For Immediate Release
August 14, 2014
Contact:
Kelly Trout, 240-396-2022, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org
Environmental and Eastern Shore Leaders Call on Sen. Mikulski to Withdraw Language that Would Kill Somerset Co. Wind Project
Leaders release letter from 21 national and state groups urging U.S. Senator to make a real commitment to clean energy on behalf of Maryland and the nation
ANNAPOLIS — A group of environmental and Eastern Shore leaders today announced an effort to persuade U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski to withdraw language she recently inserted into a Defense Appropriations bill that would terminate efforts to build a clean energy wind project in Somerset County.
The leaders released a letter signed by 21 national, state and local environmental and clean energy organizations warning that, for a state that has championed efforts to promote clean energy, the language “would be a huge step back in the progress that Maryland has achieved, and the negative impacts of the bill could reverberate across the country for years to come.” The letter emphasizes, “This bill language sends a signal that wind energy investments are not welcome in Maryland and creates an uncertain business climate that we fear could have ripple effects elsewhere.”
Earlier this spring, both Governor Martin O’Malley and Comptroller Peter Franchot concluded that existing federal and state laws provide adequate protection to the military testing interests at the Patuxent River (PAX River) Naval Air Station. Following the General Assembly session, the governor vetoed legislation that would have blocked the Eastern Shore wind project. That veto cleared the way for construction of the $200 million Somerset County wind farm, and for a wind power industry on the Eastern Shore worth an estimated $1 billion—all now under threat from Senator Mikulski’s language.
The letter reminds Senator Mikulski that the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 requires the wind project developers and the Navy to continue moving forward with good faith negotiations to find a solution that allows the clean energy facility to be built in a way that minimizes the impact on military bases such as PAX River.
The full letter follows below. Key leaders who object to Senator Mikulski’s language released the following statements:
Maryland Senator Jim Mathias, Democrat, Eastern Shore: “This project represents an important opportunity for both economic development and clean energy on the Eastern Shore. I truly believe that all of the science demonstrates that it is possible to craft a win-win agreement allowing the job creation to take place in our community without jeopardizing anything in Southern Maryland. I was so pleased when both Governor O’Malley and Comptroller Franchot, after stepping back and reviewing the research, agreed.”
Mary Ann Peterman, a fourth generation landowner in Somerset County whose property includes active farmland: “Revenue from wind power represents a significant potential source of new revenue for farmers, especially small farmers, on the Eastern Shore. For many, this revenue can represent the difference from being able to maintain their farming lifestyle and the open space of their land, or potentially having to consider alternate development far less friendly to the environment.”
David Belote, retired Air Force Colonel and Former Executive Director of the Department of Defense Siting Clearinghouse, which oversees negotiations between military officials and renewable energy developers, said in written testimony in April 2014: “I see zero danger to the ADAMS mission or to Pax River. Simply put, if the turbines aren’t spinning, there’s no interference to ADAMS. … I’m confident that the Pax River mission is safe, and I’m equally confident that no base commander or Pentagon official would sign an agreement that would endanger a unique, critical capability like ADAMS.”
Mike Tidwell, director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network: “It is disappointing that Senator Mikulski would attempt to use this Washington process to delay Maryland’s determined efforts to expand clean energy. There is a clear potential for a billion-dollar wind industry on the Eastern Shore, and we want our political leaders to work to accelerate that process, not delay or block it. ”
The full text of the letter follows, and is available at: http://chesapeakeclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Letter-to-Mikulski-MD-Wind-Appropriations-Language-8-14-2014.pdf
Center for Biological Diversity ● Chesapeake Climate Action Network ● Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility ● Clean Water Action ● Climate Reality Project ● Credo ● Earthworks Earth Day Network ● Energy Action Coalition ● Environment America ● Environment Maryland Food & Water Watch ● Friends of the Earth ● Green America ● Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA) ● League of Women Voters of Maryland ● Maryland Environmental Health Network ● Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy ● Public Citizen Energy Program ● Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland ● West/Rhode Riverkeeper. Inc
August 14, 2014
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Senate
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC, 20510
Senator Mikulski,
We are writing to express our disappointment with the Senate Appropriations Committee report language that you recently added to H.R. 4870, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2015. We ask that you move to strike that language from the bill as soon as possible.
The language in that bill unnecessarily harms a proposed Maryland wind energy project in Somerset County by directing the Department of the Navy to not execute a memorandum of understanding that would allow the project to move forward. This language would kill a specific wind farm even though serious good faith efforts are underway between the wind developer and the military to execute a “win-win” agreement to avoid impacts to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station (PAX River) radar. By doing so, this language sets Maryland back in its efforts to fight climate change, which is threatening the state with sea level rise, increased extreme weather events, prolonged droughts and numerous other threats to our economy, environment and residents. This language also threatens hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in Somerset County, as well as hundreds of new construction jobs and $44 million in new local tax revenues.
We believe that this language is unnecessary because federal and Maryland state law already provide sufficient opportunities for any specific, localized concerns of the Navy and PAX River to be addressed. In order to ensure that wind energy and other energy infrastructure growth can coexist with America’s national defense system, Congress passed the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. This law establishes a clearinghouse process where energy project developers and the Department of Defense (DOD) engage with each other with the stated purpose to “protect DOD mission capabilities from incompatible development” in order to “prevent, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts on military operations, readiness, and testing.”
As an added layer of protection, Maryland law provides that any wind farm within 46 miles of PAX River must seek a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in a proceeding before the Maryland Public Service Commission. This proceeding would look beyond national security implications to actual economic impacts within the state. PAX River, as a party to this proceeding, has the full capability under existing law to present any concerns regarding economic impact to the state. These laws provide ample protection for the critical missions at PAX River.
Maryland is a progressive state with a strong environmental record of leadership. Over the years, the State has championed efforts to promote clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve local air quality, and grow its green economy. Tragically, this appropriations language would be a huge step back in the progress that Maryland has achieved, and the negative impacts of the bill could reverberate across the country for years to come. This bill language sends a signal that wind energy investments are not welcome in Maryland and creates an uncertain business climate that we fear could have ripple effects elsewhere.
This language undermines the federal and state level processes already in place to protect PAX River, it harms Somerset County, it sets a dangerous national precedent, and it would weaken Maryland’s standing as a national leader on clean energy. We sincerely hope you move to strike this language so that Maryland and the rest of the country can move forward—confidently and responsibly—towards a clean energy economy.
Sincerely,
Maryland Groups:
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Mike Tidwell
Executive Director
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Tim Whitehouse
Director
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
Andy Galli
MD Program Coordinator
Clean Water Action
Joanna Diamond
Director
Environment Maryland
Joelle Novey
Director
Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA)
National Groups:
Bill Snape
Senior Counsel
Center for Biological Diversity
Kenneth Berlin
President and CEO
The Climate Reality Project
Becky Bond
Political Director
Credo
Jennifer Krill
Executive Director
Earthworks
Kathleen Rogers
Director
Earth Day Network
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Susan Cochran
President
League of Women Voters of Maryland
Rebecca Ruggles
Director
Maryland Environmental Health Network
Tim Junkin
Executive Director
Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy
Reverend Lisa Ward, Steve Buckingham
Co-Chairs
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland
Jeff Holland
Riverkeeper
West/Rhode Riverkeeper. Inc
Maura Cowley
Co-Director
Energy Action Coalition
Anna Aurilio
DC Office Director
Environment America
Wenonah Hauter
Executive Director
Food & Water Watch
Ben Schreiber
Climate and Energy Program Director
Friends of the Earth
Fran Teplitz
Policy Director
Green America
Tyson Slocum
Director
Public Citizen Energy Program
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