VA Department of Environmental Quality Finalizes C4GT Gas Power Plant Cancellation

VA Department of Environmental Quality Finalizes C4GT Gas Power Plant Cancellation

Activists celebrate after leading a years-long campaign to stop C4GT, turn efforts to other dangerous fossil-fuel projects moving forward

Charles City, VA — After years of activists campaigning to stop the C4GT Gas Power Plant, the developing company, NOVI Energy, announced its move to cancel the proposed project a month ago. Finally, this past weekend the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) made the cancellation official when the DEQ Deputy Regional Director signed the mutual determination letter that officially shuts down the project.

Sited next to an environmental justice community, less than a mile from a second proposed fracked gas power plant, the C4GT proposal faced enormous community opposition from the outset. The directly impacted group of residents leading the fight against the project, Concerned Citizens of Charles City County (C5), joined the Stop the Abuse of Virginian Energy (SAVE) coalition to protest the project, and build grassroots opposition to the proposal. Primary concerns included the lack of any meaningful public engagement in the process, and the DEQ’s green-lighting the project despite the developers’ failure to construct at the site within their legal window.

Ultimately, a FOIA request by SAVE Coalition member Food & Water Watch found that the DEQ had the legal ability to cancel C4GT’s air permits and cancel the project — indeed they had already drafted a letter revoking the permits. A few weeks later, the company behind the project withdrew.

Now that the C4GT project is officially terminated, activists turn their attention to the similarly dangerous Chickahominy Power Station and Chickahominy Pipeline proposals, still moving forward in Charles City County.

“Our community won when the developer was unable to continue with the destructive proposed C4GT power plant,” said Wanda Roberts, an impacted resident and member of Concerned Citizens of Charles City County. “We will continue to fight to stop the Chickahominy Power Plant and pipeline. There is no need or necessity for gas power plants to be built in Virginia.”

“The termination of the C4GT fracked gas project is a victory for grassroots climate organizing in Virginia,” said Jolene Mafnas, Virginia Organizer with Food & Water Watch. “Virginians statewide are rising up against the fracked gas and pipelines that endlessly crop up in our backyards. The age of fracked gas is over in Virginia — it’s time to double down on true clean, renewable energy and stop the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure. Governor Northam must direct his agencies to terminate the Chickahominy power plant and pipeline, just like C4GT.”

“The cancellation of the C4GT power plant is yet another sign that Virginia is leaving behind costly and hazardous fracked gas infrastructure,” said Lauren Landis, Chesapeake Climate Action Network’s Hampton Roads Coordinate, “The argument for similar projects is untenable and community organizers will not stop until they all reach the same fate as C4GT.

“Another hard won victory for the Charles City County Community, the state and the nation in keeping dangerous fossil fuel operations from contributing to climate change and ultimately destroying our lives,” said Lynn Godfrey, Sierra Club’s Community Outreach Coordinator. “Salute to the grassroots efforts of the community organizers in Charles City!”

“Environmental justice begins and ends with communities. The cancellation of the C4GT power plant is a testament to the dedication of the Concerned Citizens of Charles City County and all the grassroots advocates who have supported them in this fight,” said Taylor Lilley, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Environmental Justice Staff Attorney. “CBF is honored to work with the people of Charles City in opposing projects that threaten the environment and public health.”

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Contact: Beth Kreydatus, c5groupinform@gmail.com, 757-561-3824

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CCAN Summer News

It’s hot. Really hot. But instead of listing the new nightmarish impacts and scenarios, I’d like to share some hope and updates on the solutions our team has been fighting for over the past few months.

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How clean energy policy is bringing steel back to Baltimore

How clean energy policy is bringing steel back to Baltimore

by victoria venable

Baltimore was built on steel, and Baltimore was devastated by steel. But now, thanks to Maryland’s strong clean energy policies, Baltimore has the opportunity to become a steel hub once more — and a lynchpin for a healthy, sustainable economy. 

At one point, Sparrows Point on the Port of Baltimore was home to the world’s largest steel mill. The mill brought tens of thousands of jobs to the area and helped shape the city. Steelworkers still call it “hallowed ground” for steel. But history was not enough to protect Baltimore from the steel industry’s decline — far from it, Baltimore faced particular economic devastation partly due to the steel industry’s demise. 

That’s why this month’s announcement of a new steel mill in Baltimore County feels particularly huge. US Wind announced a new offshore wind project called Momentum Wind, major labor agreements with the Baltimore-D.C. Building & Construction trades union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to provide union labor to support US Wind’s first major offshore wind project for Maryland, a $77 million investment in a new 90-acre port facility to service offshore wind development in Maryland, and a proposal for a new steel fabrication facility in Baltimore County at the Tradepoint Atlantic site, now called Sparrows Point Steel.

These projects will create hundreds of union jobs building offshore wind turbines right here in Maryland, to bring offshore wind to the electric grid in Maryland, helping ease us off the dirty energy sources that have polluted areas like Baltimore for so long. 

I feel a particular attachment to this news because I know firsthand how it’s the result of grassroots advocacy and legislative achievements. 

Delegate Brooks at a rally supporting the Clean Energy Jobs Act

While I was studying Political Science and Economics at Washington College, I watched the movement of the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act closely — and its passage inspired me to work in state energy politics. Shortly after graduating, I took my first full-time position with Del. Ben Brooks, a key player in public utilities, where I worked with him to pass the historic Clean Energy Jobs Act. Now, five years later, as the new Maryland Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, I’ve had an eye on new renewable energy deployment all summer, waiting for the US Wind announcement. 

Reading over the details of this momentous step forward for offshore wind in Maryland – 82 additional turbines, 3500 new construction jobs, more than 500 local, permanent jobs, a new steel fabrication facility in Baltimore County – I couldn’t help but think back to the hundreds of meetings I’d sat in on with Delegate Brooks and various stakeholders in the fight for increased clean energy projects between 2016 and 2019. 

During the time I worked for Delegate Ben Brooks, who represents parts of Baltimore County, between 2016 and 2019, he not only sat on the Economic Matters Committee but also served as the Public Utilities Subcommittee Chair. Some of my first meetings on his staff were with folks from US Wind and Ørsted, hearing promises that expanding Maryland’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) and adding 1,200 MW of offshore wind would bring jobs and economic growth to Maryland by making it a leader in the offshore wind industry. It was the focus on manufacturing jobs, union involvement, and bringing the supply chain for OSW to Maryland that stuck with me as I continued to work on this legislation with Delegate Brooks. Where so many could see challenges in the energy transition, we couldn’t help but see great opportunity, and maybe even redemption.

While much of the Clean Energy Jobs Act focused on the energy transition as a way to mitigate climate change, Delegate Brooks and I were excited to work with the renewable energy industry to address another change we saw in his district, in Baltimore, and throughout Maryland: the loss of manufacturing and unionized jobs. 

Now, true to its name, the Clean Energy Jobs Act is creating good-paying and unionized clean energy jobs by bringing steel back to Baltimore with Momentum Wind and Sparrows Point Steel. Only two weeks into my new role as the Maryland Director at Chesapeake Climate Action Network and my work has come full circle to where I started as a staffer for Del. Ben Brooks in Annapolis. Seeing clean energy policy bring projects like this to fruition is the poetic capstone of one stage of my career and the exciting commencement of this next phase.

With the legislative session around the corner, federal funding on its way, and the midterm elections next year, it’s time to ride the momentum of this great example of just transition and job creation to continue our work to decarbonize Maryland’s energy sector and reduce emissions across the economy. I’m excited to be back in Annapolis this January, this time representing CCAN and our coalition of climate-focused Marylanders. With the consequences of climate change more pronounced than ever, we will need bold policy and a mobilized base – I hope you will join me! 

Want to get involved? Sign up here to volunteer with us, or stay updated on our email list for more opportunities this fall!

Image at the top from Flickr user David Robert Crews via Creative Commons

Learn More: Bringing Offshore Wind to Maryland

The Infrastructure of Tomorrow: Rebuilding the Anacostia

By MacKenzie Riley

The slogan for D.C. Tap Water is “water is life,” and that rings true for all of Earth. Water is at the core of everything we know; cultures and religions have been formed around it and wars have been fought over it, and our civilization formed around the ancient waterways. The unfortunate reality of human development is that as we have expanded, so has our impact on our environment. Due to geography and our historical dependence on water, our water is often the first element in the natural world to be impacted by our environmental degradation. This destruction often stems from outdated and deteriorating infrastructure that cannot support our development. 

It is clear that decades of rapid development have negatively affected the planet, specifically our waterways. Due to the importance of water to survival, the majority of major cities have been built either within proximity to the ocean or another waterway. Washington D.C. is a key example of this, lying on the banks of both the Potomac and Anacostia River. The city’s proximity to both of these rivers have left them polluted as D.C. has used them as a dumping ground for raw sewage, trash, and other debris for more than a century. 

The History of the Anacostia 

The Anacostia River, often called the forgotten river of D.C., flows through Prince George’s County in Maryland and empties into the Potomac. It was once the pride of DC, a clean and pristine river, yet decades (possibly even centuries) of abuse from the city has left it polluted and unsafe. 2018 was the first year that the River watershed Society scored the river above an “F” for cleanliness. 

Before the development of DC the Anacostia was a bearer of life–home to thousands of species of animals and providing drinking water and fishing to the indigenous people of the area. The Nacotchtank people had called the watershed home for over 10,000 years. They sustainably lived off the river as prosperous hunters, gathers, and traders. Within only two centuries that had completely changed. 

The bank of the Anacostia River. 

Now, half a billion gallons of raw sewage are dumped into the river each year due to deteriorating combined sewage overflow, this released sewage contains bacteria that is a thousand times more toxic than is permitted by public health standards. In addition to sewage, the river is also littered with debris, trash, oil, grease, and other toxic chemicals. 

The DC government has declared it illegal for any persons to swim or fish in the river due to its high bacteria levels. In many areas not only does the river visibly look dirty, but it also releases a foul odor into surrounding neighborhoods. The Anacostia is now considered one of the dirtiest rivers in America, but the D.C. government and many nonprofits are hoping to change that.  

Cleaning up the Anacostia

The D.C. government has recently focused its efforts on cleaning the Anacostia’s surrounding wetlands, as they help filter the river’s water. In addition to this, DC has passed several anti-pollution laws such as the five cent plastic bag charge and the installation of trash traps that capture debris from the river. These efforts have made a great deal of progress in removing trash from the river. 

The District has also committed to spending over $35 million removing and burying dangerous sediments that make the river so toxic. This process traps pollutants under sediment so they no longer move throughout water ways. The cleaning project will reduce the Anacostia’s danger to humans by 90%, reigniting hope that one day the Anacostia will once again be safe to swim in and fish from. 

While these clean up projects have done a great deal for the health of the river, without an emphasis on infrastructure that prevents future pollution, not just cleaning past pollution, D.C.’s efforts are futile. In the process of cleaning a major waterway, proactive legislation and infrastructure are essential to both cleaning our planet and protecting it from further damage. 

Currently, the Anacostia’s biggest causes of pollution are storm runoff and leaks from the city’s sewage infrastructure. D.C. uses a combined sewer system, collecting both sewer and storm water, when there is an excess of either of these, the system overflows.  Without the advancement of these two sectors any attempts to clean the river will be forlorn. As D.C. continues to experience more day-time flooding and unpredictable weather as a result of climate change the city’s infrastructure cannot keep up with water runoff, leaving it seeping into the Anacostia. 

Finding a solution

While cleaning the Anacostia seems like an impossible task, with the proper infrastructure investments it is feasible for the D.C. government to achieve. To combat the issue of runoff, investments in infrastructure that absorbs runoffs are needed. Parking lots built with natural absorbent materials and porous spaces, gardens of native plants, rain barrels, and green roofs are effective tools. 

Still, runoff is just one factor contributing to the worsening health of the Anacostia. D.C.’s sewage system is more than a century old and in desperate need of an update. Failing sewer systems coupled with outdated flood control systems allow billions of gallons of raw sewage and storm water to flow into the river. Without first solving this problem any other action taken to save the Anacostia will be futile. 

Rebuilding D.C.’s water infrastructure will be expensive, yet it must be done. The Environmental Protection Agency has already passed new regulations, aimed to limit the amount of pollutants flowing into the District’s waterways. Along with this the Biden administration has also introduced a groundbreaking infrastructure bill that will work to revitalize our nation’s water systems, starting in our Capital. Biden’s American Jobs Plan specifically calls for the modernization of our waste and storm water systems, a goal that will be supported by $56 billion in grants and loans to communities in need of updated water infrastructure. 

Clean running water. 

While cleaning the Anacostia seems like an insurmountable  task, our current administration is focused on ensuring that our waterways are safe and thriving for years to come. Life cannot sustain itself without clean and accessible water, D.C. must continue to invest in the health of its waterways.