It was an amazing moment. I was a block away from the march when I could hear “Stop Cove Point!” echoing off the hot pavement in Downtown DC. I ran over to join the 1000+ activists from the Eastern Seaboard as we marched from the National Mall to the headquarters of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC.
As I approached the front of the march, I started recognizing the group of Calvert County residents I’ve been working closest with over the last few months fighting Dominion Resources’ proposed fracked gas facility at Cove Point. One by one, they started to come into focus within the sea of people. Some were holding signs, marching with their children, and carrying creative artwork (which included a huge LNG tanker and giant postcards to FERC).
Some were even holding banners marching next to movement leaders like Tim DeChristopher and Sandra Steingraber. A few months ago, this was probably the last thing these Southern Maryland marchers thought they would be doing on a sweltering day in July.
These people are part of the hundreds of concerned citizens from Southern Maryland that live within a few miles of Dominion Resources’ proposed Cove Point gas export facility. Most of them were first learning about the plant just last fall, whether it was at a town hall, or a discussion with their neighbor while they walked the dog. They formed a group, Calvert Citizens for a Healthy Community (CCHC), which has been courageously fighting off the goliath-like Dominion from relentless propaganda on TV, radio, and print, pushing to stop the plant from tarnishing their idyllic bayside community.
The members of CCHC have been integral in making this rally, and this movement, grow so quickly. CCHC has been a big part of the campaign every step of the way. They’ve collected hundreds of public comments, going door-to-door and calling neighbors throughout the community, pointing out the glaring safety and environmental flaws on FERC’s draft environmental assessment of Cove Point. They’ve published dozens of letters in the local paper, held house meetings, Gasland screenings and have lobbied elected officials. They’ve packed public hearings, outnumbering the proponents of the plant and giving passionate testimony. At the rally, we filled an entire bus with Southern Marylanders, and a CCHC member kicked off the rally as an incredible speaker, sharing her story with the large crowd and the media.
Every day, I am inspired by the sheer amount of work and effort the CCHC members have given to this fight; spending endless hours late into the night researching detailed applications and documents, writing countless letters to elected officials and newspapers, attending weekly public meetings, sitting in on panels and sharing their story on national activist conference calls. They can’t stop, and won’t stop, until the job is done and they stop Cove Point from being built.
It’s been an amazing journey, and, while I know it’s definitely not over, it’s the members of CCHC that give me hope. Not only have we built a formidable grassroots opposition to the proposed project, but have also built a community and network of lifelong friends that can now provide a support structure for each other in the face of such an uphill struggle. I don’t think Dominion had any idea of who they were messing with when they submitted their application to FERC.
While I was marching alongside my friends from Southern Maryland yesterday, I came to the conclusion that without a doubt we will stop Cove Point, and we’ll look back and see that all of the hard work was worth it. At the very least, it will make for a great victory party.
