.

Speakers on Saturday echoed this call for clean energy and polluter-free politics:
Janice “Jay” Johnson, Newport News resident and board member of Virginia Organizing: “Our grassroots environmental movement is about putting the people of Virginia over the polluters destroying our environment, which is what the governor was elected to do. The problems caused by climate change are literally coming to our back yards in floods, potential fracked-gas pipelines, and the erosion of our land, air, and water quality — we’re taking these problems to Governor McAuliffe’s back yard so he will finally pay attention.”
Pastor Paul Wilson, who ministers to the Union Hill and Union Grove Baptist churches in Buckingham County: “Our churches and seventy-five percent of our membership make up the ground-zero zone of the proposed compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Dominion’s real message to us is that 200-plus lives don’t matter.”
Lewis Freeman, Chair and Executive Director of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, a coalition of 50 organizations in Virginia and West Virginia that oppose the Atlantic Coast Pipeline: “We call on Governor McAuliffe to live up to the promise of his own words and insist that his Administration do its job to assure that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline or any other similar major project meets the environmental standards Virginians have every right to expect will be enforced.”
Carolyn Reilly, Franklin County farmer whose land would be crossed by the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Virginia Community Organizer with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League: “Throughout this tough and messy pipeline fight, one of the key lessons I’ve learned is this: your voice matters. My voice matters. Our kids’ voices matters. And it is for our children and grandchildren that we press forward in perseverance to protect our homes, our land, and our communities. We, the People, must unite our voices and demand that the Governor take heed and listen.”
Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network: “During this extreme heat wave, it is increasingly shocking that Governor McAuliffe supports more extreme fossil fuels. Virginians marched in record numbers to the Governor’s house to demand change. Affordable, clean energy is wholly within our grasp if our leaders stand up to Dominion and short-sighted polluters.”
Dan Marrow, resident of Quantico, Virginia, whose family lives near Dominion’s Possum Point coal ash ponds and now drinks bottled water: “Water is life. Dominion and McAuliffe should clean up their coal ash!”
The Rev. Weston Mathews, Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Virginia: “Remembering the account we must one day give, may we be faithful stewards of God’s creation, for it does not belong to us. Climate justice is what love looks like in public.”
Heidi Cochran, a Nelson County landowner who has been a leading voice in the fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline: “Our constitutional rights to our private property and our rights to a clean and safe environment for our children’s future are being threatened by the fossil fuel industry. It is time for our Governor to become informed and live up to his promises to protect Virginians and our environment from the impacts of climate change.”
Rick Shingles, direct action coordinator for Protect Our Water, Heritage, and Rights (POWHR), a group that opposes the Mountain Valley Pipeline: “Governor McAuliffe has misled the public, claiming Virginia will be dependent on ‘natural’ gas for the foreseeable future. Not True! He’s simply promoting an unnecessary and undesirable monopoly on the part of Dominion Resources.”
Lauren Malhotra, a student organizer with the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition: “All other liberation struggles are tied into this one. Climate change is the global threat multiplier of our time and will exacerbate the problems of inequality, conflict, and suffering that already seem too great to solve. Climate justice means striving for a fair future that supports all communities.”

###

Visit MarchontheMansion.org and follow the hashtag #ReachTerry for more information.

COMPANY WITHDRAWS PLANS FOR CRUDE OIL TERMINAL IN BALTIMORE

Decision by Texas-based Targa Terminals Reduces Dangerous Bakken Oil by Rail Through City

Baltimore, Md. – Environmental groups today applauded a decision by a Houston-based company to withdraw plans for a crude oil terminal in the Fairfield area of South Baltimore that could have shipped over 383 million gallons of crude by rail through the city and the Chesapeake Bay.
“It is great news for residents of South Baltimore living near rail lines that Targa Terminals has now withdrawn its application for a crude oil terminal permit,” said Leah Kelly, attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP).   “Bakken crude oil is volatile and potentially dangerous, and this permit would have allowed one 35-car train per day of Bakken crude to travel through South Baltimore neighborhoods to the terminal.”
Rail shipments of crude oil from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota have been involved in several large explosions since 2013 following train derailments, including an explosion in the Canadian town of Lac-Megantic that killed 47 people and destroyed the downtown area. Last month, a crude oil train explosion and fire in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge resulted in an evacuation and cancelation of the last week of school in a nearby town.
Late on Friday, July 8, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) informed EIP that Targa had withdrawn its request for a permit to ship crude oil through its existing terminal in the Fairfield area of South Baltimore.
“This is a victory for Baltimore communities and for the climate,” said Jon Kenney, Healthy Communities Organizer with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Thanks to citizen and legal pressure, Targa has terminated its plan to ship more dangerous crude oil out of Baltimore, and bring a new surge of oil trains through our communities. However, we know there are still thousands of gallons of crude oil rolling through Baltimore every week, putting communities in danger. As a next step, the City Council must act on legislation requiring health and safety studies of oil trains.”
Targa Terminals applied in 2014 for a permit from MDE that would have allowed crude oil shipment and storage at its Fairfield terminal.  The company specifically requested approval to handle Bakken crude oil.
In May 2015, MDE put its review of Targa Terminals’ crude oil permit application on hold in response to legal comments filed by attorneys with EIP on behalf of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation. MDE said at the time it was not moving forward with any further review “until the department receives additional information from the company.”
On June 29, 2016, Targa Terminals withdrew that application rather than provide the information required by MDE.  In a responsive letter dated July 8, 2016, MDE advised the company that, until a crude oil permit is granted, the company is “prohibited from receiving, storing, and/or transferring crude oil at the Baltimore Terminal.”
“We’re happy and relieved that Targa Terminals has chosen not to pursue constructing a crude oil storage and loading facility in South Baltimore,” said Jennifer Kunze, Maryland State Organizer for Clean Water Action.  “If it had been constructed, this would have increased the air pollution in an already-overburdened area of Baltimore, where neighbors just won the fight to stop construction of the nation’s largest trash-burning incinerator.  It also would have meant more trains carrying volatile crude oil through South and Southwest Baltimore, neighborhoods where people’s homes, parks, churches, and businesses are just yards from the tracks – putting them at risk of an explosion if one of those train cars derailed.”
Contact:
Tom Pelton, Environmental Integrity Project, 443-510-2574 or tpelton@environmentalintegrity.org
Kelly Trout, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Jennifer Kunze, Clean Water Action, 410-235-8808.  jkunze@cleanwater.org

###

Governor McAuliffe Falls Far Short on Energy Executive Order

Chesapeake Climate Action Network * Virginia Organizing * Virginia Student Environmental Coalition

Background and statement from Virginia Organizing, the Virginia Student Environmental Coalition (VSEC), and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN):
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s executive order on energy today is a small step that falls well short of what he should be doing in the fight against climate change. In April, Governor McAuliffe received a D-plus grade from Virginia clean energy advocates. Over 60 groups statewide are now planning to march to his house on July 23rd (www.marchonthemansion.org) to demand bolder and better leadership for clean energy now.
Unfortunately, the Governor’s announced executive order today was not nearly enough to reverse his other highly harmful energy policies. The Governor today pledged that his administration would study ways to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.
If the Governor is truly serious about combating climate change, he would use his existing authority to do much more. Specifically, he could:
1) Announce that we will end his all-out blanket support for massive fracked gas pipelines proposed for construction across nearly 1,000 miles of Virginia. These pipelines, if built, would trigger greenhouse gas emissions equal to nearly DOUBLING the total current global warming pollution from all of Virginia’s existing power plants. The Governor should instead announce that he will protect citizens from the harm of these pipelines by using his Clean Water Act authority to challenge permits for these pipeline projects that threaten local drinking water.
2) Announce that he will commit Virginia to a state implementation strategy under the federal Clean Power Plan that puts a leak-proof, mass-based cap on carbon emissions from existing and future power plants. Any other plan would lead to actual increases in harmful climate pollution. Such an increase, incredibly, is precisely what utility Dominion Power has proposed in response to the Clean Power Plan. The Governor has yet to reject Dominion’s preferred approach, despite his claim that he wants to address climate change in the state.
3) Announce his opposition to offshore drilling for oil and gas in Virginia. Such drilling could increase greenhouse gas emissions equal to adding 24 million cars to the road every year while exposing the Virginia coast to a BP-like oil spill disaster.
Concluding statement from VSEC, Virginia Organizing, and CCAN:

With his executive order today, Governor McAuliffe wants Virginians to believe he’s serious about climate change even though he supports massive new pipelines for fracked gas and offshore drilling for oil. Only when the Governor stops supporting major policies that make global warming much worse will he have any credibility on minor environmental policies like today’s executive order.

Contact:
Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 240-396-2022 (cell), mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org
Amanda Pohl, Virginia Organizing, 804-337-1912, amanda@virginia-organizing.org
Drew Shannon, Virginia Student Environmental Coalition, (561) 512-8843
Ian Ware, Virginia Student Environmental Coalition

###

D.C. Council Unanimously Approves 50% Renewable Energy Target

D.C. Council Unanimously Approves Region-Leading 50% Renewable Energy Target

The bill commits D.C. to 50% clean power by 2032; creates a program to cut bills in half for 100,000 low-income families
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s capital took another step toward nation-leading climate action today, as the District of Columbia Council unanimously approved legislation (B21-650) to expand D.C.’s renewable energy target to 50 percent by 2032.
“Today’s vote is a major step toward growing the District’s clean energy economy,” said Councilmember Mary Cheh (Ward 3), lead sponsor of B21-650. “This bill will create good-paying jobs, more affordable energy, and healthier air for all District residents.”
The bill, which heads to the desk of Mayor Muriel Bowser, sets one of the top-five mandatory clean energy goals in the nation at the state level. By creating incentives for 1,500 Megawatts of new solar and wind power, the bill will quadruple jobs in D.C.’s solar industry, which currently employs 1,000 people. It will also reduce climate pollution at a rate equal to taking 500,000 cars off the road per year.
On top of expanding D.C.’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, the bill establishes a “Solar for All” program that aims to cut the electric bills of 100,000 low-income District households in half by 2032 using clean energy and energy conservation.
“The D.C. Council is setting an example of strong climate action that leaders on Capitol Hill and across our region should follow,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Solar and wind are the fastest growing sources of power, and D.C. is positioning itself to capture the benefits of cleaner air, thousands of new jobs, and a better future for all residents.”
Clean energy is already a growing source of power and a driver of economic development in the District. D.C.’s existing renewable energy standard requires 20% of the District’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, a target the city is on pace to exceed. D.C. currently has over 250 clean energy companies, which are positioned to grow under the new policy.
“Washington, D.C. is already seeing a solar boom, and it’s about to get a whole lot bigger,” said Atta Kiarash, Construction Manager at D.C.-based Solar Solution, LLC. “Today’s vote will create an estimated 4,000 new D.C. jobs in the solar industry that pay middle class wages and offer career pathways for D.C. workers.”
The bill passed today will assist D.C.’s low-income residents in particular. Low-income households spend a high proportion of their income on energy bills. By connecting low-income families to low-cost clean energy and money-saving energy efficiency upgrades, the bill will help D.C. residents cover basic needs like food, housing and education. More clean energy will also reduce toxic air pollution that disproportionately impacts the health of low-income people and people of color.
“With Mayor Bowser’s signature, D.C. will join the ranks of a number of cities and states leading a clean energy revolution,” said Chris Weiss, Executive Director, of the DC Environmental Network. “The D.C. Council is taking the steps necessary to more aggressively curb carbon emissions that cause climate change. Additionally, the Solar for All program will make sure clean and affordable renewable energy is available to all District residents. The DC Environmental Network urges Mayor Bowser to sign this bill as soon as possible.”
D.C. has more than enough renewable resources at hand to meet and exceed the 50% target approved today. D.C. can meet its higher goal by tapping just 11 percent of the wind power already in queue to be developed in the region. Meanwhile, D.C.’s total solar potential is 2 Gigawatts, or four times greater than the 5% solar “carve-out” set by the new legislation.
Resources:

Contact:
Kelly Trout, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org, 240-396-2022
James McGarry, james@chesapeakeclimate.org, 914-563-2256

###

 

CCAN Applauds D.C. for Divesting its $6.4 Billion Pension Fund from Fossil Fuels

Washington, D.C. – Today, D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen joined environmental and philanthropic leaders to announce that the District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB) has divested its $6.4 billion fund from all direct investments in 200 of the world’s most polluting fossil fuel companies. On Tuesday, June 7th, the D.C. Council will vote on a ceremonial resolution honoring the DCRB’s action.
This week’s announcement follows a three-year campaign led by DC Divest, a citizens group dedicated to promoting divestment in the District of Columbia.
Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), issued the following statement in response:
“The District of Columbia Retirement Board deserves our applause for taking bold and decisive action to divest from fossil fuel companies. Global warming is already causing record flooding, heat and storms in D.C. and across our region, threatening our health, economy and future. We must take immediate action, and the District is taking a big step forward by cutting financial ties with oil, gas and coal companies that are responsible for creating this crisis and blocking our path to solutions.
“We cannot and must not back down when it comes to fighting for a cleaner, safer future. This win on divestment is one of many more to come in making the nation’s capital a leader on climate action.”
See the DC Divest press release at: http://dcdivest.org/2016/06/06/dc-divests-pension-fund-oil-gas-coal-companies/

###

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the biggest and oldest grassroots organization dedicated to fighting climate change in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. CCAN is building a powerful movement to shift our region away from climate-harming fossil fuels and to clean energy solutions: www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

CCAN Condemns Hogan's Veto of Bill to Expand Clean Energy and Jobs in Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, Md.–Despite its passage with overwhelming, bipartisan, and veto-proof support, Governor Larry Hogan today vetoed legislation that would expand Maryland’s use of solar and wind power, create thousands of family-sustaining jobs, and help thousands of Maryland households reduce their electric bills through solar energy.
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (SB 921/HB 1106), sponsored by Senator Catherine Pugh and Delegate Bill Frick, would commit Maryland to getting 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, up from the current goal of 20 percent by 2022. This step would create incentives for roughly 1,300 Megawatts of new clean energy.
A 2016 poll conducted by the nonpartisan firm OpinionWorks showed that nearly three-quarters of Maryland voters, including a majority of Republicans, back the renewable energy expansion.
Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, released the following statement in response:
“Governor Hogan’s veto of the bipartisan Clean Energy Jobs Act is a shock to business leaders and Marylanders who value clean air and water.
“While we fully expect the General Assembly to override this veto, Governor Hogan has ushered in harm to our economy and environment in the meantime. This veto will likely cause immediate job losses in the solar industry, while temporarily delaying reductions in harmful air, water and climate pollution. It’s deeply hypocritical for the Governor to say he supports reducing greenhouse gas pollution and now to veto the top policy solution.
“In defending his veto, Governor Hogan ignored the overwhelming economic and consumer benefits of clean energy, while using misleading statistics to distort the cost impact of the bill. In fact, the Clean Energy Jobs Act does not impose any new taxes while it will help Marylanders save money through affordable solar and better health. Meanwhile, the costs of fossil fuels to our health and climate keep rising.
“In a state that’s experienced so much clean energy job growth and is so vulnerable to sea level rise, the Governor’s veto is bad for business, bad for our environment, and bad politics.”

Expanding Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 25% by 2020 will:

  • Grow Jobs: Over 1,000 new high-paying Maryland solar jobs will be created in addition to Maryland’s 4,300 existing jobs in the solar sector.
  • Protect Health: Significantly improve the state’s air quality while preventing 25 to 50 premature deaths per year and increasing regional economic growth by $200 million to $450 million annually due to better health outcomes.
  • Combat Climate Change: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 2.7 million metric tons per year. That’s the carbon equivalent of taking 563,000 passenger vehicles off the road every year.

###

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the biggest and oldest grassroots organization dedicated to fighting climate change in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. CCAN is building a powerful movement to shift our region away from climate-harming fossil fuels and to clean energy solutions: www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

Protest Greets Dominion CEO at Annual Meeting in South Carolina

Photo credit: Ian Ware

Dominion Greeted by Protests Over Rigged Democracy and Dirty Energy Outside Annual Shareholder Meeting in Columbia

Activists from Md., Va., N.C. and S.C. unite to challenge business practices that jeopardize shareholders, communities, and the climate

Columbia, S.C. — Activists from across the Southeast converged outside Dominion Resources’ annual shareholder meeting in Columbia this morning, urging the company to abandon its drive for decades of more dirty energy investments and instead lead the region’s transition to renewable energy.
Under banners reading “Our Climate, Our Democracy. SOLD to the highest bidder: Dominion,” and “No more business as usual. Keep it in the ground,” roughly 20 protesters greeted the arriving utility executives, board members and shareholders by staging a mock auction of citizens’ clean air, clean water, climate and democracy. “Dominion officials” repeatedly outbid “the people,” using their deep pockets to buy off elected leaders and block meaningful clean energy solutions.
Inside the meeting, activist shareholders presented five separate environmental resolutions aimed at forcing the company to clean up its act.
“Dominion is putting short-sighted profits ahead of our right to clean air and water, a stable climate, and a functioning democracy,” said Dyanna Jaye with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and one of the protest organizers. “As Dominion pours cash into our political system, it gets a license to keep pouring toxins into our waters and pumping heat-trapping pollution into our atmosphere.”
Dominion is a primary force behind a massive overbuild of new infrastructure for fracked gas across the region — including its controversial proposed 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline — and a major campaign contributor to state politicians in Virginia, where the company is headquartered. A report released last month shows that Dominion’s $5.1 billion pipeline is part of a significant overbuild by the gas industry that puts landowners, ratepayers and investors at risk.
Protesters traveled from as far as Lusby, Maryland, where Dominion is constructing its Cove Point gas export facility, to highlight the harm these investments have on local communities.
“I live in one of the 2,365 houses within a two-mile evacuation radius around Dominion’s Cove Point facility,” said Ana Ojeda of Lusby, who is a member of We Are Cove Point and Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community. “I’m lucky enough to be able to take a day off and drive all the way down to Columbia. I’m here to express how anguished and heart-broken our community is at having to host this toxic facility. We’re going to suffer so Dominion can profit.”
Lusby residents were joined by activists from Virginia, where Dominion is facing public backlash and a lawsuit for polluting the state’s rivers and drinking water with toxic coal ash. In February, more than 600 people marched through the streets of downtown Richmond to protest state permits allowing Dominion to dump half a billion gallons of coal ash wastewater into the James River and a tributary of the Potomac River. Two weeks later, more than 30 students staged a sit-in at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality amidst revelations that Virginia’s top regulator, David Paylor, took a 2013 golf vacation on Dominion’s dime.
“Dominion’s plans to invest billions in fracked-gas power plants and pipelines will shackle its customers and its shareholders to the health and financial risks of dirty energy for generations to come,” said Hannah Wiegard, Virginia Campaign Coordinator at Appalachian Voices. “With the solar industry booming, energy efficiency immediately at hand, and the costs of climate change rising, clean energy is the safest and savviest investment today.”
Activists from Columbia and nearby North Carolina joined today’s action in solidarity against Dominion’s multi-billion-dollar pipeline plan that would trample property rights and worsen climate change.
“South Carolina legislators listened to their constituents and spoke out against the Palmetto Pipeline that threatened local property rights and our environment,” said Drew Hudson, a Columbia resident (Earlwood) and director of Environmental Action. “But Dominion is seizing land and paving pipelines across hundreds of families in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and beyond. What’s fair here should be fair everywhere — no more seizing private property for corporate profit and at the expense of our water, air and climate.”
Shareholders presented resolutions inside the meeting pushing Dominion to acknowledge the financial risks climate change would pose to its bottom line, to include an environmental expert on the company’s board, to make public its rationale for funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — a group known for its aggressive support of climate change denial and attacks on clean energy — and more.
Ruth Amundsen, a shareholder who traveled from Norfolk, Virginia, said: “This is really a pivotal time. So many utilities are learning that a new business model is needed. They need to fully commit to renewable energy, and learn to profit from a distributed generation network. If Dominion can be flexible enough to do that, they can remain a thriving business into the future, and help not only local economies and job markets, but make our energy network more resilient and less polluting to boot. Remaining tied to fossil fuels because that is the way they have always worked — that model is not going to be successful in the future. To quote Arnold Schwarzenegger: It’s like being the last horse-and-buggy salesman in the age of cars, or the last investor in Blockbuster in the dawn of Netflix.”
The five accountability resolutions are Items 4,5,7,8 and 9 in the 2016 proxy statement: https://www.dom.com/library/domcom/pdfs/investors/proxy-2016.pdf?la=en
Photos from the outside protest are available at: http://chesapeakeclimate.org/press-releases/protest-greets-dominion-ceo-at-annual-meeting-in-south-carolina/
CONTACT:
Dyanna Jaye, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 757-375-0678, dyanna@chesapeakeclimate.org
Kelly Trout, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Hannah Wiegard, Appalachian Voices, 804-536-5598, hannah@appvoices.org

###

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the biggest and oldest grassroots organization dedicated to fighting climate change in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. CCAN is building a powerful movement to shift our region away from climate-harming fossil fuels and to clean energy solutions: www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

Appalachian Voices is an award-winning nonprofit organization that brings people together to protect the communities and natural resources of the Appalachian region. We promote a shift from harmful, polluting energy practices — including mountaintop removal coal mining and natural gas fracking — to a cleaner, more just and sustainable energy future: www.appvoices.org.