Category: Blog

District residents can’t be blamed for feeling a bit of déjà vu. As of this morning, Exelon and Pepco have affirmed that they continue to hold negotiations behind closed doors with D.C. officials to revive their now thrice-dead merger deal.
As this divisive, expensive, and scandal-marred chapter for the District drags on, District residents deserve clear answers about whose interests are truly being served. In fact, documents recently released to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network under the Freedom of Information Act — after lots of foot-dragging by D.C. officials — leave us asking these key questions:

• Why did the Mayor apparently mislead the public about who negotiated her settlement deal last fall?
• Why was key settlement information sent by Exelon to the Mayor’s office the day after Pepco inked its $25 million “Soccergate” deal?
• What is happening behind closed doors right now, and will shady politics win the day again?

Documents finally released by the Office of the City Administrator — albeit with lots of suspect redactions — indicate that Mayor Muriel Bowser misled the public about who negotiated her settlement deal last fall and give more indication of a quid pro quo.
FOIA documents suggest that Exelon and Pepco’s main points of contact were actually Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel, Ronald Ross, and his boss, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel, Mark Tuohey — not City Administrator Rashad Young or Tommy Wells, head of the Department of Energy and Environment, as the mayor’s office has claimed. No emails surrendered by the City Administrator’s office show Young initiating or otherwise leading settlement communications.
In fact, Ross and Tuohey are the DC officials who receive “financial information” for settlement purposes at 10:55 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th — the day after Mayor Bowser and Pepco announced their highly unusual $25 million naming rights deal. That deal paved the way for Mayor Bowser’s prized soccer stadium project. Did it also pave the way for Mayor Bowser to settle with Exelon and ink the deal rejected last Friday as not in the public interest? The released emails suggest a correlation.
Why would the Mayor’s office not reveal the real negotiators? Notably, Ross is tied to Pepco through his former boss, Kevin Fitzgerald, who was also involved in settlement negotiations. Both worked together at the law firm Troutman Sanders. Furthermore, Ross and Tuohey served together on the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, the infamous body that got D.C. taxpayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to build a baseball stadium. Did they play a role in the Mayor’s “soccergate” deal, too?
In response to this new information, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network filed a second FOIA request last week. We’re asking for all correspondence between Ross, Tuohey, Exelon and Pepco related to both the merger and naming rights deals.
Of course, Mayor Bowser has a clear path out of this divisive, expensive, and scandal-ridden mess. As D.C. community leaders and Councilmembers told a cheering crowd of activists on Wednesday, Mayor Bowser can simply end talks with Exelon once and for all and move on to real solutions for affordable, reliable, clean energy.
Three times Exelon has failed to take over Pepco. In each deal, D.C. residents would have gotten the short end of the stick. As Public Service Commission Chairman Betty Ann Kane said in her February 26 dissent, any deal will ultimately be a “whack-a-mole” approach. The fundamental conflict will remain between Exelon’s business model and the affordable, clean energy that D.C. needs.
As Mayor Bowser, the Office of People’s Counsel, Attorney General Karl Racine, and DC Water rightly say “no” to the latest bad deal, they should also say “no” to any new deals.

It’s bad enough that Dominion wants to crisscross Virginia with a massive new gas pipeline and undermine federal clean power rules. But flagrantly contaminate our rivers with millions of gallons of toxic coal ash wastewater?
It’s true. News broke last week that, in May 2015, Dominion Power dumped 33.7 million gallons of untreated wastewater from its Possum Point coal plant into Quantico Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.¹
This happened eight months before Dominion received two highly controversial state permits that actually do allow the company to dump that much — plus half a billion more gallons — of coal ash wastewater into the Potomac and James Rivers.
This much is clear: Neither Dominion nor regulators at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are doing their job to protect our waters. Coal ash is a toxic byproduct of burning coal that contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other heavy metals — the last things we need in our rivers.
Last month, despite an outpouring of public opposition, DEQ and the State Water Control Board signed off on permits allowing Dominion to dump 215 million gallons of coal ash wastewater into Quantico Creek and 350 million gallons into the James River. Those permits have raised so many alarm bells that our neighboring state of Maryland, led by Republican Governor Larry Hogan, is planning a legal challenge.²
Meanwhile, for months, Dominion and the director of DEQ, David Paylor, had denied that any waste had already been drained into Quantico Creek. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, the truth is finally coming to light. Dominion and DEQ are now admitting that water was dumped last spring. Now they’re just saying it was all legal.³
Our friends at Potomac Riverkeeper aren’t buying it. They’ve asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to launch a criminal investigation. Concerned Virginians aren’t buying it either — over 500 of us marched this weekend to “#DumpDominion,” from Dominion’s Richmond headquarters to the General Assembly building.
It’s time for Governor McAuliffe to step in. Especially on the heels of the disaster we’ve seen unfolding in Flint, Michigan, our Governor needs to do everything within his power to protect our access to clean, safe drinking water. As a testament to the threat this coal ash poses, the Virginia Tech professor credited with uncovering the disaster in Flint has agreed to help monitor potential coal ash leakage near another one of Dominion’s coal-burning power plants, in Dutch Gap.⁴
Pending an EPA investigation, potential legal challenges, and so many unanswered questions, Dominion has no business dumping more coal ash waste into the rivers Virginians rely on for our drinking water, recreation, and livelihoods.
Governor McAuliffe is responsible for protecting Virginians. Let’s make sure we remind him.
Sources:
1. InsideNova: “EXCLUSIVE: Dominion released millions of gallons of coal-ash water.” Feb. 8, 2016.
2. Washington Post: “Maryland to fight utility’s plan to release treated waste into Va. creek.” Feb. 15, 2016.
3. Think Progress: “Utility dumps over 30 million gallons of coal waste water into Va. creek.” Feb. 12, 2016.
4. Chesterfield Observer: “Local group taps renowned professor in coal ash fight.” Feb. 17, 2016.
If you want more information, here’s what we know happened at Quantico Creek so far:
On June 18th, 2015, the Potomac Riverkeepers Network conducted a flyover of Dominion’s Possum Point Power Plant coal ash ponds to find one completely drained, with a “pumping mechanism, pipes, and lighting [presumably to do their dumping at night],” adjacent to the empty pond. The group immediately contacted DEQ to alert them to the issue. A day later, DEQ Director David Paylor responded: “No water from Pond E was discharged into state waters,” said Director Paylor.
In October 2015, Dominion submitted additional information to DEQ regarding the ponds. Contained within this information was a document from GAI Consulting, a Dominion subcontractor, which indicated that “water stored in Pond E [the drained storage pond] was discharged into Quantico Creek in May of 2015.”
At a State Water Control Board meeting in January of 2016 — the same meeting at which Dominion received controversial permits to drain ponds at Possum Point and another facility — the Potomac Riverkeepers Network again asked DEQ to go on record about the issue, and to acknowledge whether the agency knew about the draining of the pond. The Riverkeepers didn’t get a response, and the chairman of the Water Board did not demand an answer.
But on February 8th, InsideNOVA published an exclusive story confirming the rumors, reporting that a representative for the utility had confirmed that the dump happened last May. DEQ and Dominion are now claiming that the discharge, which was supposed to have never happened, was in fact legal.

This morning, the Prince George’s County Council’s Planning, Zoning and Economic Development (PZED) Committee voted UNANIMOUSLY to pass bill 3-2016, a defacto ban on fracking in the county.
We are one step closer to keeping fracking out of Prince George’s! The full council will take the bill up in early March.

The bill, introduced by Councilwoman Mary Lehman on February 2^nd, and co-sponsored by Councilwoman Dannielle Glaros, Councilman Mel Franklin, Councilwoman Deni Tavares, and Councilman Todd Turner, would amend the county’s zoning ordinance to prohibit fracking. Montgomery County moved to do this last year.
As she introduced the bill at today’s hearing, Councilwoman Lehman referenced a heart wrenching conversation she’d had with Pennsylvania resident and fracking victim Craig Stevens just before walking in. Craig’s takeaway from years of living with the health effects of fracking in his own backyard? “If Pennsylvania, after 12 years, still can’t safely regulate fracking, there’s no way Maryland can. It can’t be done.”
CCAN and our allies at Food & Water Watch, the Sierra Club and GCAN first began talks with Councilwoman Lehman shortly after helping Maryland pass the first legislative moratorium on fracking in the country last spring. It became clear to us that when this moratorium expires, in October 2017, Prince George’s would be at risk. The southern 30% of Prince George’s sits on top of the Taylorsville gas basin, a basin that runs from Virginia, through Prince George’s, and ends in Anne Arundel County. More than 85,000 acres on the Virginia side of the Taylorsville have already been leased to a Texas-based company.
This fall, we worked with Councilwoman Lehman’s office to hold an educational briefing on this previously unknown threat to the county, and our coalition began working with our volunteers across the county to educate residents about this critical issue – including petitioning on campuses, speaking at community events, meeting with business owners and church leaders, and hosting screenings of the powerful fracking documentary Groundswell Rising.
Much of that work culminated in this morning’s committee hearing.

As Darien Pusey, CCAN’s Fracking Fellow and a Prince George’s County resident, testified to the climate impacts of fracking and the overwhelming support from the county for keeping this industry out, he slid a stack of over 800 petitions signed by county residents across the table to Chairwoman Andrea Harrison.
As Food & Water Watch’s Emily Wurth, also a Prince George’s County resident, testified to what other states have experienced at the hands of fracking, she delivered a letter of support signed by over 25 county organizations and businesses. Sierra Club’s Martha Ainsworth spoke to the potential impact of fracking on well water in the county. Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment’s Katie Huffling spoke to the dangerous health effects of fracking, in particular, in her role as a certified nurse-midwife, on pregnant women and their unborn children. And Maryland realtor Lili Sheeline spoke to the potential impacts of fracking on property values across the county, citing a recent Duke University study showing a sharp decline in home values, and noting that many studies indicate that impacts on home values may be permanent. This expert testimony was delivered to a packed room that stayed for two hours to express their support.
Councilman Franklin, whose district covers nearly the entirety of the area above the basin, spoke in favor of the bill, noting that he hasn’t heard from a single constituent in his district who wanted fracking.
The industry – in the form of the Maryland Petroleum Council – did send a lengthy power point to the council in advance of the hearing, but failed to show up to make their case.
And after the vote, Councilwoman Lehman joined Councilwoman Glaros, whose district includes the University of Maryland at College Park, for a group photo with the half a dozen UMD students who drove out to testify and show their support this morning.
We expect a vote before the full council in early March.
CCAN would like to thank Councilwoman Lehman for her vision and leadership, and thank every member of the PZED committee – Chairwoman Harrison, Vice Chair Glaros, Councilwoman Tavares, Councilman Franklin and Councilwoman Karen Toles – for supporting this important bill this morning and putting us one step closer to keeping fracking out of Prince George’s County.
Congratulations to everyone who has helped get this campaign this far – onward to early March and beyond!
 

The seas are rising, and we are rising to the challenge.
That is the simple message that lies at the heart of what we do here at CCAN. That was the message of over 200 Marylanders this summer who attended and testified before the Maryland Commission on Climate Change calling for deep and science-based cuts in climate-warming emissions. That was the message of over 85 Maryland congregations that rose up climate justice from the pulpit last fall.
And now, finally, Maryland leaders have heard our call and have put forward a bill to meet the scale of the climate crisis. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act of 2016 (SB 323/HB 610), sponsored by Delegate Kumar Barve and Senator Paul Pinsky, would renew Maryland’s statewide commitment of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, and extend that goal to achieve a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The legislation follows up on the historic bi-partisan vote last fall by the Maryland Commission on Climate Change – made up of union leaders, businesses, environmental groups, and six Republican cabinet secretaries from the Hogan administration. That Commission voted unanimously to endorse the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act to slash Maryland’s greenhouse gas emissions 40% by the year 2030.
Under a Republican Governor, Maryland is showing that climate change is not a political issue. It’s a scientific fact. And by choosing to acknowledge reality, and seize the very real economic growth opportunities that accompany climate action, Maryland can lead the way towards ending the partisan gridlock that too often stalls progress in Washington and other state capitals.
In order to achieve this significant new reduction goal, Maryland will have to revise and expand its 2013 Climate Action Plan, which contains strong goals and over 150 programs aimed at strengthening Maryland’s clean energy economy, improving our health, reducing waste, and protecting our climate. Key elements and benefits of that Plan include:

• Reducing Maryland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 55 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent annually.
• Raising the state’s renewable energy goals, requiring that 25 percent of Maryland’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
• Reducing waste by “reusing, recycling, composting and saving our way to Zero Waste, including an 85 percent reduction in generation of solid waste by 2030.”
• Boosting Maryland’s economy by creating $1.6 billion in economic benefits and 37,000 new jobs through smart, sustainable investments.
• Improving Marylanders’ health by reducing emissions of toxic air pollution and other harmful chemicals.

By passing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act of 2016, Maryland will join other climate leaders like California and New York, who have also set goals to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2030. This Act will put Maryland on a path to achieving the 80-90% greenhouse gas reductions by the middle of this century, which scientists say will be necessary to prevent the very worst impacts of climate change.
We’ll keep you posted on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act’s progress and other climate-related bills as they make their way through the legislative process in Annapolis.

A year and a half ago when Governor McAuliffe and Dominion CEO Tom Farrell unveiled their plans for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, I was scared. Shortly thereafter, three more proposals for mega pipelines came forward – I was really scared.
Virginia was in the crosshairs of the fossil fuel industry, but over the last year we’ve built something. And dare I say it, we’re heading into 2016 with momentum.
Over the past few months we have racked up victories.
The US Forest Service has proven to be a staunch ally. In October they asked Dominion to reroute the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to avoid the endangered Cow Knob Salamander. A month later, they flatly rejected the current proposed route. They cited unavoidable environmental damages, dealing an enormous setback to Dominion’s plans. Considering the original route took almost a year to design before submittal to FERC, one can only guess as to how long it will take to design a reroute.
Further exemplifying the shoddiness with which Dominion has approached this process, the US Forest Service blasted Dominion for misrepresenting their soil samples. The US Forest Service thoroughly documented the instructions they gave to Dominion. Not only did their soil surveying team disregard instruction after instruction, they falsely presented the credentials of the sampling team. The US Forest Service publicly lambasted them for their complete disregard of protocol and demanded the samples be disregarded.
As this reckless planning has become more evident, the need to slow down and thoroughly plan this project has become increasingly apparent. More than a dozen legislators have written to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting they conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). This would require FERC to examine all pipeline proposals in a regional, comprehensive manner. Virginia Democrats and Republicans at all levels of state and federal government have now written to FERC demanding a PEIS. And just last week, the Roanoke Times editorialized on the need for a PEIS as well.
Legislators on both sides of the aisles have introduced bills this General Assembly session to curtail the effects of these pipelines. And why unfortunately they don’t have authority to stop the pipeline, it’s a good step forward, and we’re fighting everyday to get them passed. To get involved in lobbying for these bills, email me at Drew@chesapeakeclimate.org.
We’re going to keep the momentum going through 2016.