More than 370 Virginians Attend DEQ Hearings to Cut Carbon Now

Participants call on DEQ to implement strong protections against polluting, harmful power plants.

Richmond, VIRGINIA– The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality held the final public hearing on Virginia’s Carbon Reduction Plan today. At the hearing, participants called for the strongest possible standard to cut Virginia’s carbon pollution from fossil fuel burning power plants. The public hearing was preceded by a press conference held by community members and activists, which was attended by about 50 people.
The Virginia Carbon Reduction Plan is designed to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel-burning power plants by 30 percent by the year 2030. More than 370 Virginians attended all six hearings that took place across the state, with about 150 people testifying in favor of strong safeguards to support clean energy careers, protect the health of families against fossil fuel burning power plants and reduce the negative impacts of climate change.
“Virginia is taking a step forward, while on the federal level the Trump administration is doing a dangerous dance reducing lifesaving safeguards,” Kate Addleson, Director of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, said. “All Virginians can take pride in our Commonwealth for developing a standard that will require corporate polluters to take responsibility for their harmful pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, that are damaging the health and environment of our communities, ”
“The Governor’s administration understands that action on climate change can’t wait,” Angela Navarro, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources said. “One important component of the rule is participation in the regional carbon market which would allow Virginia to reduce emissions. The regional market is bipartisan and proven, and will be a cost-effective market-based way to reduce carbon. We look forward to being the first south eastern state to move forward with limiting carbon pollution.”
In Virginia, the increase in extreme hot weather, due to climate change, between May and August 2016 lead to 1,700 admissions to the ER for heat related illnesses. Athletes, students, and outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable to heat illness in oppressive weather conditions. Weather imbalances are also leading to longer and more severe allergy seasons. Over the last 30 years, the peak tree pollen count has increased by over 50 percent in Richmond. A warmer climate not only supports a wider spread of diseases and illnesses, but it also releases viruses that have been trapped in ice caps for centuries.
“My patients are the manual laborers who work outside during the hot summer, they’re the elderly, children and low income people who feel the effects of climate change the most,” Dr. Janet Eddy with Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action, said.
Low-income families and communities of color are among those who are most vulnerable to climate change and dirty fossil fuel pollutants. Virginia’s Carbon Reduction Plan must ensure reductions in carbon pollution in environmental justice communities and put in place a mechanism that ensures reductions of co-pollutant greenhouse gas emissions by facilities located in or near affected neighborhoods.
“Environmental justice has to be addressed in this plan. As the trailblazer Virginia always has been, we should assure that benefits accrue for all communities, and there is a mechanism in place to ensure affected communities see carbon reduction,” Harrison Wallace, Virginia Policy Coordinator and Coastal Campaigns Manager at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

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CONTACT:
Sumer Shaikh, sumer.shaikh@sierraclub.org, (774) 545-0128
 

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

Hogan Administration Approves “Limited and Flawed” Permit of TransCanada’s Highly Controversial Fracked-Gas Pipeline

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Today, the Maryland Department of Environment issued a state wetlands and waterways permit for TransCanada’s proposed Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project for fracked gas, known as the “Potomac Pipeline.” This decision comes one day after the deadline passed for the Administration to fully review the project under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, and two days after five mothers were arrested in an act of protest against Governor Hogan’s support for this highly controversial pipeline.

Statement from Anne Havemann, General Counsel at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network:

“The Hogan Administration has made a serious mistake in its regulatory approach to this pipeline with the potential of severe impacts to drinking water, public health, and the environment. It’s very disappointing that the Administration decided to issue this limited permit the day after it waived its right to fully review the project under section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

“We question whether the conditions under the state’s Wetlands and Waterways permit are even enforceable. We also question whether they are sufficient to protect the state’s waters, given the sensitive geology and the potential impacts to the treasured Potomac River.

“The state should have pursued a more powerful 401 certification under the Clean Water Act, which would have looked at the project holistically and would have put the burden on TransCanada to prove that the project won’t harm water quality. We believe that the Hogan Administration would have had no choice but to reject the proposal if it had done this more robust review.”

More information about the Potomac Pipeline and Governor Hogan’s plan to expand fracked-gas infrastructure in Maryland is available here.

 

CONTACT:
Anne Havemann, General Counsel, 202-997-2466, anne@chesapeakeclimate.org
Denise Robbins, Communications Director, 608-620-8819, denise@chesapeakeclimate.org
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

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Five Local Mothers Arrested at Maryland State House to Protest Governor Hogan’s Support for TransCanada’s Potomac Pipeline for Fracked Gas

In a peaceful action called “Mothers Protecting Mother Earth,” five mothers from Maryland and West Virginia blocked the steps of the Maryland State House outside Governor Larry Hogan’s office until they were arrested to protest the Governor’s support for the Potomac Pipeline.

Organizers also released a protest letter to Hogan from national environmental leaders and celebrities, including writer Bill McKibben and filmmaker Josh Fox.

ANNAPOLIS, MD- Today, five mothers were arrested outside the Maryland State House during a peaceful sit-in to oppose Governor Larry Hogan’s support for TransCanada’s proposed Potomac Pipeline for fracked gas. The action is the latest escalation against Governor Hogan’s plan to bring large amounts of fracked gas into and across Maryland via multiple pipelines at the expense of the environment and ratepayers.

High definition photos available via Flickr.

The mothers successfully blocked the front entrance of the State House for nearly two hours before they were arrested for trespassing. As a show of support, the arrestees were joined by various speakers, including Maryland legislators Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20) and Delegate Robbyn Lewis (D-46), who spoke in support of their action without participating in the civil disobedience. The protesters will also joined in solidarity by dozens of environmental advocates who have been leading the movement to oppose the Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project. Known as the “Potomac Pipeline,” this pipeline would transport fracked gas from Pennsylvania through Maryland, underneath the Potomac River, and into West Virginia for combustion. The pipeline is part of a full network of controversial fracked-gas infrastructure supported by the Governor despite his declaration of support in January for the Paris Climate Accord. New scientific data suggests that fracking is dramatically worse for the climate than previously understood.

“I love my children and grandchildren,” said Jean Cushman, an arrestee from Maryland. “What will happen to our children when there is no clean air or clean water — and more wildfires, droughts and floods? Governor Hogan can stop this pipeline and that is why I risked arrest.”

“Here’s what keeps me awake at night: wondering what the world will look like when my children and then my grandchildren reach my age,” said Liz Feighner, an arrestee from Maryland. “We need to stop fooling ourselves that fracked gas is a bridge fuel. We are out of time for half measures; as Bill McKibben says, winning slowly on climate change is the same as losing. So, here I am, a mother and grandmother, who sees no other way but to get in the way — for all children and grandchildren. Governor Hogan: Stop this pipeline.”

On Wednesday, local organizers also released a letter opposing the pipeline from some of America’s best known climate change and fracking activists. The protest letter, signed by 11 national leaders including writer Bill McKibben and filmmaker Josh Fox, calls on Governor Hogan to honor his pledge to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement by rejecting fracked gas pipelines like the Potomac Pipeline and embracing renewable energy instead.

The day after the arrests — Thursday, March 15 — is the deadline for the Maryland Department of Environment to decide whether to fully protect Marylanders’ health with a state-based “401 Certification” process under the Clean Water Act. Such a process would look cumulatively at the impacts to Maryland’s water from this pipeline and give MDE the authority to reject the pipeline. Without going through this process, Governor Hogan would essentially be approving the pipeline and handing over key regulatory powers to the Trump Administration.

Elizabeth Freeman, an arrestee from West Virginia, stated: “I am standing up to the fossil fuel community and the government agencies who are not taking the ramifications of this pipeline seriously. Pushing this through without full awareness is unconscionable, and our children will bear the burden of this recklessness.”

Pam Dehmer, an arrestee from Maryland, stated: “Everyone has a responsibility to protect and keep our planet safe from fracked gas, which pollutes our air, water and soil. Maryland banned fracking in our state — building new pipes to carry fracked natural gas through our state is taking a step in the wrong direction. We must immediately stop unsustainable oil and gas practices and build our economy around clean, renewable energy.”

Lynn Moses Yellott, an arrestee from West Virginia, stated: “Real change occurs when 3.5% of people are politically activated. I’m hoping that our actions today will inspire others be part of that 3.5%;  to stand up to stop climate change; to stand up to demand that we quickly transition to alternative energy sources; to stand up to reduce consumption. Our children and grandchildren are depending on us.”

Since signing a ban on fracking in 2017, Governor Hogan has worked consistently to undermine the spirit — if not the letter — of the law. Documents show that Governor Hogan collaborated with TransCanada to allow the Canadian gas company to carry out a dangerous drilling method called “Horizontal Directional Drilling” without oversight from the Maryland Department of Environment. And despite repeated pleas from groups ranging from the Potomac Riverkeeper Network to the Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Hogan administration refuses to follow a standard set by Virginia and other states when it comes to reviewing impacts to water quality from fracked-gas pipelines.

Governor Hogan also supports using settlement money from the proposed merger between Washington Gas and Calgary-based AltaGas to construct fracked-gas pipelines at the expense of Maryland ratepayers.  Governor Hogan has advocated for a virtually unprecedented settlement wherein the state of Maryland would spend $33 million in settlement money to assist gas companies in the construction of more fracked-gas pipelines all across Maryland. The settlement — which must be approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission later this year — also requires that AltaGas spend an additional $70 million (which could be charged to ratepayers) to promote pipeline construction and other fracked-gas infrastructure in the state.

Brooke Harper, Maryland Policy Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, stated: “Last year, Governor Hogan promised to protect Marylanders from the threat of fracking when he signed a statewide fracking ban. Now, he’s reneging that promise by bringing fracked-gas infrastructure all across Maryland — and allowing dirty Canadian energy companies to do so in a way that threatens all of us. Governor Hogan, it’s time for you to stop this pipeline once and for all.”

Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20) stated: “I stood with my constituents last year when they called on Maryland legislators to protect their water, by passing a permanent fracking ban. I’m standing with them again to protect Maryland’s drinking water from fracked-gas infrastructure. I’m calling on Governor Hogan say no to TransCanada’s unnecessary pipeline.”

Delegate Robbyn Lewis (D-46) stated: “Thousands of Marylanders have expressed deep concerns about the Potomac Pipeline. Will they all be ignored? This proposed pipeline will spur more harmful fracking and more planet-warming emissions and threaten our most vulnerable communities. Let’s put an end to this madness.”

This action culminates nearly a year of opposition to this pipeline across Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Organizations supporting today’s action include the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Eastern Panhandle Protectors, Potomac Riverkeeper Network, Frack-Free Frostburg, and Food and Water Watch.

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Coalition Filings Could Halt Fracked Gas Pipeline Construction

Advocates for Clean Air and Water Seek Stay on Atlantic Coast Pipeline Pending Court Decision


RICHMOND, VA — Today, a coalition of environmental advocates filed two requests to stop construction of the controversial fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) in the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The first is a motion to stay construction pending the court’s decision on the merits in an existing case for which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has challenged the court’s jurisdiction. The second is a petition for relief under the All Writs Act, asking the court to halt construction pursuant to the FERC Certificate pending FERC’s resolution of the coalition’s request for rehearing, which FERC contends is still pending despite the fact that the agency is allowing construction of the ACP to proceed pursuant to the challenged Certificate. The second is filed in the alternative to the first and asks that the court act on it only if it agrees with FERC that the court does not have jurisdiction over the petition for review.
These filings challenge FERC’s failure to demonstrate that the pipeline is actually needed by the public. The groups contend that the overwhelming evidence shows the true purpose of the ACP is to provide profits for the shareholders of the pipeline’s financial backers, Duke and Dominion, at the expense of those utilities’ ratepayers. The effect of the filings would be a halt to the construction of the ACP until the court considers the coalition’s existing challenges to the FERC certificate that authorizes construction. FERC and ACP have ten days to respond.
Attorneys with Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed the litigation on behalf of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Wild Virginia.

In response, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Director Kelly Martin released the following statement:

“The fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline is dirty, dangerous and unnecessary and not a single foot of it should be built until the families and the communities that would be threatened by this project have their day in court.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network:

“We know the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would scar pristine mountains, damage water quality, and dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Yet FERC is trying to force it through without even allowing opponents their day in court. This is undemocratic and un-American and can’t be allowed.”

Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager for Appalachian Voices:

“The system has been rigged for years against citizens who want to challenge these interstate natural gas pipelines, which pose long-term threats to communities. FERC can essentially put legal challenges on ice while letting construction proceed, so by the time citizens have their day in court, a pipeline may be in full operation. It’s absurd, and utterly unfair. We will continue to fight to protect these communities.”

David Sligh, Conservation Director, Wild Virginia:

“For FERC to allow damage to the environment and assaults on our communities without all approvals in place and legal questions settled is irresponsible and is an assault on the way our government is supposed to work. We’ve seen where people and natural resources in Pennsylvania were harmed by premature construction activities for the Constitution Pipeline, a project that will likely never be built. FERC should be ashamed of that case and it should never be repeated.”

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Contact:
Doug Jackson: 202.495.3045, doug.jackson@sierraclub.org

About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
About Appalachian Mountain Advocates
Appalachian Mountain Advocates (Appalmad) is a non-profit law and policy center dedicated to fighting for clean water and a clean energy future. Appalmad has a long history of winning precedent-setting court cases. The organization represents scores of landowners and grassroots organizations challenging four unnecessary interstate pipelines in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Appalmad has worked for nearly 20 years to ensure the fossil fuel industry cannot continue to dump its costs of doing business onto the public. For more information, visit www.appalmad.org.
About Wild Virginia
Wild Virginia works to preserve and support the complexity, diversity, and stability of natural ecosystems by enhancing connectivity, water quality and climate in the forests, mountains, and waters of Virginia through education and advocacy.

DEQ Public Hearings to Cut Carbon Now in Virginia: March 6 – March 19

Participants call on DEQ to implement strong regulations against polluting, harmful power plants

VIRGINIA – Between March 6 and March 19, Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will be holding six public hearings on Virginia’s Carbon Reduction Plan, or Executive Directive 11 (ED 11). Virginia is the first southern state to take initiative on limiting and capping carbon pollution from fossil fuel-burning power plants. The Virginia Carbon Reduction Plan is designed to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel-burning power plants by 30 percent by the year 2030, help generate new clean energy jobs, and put the Commonwealth on track for continued reductions beyond 2030. ED 11’s approach is the same one that is being successfully used in nine other states that comprise the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and would allow Virginia to link to the existing RGGI program.
“Virginia has a chance to embrace the new technology of clean energy, move away from outdated, dirty fossil-fuel burning power plants, and enjoy the benefits that renewable energy is bringing to other states,” Kate Addleson, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Director, said. “The ED11 hearings provide all stakeholders an opportunity to have a say in how best to safeguard our health and environment. The regulations should be included a starting cap between 30 and 32 million tons of emissions by 2020 and continued reduction of the carbon cap beyond 2030.”
“Virginia’s decision to cap carbon emissions through a market-based approach like RGGI offers a great opportunity to improve the livelihood and health of low-income families and communities of color who are most vulnerable to climate change and dirty fossil fuel pollutants. In order to achieve that goal, ED11 should ensure that there are emission reductions in environmental justice communities and that there is a mechanism that ensures reductions of greenhouse gas co-pollutant emissions by facilities located in or near environmental justice neighborhoods,” said Harrison Wallace, Virginia Policy Coordinator and Coastal Campaigns Manager at Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
“As we begin the hearings for ED11, a significant concern that must be addressed is the woody biomass loophole, which exempts Dominion Energy’s 4 woody biomass plants from the carbon regulations. Granting such significant free giveaways to industrial carbon polluters renders Virginia’s carbon program less efficient and gives Dominion an unfair economic advantage,” Walton Shephard, Policy Analyst and Attorney at the Natural Resource Defence Council, said. “Given that biomass greenhouse gas emissions are higher than those from burning fossil fuels, there’s no reason to exempt biomass from Virginia’s carbon program.”
“The clean energy industry is creating jobs, increasing manufacturing, and lowering customers’ electricity bills. In 2016, the number of solar jobs in VA increased by 65 percent. If the state received 10% of its power from the sun by 2023, Virginia would see over 50,400 more jobs. Between 2013 to 2016, energy efficiency business revenue in Virginia increased from $300 million to $1.5 billion. A policy that levels the playing field by pricing carbon will further drive clean energy investment,” said Francis Hodsoll, CEO of SolUnesco.
“Over a course of five years, RGGI states have prevented hundreds of premature deaths, reduced ER visits, and avoided thousands of asthma attacks through their carbon reduction plan. These health benefits were so great that they have even lead to positive health implications in the neighboring states, including Virginia,” Dr. Leon Vinci of Health Promotion Consults, said. “It is time for Virginia to not only accept residual health benefits from our neighbors, but to also lead the South in regulating the harmful effects of fossil fuel burning power plants at home.”
Hearings will be held across the state between March 6 to March 19. Below is a list of all hearings, locations, and times. Public comments can be submitted here: http://vasierra.club/cutcarbon
ABINGDON CARBON RULE PUBLIC HEARING: March 7, 2018 at 5:00pm
355 Deadmore St., Abingdon, VA 24210, USA
ROANOKE CARBON RULE PUBLIC HEARING: March 8, 2018 at 5:00pm
3019 Peters Creek Rd, Roanoke, VA 24019, USA
VIRGINIA BEACH CARBON RULE PUBLIC HEARING: March 12, 2018 at 5:00pm
5636 Southern Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, USA
HARRISONBURG CARBON RULE PUBLIC HEARING: March 14, 2018 at 5:00pm
4101-4599 Early Rd, Mt Crawford, VA 22841, USA
WOODBRIDGE CARBON RULE PUBLIC HEARING: March 15, 2018 at 5:00pm
13901 Crown Ct, Woodbridge, VA 22193, USA
RICHMOND CARBON RULE PUBLIC HEARING: March 19, 2018 at 1:30pm
1111 East Main St., Third Floor, Richmond, VA 23219, USA

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Contact:
Sumer Shaikh: sumer.shaikh@sierraclub.org, (774) 545-0128
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

Hundreds Surround Governor Hogan’s Mansion in Unprecedented Action Showing Opposition to TransCanada’s Pipeline for Fracked Gas Across Maryland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 15, 2018
CONTACT:
Denise Robbins; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; denise@chesapeakeclimate.org; 608-620-8819
Brooke Harper; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; brooke@chesapeakeclimate.org; 301-992-6875;
Brent Walls; Upper Potomac Riverkeeper; Brent@upperpotomacriverkeeper.org; 443-480-8970
Laura Steepleton; Eastern Panhandle Protectors, lnsteep@gmail.com; 352-817-4081
Fritz Schneider; Potomac Riverkeeper Network, fritz@prknetwork.org; 301-728-4811
 

Hundreds Surround Governor Hogan’s Mansion in Unprecedented Action Showing Opposition to TransCanada’s Pipeline for Fracked Gas Across Maryland

 

Protest takes place days after Maryland lawmakers announced resolve to combat Gov. Hogan’s fracked-gas pipeline expansion plan

 
ANNAPOLIS, MD– Setting a new bar for protests in Annapolis, hundreds of people today encircled Governor Larry Hogan’s mansion to demand that he stand with concerned residents and protect them from the proposed “Potomac Pipeline” for fracked gas. Singing songs and carrying candles and lit-up signs, the activists stood side by side to urge the Governor to reject TransCanada’s proposal to drill a pipeline underneath the Potomac River and across Maryland
For the first time perhaps ever in an act of protest in Maryland, activists completely surrounded the Governor’s mansion side by side, near an illuminated giant sign that said “Hogan – No Potomac Pipeline.” They were joined by Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20), and Delegate Aruna Miller (D-15), as well as West Virginia landowners and leaders.
The “March on the Mansion” united Marylanders, West Virginians, and D.C. residents to call out Governor Hogan for failing to take adequate protective measures regarding the controversial pipeline.  The pipeline, officially known as the Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, would cross Maryland and potentially affect the drinking water for 6 million people in the region. Unless the Hogan Administration immediately launches its own “401 Certification” process that looks cumulatively at the impacts to Maryland’s water from this pipeline, the Governor will be handing over key regulatory powers to the Trump Administration. Construction could begin as early as this year.
For a full fact sheet about Governor Hogan’s ambitious fracked gas plans, click here.
“We are bringing the fight for our drinking water to the steps of Governor Hogan, because all other attempts at getting him to respond or act on his promises have fallen on deaf ears,” said Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper.
“I stood with my constituents last year when they called on Maryland legislators to protect their water, by passing a permanent fracking ban,” said Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20). “I’m standing with them again to protect Maryland’s drinking water from fracked-gas infrastructure. I’m calling on Governor Hogan say no to TransCanada’s unnecessary pipeline.”
“Governor Hogan is collaborating with Canadian companies to push dangerous fracked-gas pipelines where people don’t want them, and he’s keeping the people of Maryland in the dark,” said Senator Richard Madaleno (D-18). “We can’t allow this to happen.  We need to put our family, friends and neighbors first and reject the Potomac Pipeline once and for all.
On Tuesday, February 13, Senator Madaleno and Senator Paul Pinsky (D-22) proposed action to combat Hogan’s intention to invest $100 million in new gas pipelines and instead investing it in workers to repair leaky pipes throughout the state, similar to legislation already passed in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Documents show that Governor Hogan collaborated with TransCanada to allow the Canadian gas company to carry out a dangerous drilling method called “Horizontal Directional Drilling” for this pipeline  without oversight from the Maryland Department of Environment. And despite repeated pleas from groups ranging from the Potomac Riverkeeper Network to the Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Hogan administration refuses to follow a standard set by Virginia and other states when it comes to reviewing impacts to water quality from fracked-gas pipelines.
“The Potomac River is widely treasured as a valuable source of clean drinking water for millions of people and a key part of Maryland’s environment and economy,” said Delegate Aruna Miller (D-15). “We must do everything we can to protect it. Governor Hogan must reject the Potomac Pipeline.”
“Governor Hogan is pushing for this pipeline while saying he supports the Paris Climate Agreement, even as scientists confirm that fracked gas is essentially as harmful to the climate as coal,” said
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Governor Hogan is trying to drag us back to the dark ages on climate. He needs to reject this nonsense and instead focus on bringing clean renewable energy to the state.”
“Governor Hogan must instruct Maryland Department of the Environment to finally take a close look at the depth of TransCanada’s threat to our drinking water,” said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch. “In allowing this pipeline to breeze through, he’s borrowing from Trump’s playbook and letting corporations profit while communities bear the harmful burdens.”
For months, environmental groups have been asking Hogan’s Maryland Department of the Environment to conduct an individual water certification process — a power granted to states under section 401 of the Clean Water Act . This process would allow for a formal public comment period and more detailed hearings on this matter. Despite multiple requests from the public, elected officials, impacted towns and counties, MDE continues to rely on Trump-appointed officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers to review potential impacts from the fracked-gas pipeline project.
“This pipeline is supposed to come within 500 feet of my house, where I live with my two kids. I am not okay with living near a pipeline that keeps my children up at night in fear,” said West Virginia resident Jessie Ward.
“My hope is that Gov Hogan will rule with his mind and his heart and stop this fracked gas pipeline from going under the Potomac River,” said Patty Kesecker, West Virginia Landowner who is being sued by Mountaineer Gas.
“We’re here in Annapolis to urge Hogan do the right thing by Marylanders and everyone in the region and protect the Potomac River and deny the 401 certification for the TransCanada Pipeline,” said Laura Steepleton of Eastern Panhandle Protectors.
In January, a coalition of key environmental groups released a letter announcing a boycott of Governor Hogan’s environmental review process for the pipeline, calling it “illegitimate.” The March on the Mansion is a continuation of this boycott.
Organizations participating in the action include the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Eastern Panhandle Protectors, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, Potomac Riverkeeper Network, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Maryland Sierra Club, DC 350, Food and Water Watch, and Frack-Free Frostburg.
 

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Clean Water Advocates Challenge Army Corps of Engineers on Fracked Gas Pipeline Water Quality Review

Coalition’s Suit Says Corps Violated Clean Water Act

 

RICHMOND, VA — Today, a coalition of clean water advocates filed a suit contending the United States Army Corps of Engineers improperly issued a crucial permit for the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the Army Corps is charged with issuing a permit for the pipelines’ stream crossings that allows the project’s builders to trench through the bottom of those streams, including the Greenbrier, Elk, and Gauley Rivers, and fill the crossings with dirt during construction of the pipeline. Before the Army Corps can issue this permit, the state in which construction will occur must certify the pipeline’s construction will not degrade the state’s water quality.

The permit issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline by the Army Corps is commonly known as a “nationwide” permit, which takes a one-size-fits-all approach that can only be used when a state has done the necessary water quality analysis. Since West Virginia waived its right to do that analysis, the Army Corps can not legally issue the section 404 permit for construction of the pipeline in West Virginia.

If successful, this suit will require the Army Corps or the state of West Virginia to do another water quality impact review before the pipeline can be built through that state.

The suit was filed by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of a coalition made up of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Indian Creek Watershed Association, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

In response, Sierra Club Organizing Manager Bill Price released the following statement:

“The Army Corps of Engineers has a responsibility to protect the people and places we love and their one-size-fits-all approach to this project falls far short of fulfilling that responsibility. The fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline is a dirty, dangerous project that threatens our water, climate and communities and it shouldn’t be built until the Army Corps has done a serious analysis of how badly it would affect the water of Virginia and West Virginia at all river and stream crossings.”

Angie Rosser, Executive Director for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said:

“The combination of WVDEP’s waived water quality analysis and the Army Corps’ cookie-cutter approach just doesn’t cut it for a project of this scale. This illegal move greatens the risk to West Virginia’s rivers and streams and must be addressed before any construction begins.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said:

“The federal and state governments have fallen short when it comes to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Army Corps’ blanket permit does not come close to covering the scale and scope of this massive pipeline project. We are asking the court to make the Army Corps take seriously its responsibility to protect our waters.”

CONTACT:
Doug Jackson, Sierra Club, 202.495.3045, doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
Derek Teaney, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304.793.9007, dteaney@appalmad.org

Breaking: Lawmakers announce steps to combat Hogan’s fracking hypocrisy

Maryland Legislators Announce Steps to Combat Governor Hogan’s Efforts to Expand Fracked-Gas Pipelines and Combustion in Maryland

New documents show how Gov. Hogan is collaborating with TransCanada and others to ship large amounts of fracked gas into and across MD, violating the spirit of  the state’s fracking ban.
Maryland assembly members announce possible legislative steps and other plans to stop costly leaking gas pipelines instead of Hogan’s major buildout plan for fracked-gas infrastructure across the state.
 
ANNAPOLIS, MD– Environmental leaders and legislators today sharply criticized Governor Larry Hogan’s multi-pronged effort to build fracked-gas pipelines in Maryland at the expense of the environment and consumers. During a telephone press call, two state senators offered an alternative pathway that involves repairing existing leaky gas pipelines in Maryland in a way that would help consumers, create jobs, and protect the climate. Environmental leaders, meanwhile, specifically reiterated their strong opposition to efforts by Hogan and TransCanada to build a controversial fracked-gas pipeline across Maryland and under the Potomac River.

Click here for a downloadable version of the “Hogan’s Fracking Hypocrisy” factsheet

Today’s press conference took place two days before hundreds of concerned activists plan to take part in the first-ever “citizen encirclement” of Gov. Hogan’s mansion, in a show of solidarity and opposition to TransCanada’s Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, better known as the “Potomac Pipeline.” This unprecedented protest Thursday will be the culmination of nearly a year of opposition to this pipeline across Maryland, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Since signing a ban on fracking in 2017, Governor Hogan has worked consistently to undermine the spirit — if not the letter — of the law. For months, his administration has been actively negotiating with controversial Canadian oil and gas companies to ship large amounts of fracked gas into and across Maryland. In December his Administration explicitly called this gas, produced in neighboring states using the dangerous fracking drilling method, a “valuable resource” with “environmental benefits” . The Administration also announced its ambitious plans to “kick-start a natural gas expansion…throughout Maryland.”
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network recently uncovered how Governor Hogan has been collaborating with Canadian companies to promote fracked-gas pipelines. This includes his proposal to use settlement money from the forthcoming merger between Washington Gas and Calgary-based AltaGas to construct fracked-gas pipelines at the expense of Maryland ratepayers.  Governor Hogan has proposed a virtually unprecedented settlement wherein the state of Maryland would spend $33 million in settlement money to assist gas companies in the construction of more fracked-gas pipelines all across Maryland. The settlement – which must be approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission later this year — also requires that AltaGas spend an additional $70 million (which could be charged to ratepayers) to promote pipeline construction and other fracked-gas infrastructure in the state.
During the call, Senator Richard Madaleno (D-18) and Senator Paul Pinsky (D-22) proposed taking the $100 million that Hogan wants to give to the fracked gas industry and instead investing it in workers to repair leaky pipes throughout the state, similar to legislation already passed in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Senator Richard Madaleno (D-18) stated: “While Governor Hogan collaborates with Canadian companies to push dangerous fracked-gas pipelines where people don’t want them, Maryland’s existing pipelines are leaking climate-warming methane into our atmosphere. It’s clear we need to stop new fracked-gas infrastructure like the Potomac Pipeline from endangering the people of Maryland. We can bring jobs and environmental benefits to the state by instead focusing on rebuilding and repairing our current gas infrastructure and transitioning to renewable energy.”
Senator Paul Pinsky (D-22), who is a member of Governor Hogan’s Maryland Climate Commission stated: “Governor Hogan is putting all Marylanders at risk with his plan to aggressively expand fracked-gas infrastructure across the state. We need to work to protect the people of Maryland, not the bottom-line of Canadian gas companies.”
Documents also show that Governor Hogan collaborated with TransCanada to allow the Canadian gas company to carry out a dangerous drilling method called “Horizontal Directional Drilling” without oversight from the Maryland Department of Environment. And despite repeated pleas from groups ranging from the Potomac Riverkeeper Network to the Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Hogan administration refuses to follow a standard set by Virginia and other states when it comes to reviewing impacts to water quality from fracked-gas pipelines.
Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, who is also a member of the Maryland Climate Commission, stated: “The Governor has launched this gas expansion effort while saying he supports the Paris Climate Agreements, even as scientists confirm that fracked gas is essentially as harmful to the climate as coal. As for clean-energy substitutes to gas, the Governor vetoed a 2016 General Assembly law expanding wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources to make up 25% of the state’s grid. Governor Hogan is trying to drag us back to the dark ages on climate.”
Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, stated: “It’s hypocritical for Governor Hogan to take a stand against fracking and push so hard for fracking infrastructure — and it’s absurd for him to do so with such careless disregard for the safety of his constituents. The Potomac Pipeline was just the beginning. We need a new direction for the state of Maryland, one that leads us away from outdated gas infrastructure and towards a truly sustainable energy future.”
CCAN concluded that “Hogan’s commitment to gas infrastructure is a major threat to the state’s energy policy, a potential harm to consumers, and it creates serious legal uncertainty under NAFTA.”

CONTACT:
Denise Robbins; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; denise@chesapeakeclimate.org; 608-620-8819
Brooke Harper; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; brooke@chesapeakeclimate.org; 301-992-6875

FERC Faces Legal Challenge Over ACP Decision

Coalition Sues the Agency 

Charlottesville, VA— The Southern Environmental Law Center and Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed a challenge in federal court on behalf of 11 conservation groups challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision to permit the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
“FERC demonstrated in its split decision to approve the pipeline that there is lingering doubt about the need for this destructive project in our region,” said Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Greg Buppert. “This agency must change its ineffective review process and protect citizens from expensive and risky pipelines we don’t need.”
FERC’s decision to give the pipeline the go ahead was accompanied by a strong dissent from commissioner Cheryl LaFleur who critiqued her own agency for failing to look behind agreements put forth by utilities meant to skew demand needs and justify unneeded projects.
The $5.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline owned by Dominion Energy and Duke Energy, would cross 600 miles from West Virginia through Virginia and North Carolina and cut through mountain ridge tops, down steep unstable mountainsides, and through sensitive rivers and streams. Testimony before the Virginia State Corporation Commission revealed that about $2 billion in costs associated with the pipeline would be passed on to Dominion utility customers.
The Southern Environmental Law Center and Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed the lawsuit in the 4th Circuit Court on behalf of Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Friends of Buckingham, Highlanders for Responsible Development, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Shenandoah Valley Network, the Sierra Club, Virginia Wilderness Committee, Wild Virginia, and Winyah Rivers Foundation.
To learn more about this destructive pipeline and the people in its path, go to inthepath.org.

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. With nine offices across the region (Charlottesville, VA; Chapel Hill, NC; Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Washington, DC; Birmingham, AL; Nashville, TN; Asheville, NC; and Richmond, VA), SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast’s foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect the South’s natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org

About Appalachian Mountain Advocates:
Appalachian Mountain Advocates (Appalmad) is a non-profit law and policy center dedicated to fighting for clean water and a clean energy future. Appalmad has a long history of winning precedent-setting court cases. The organization represents scores of landowners and grassroots organizations challenging four unnecessary interstate pipelines in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Appalmad has worked for more than 15 years to ensure the fossil fuel industry cannot continue to dump its costs of doing business onto the public. For more information, visit www.appalmad.org.

Legal Challenges Filed Targeting Atlantic Coast Pipeline Approvals

Charlottesville, VA – The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Appalachian Mountain Advocates, on behalf of a coalition of community and conservation groups, filed a legal challenge to the Virginia State Water Control Board’s approval of a water quality certification for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. While the Board’s decision postponed the effectiveness of the certification pending completion of important studies, Virginia has treated the decision as final. The groups had to file this challenge now to meet a deadline under state law. In its current state, the certification does not adequately assess the impacts of the project on water quality in Virginia sufficiently to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act.
“This is one in a long series of bad decisions that shines a light on the systematically flawed review process for this dangerous project,” said Executive Director Lew Freeman of the Alleghany Blue Ridge Alliance, which represents a number of the plaintiff organizations. “A pipeline that cuts through Virginia’s precious rivers and streams should be held to the highest standards and the people of the Commonwealth deserve that protection.”
Just last December, the Virginia State Water Control Board voted 4-3 to approve a water quality certification for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline even though the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) failed to provide the critical information the Board needed to ensure water quality will be protected in Virginia. This challenge filed by SELC and Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of a strong coalition initiates judicial review of the decision in federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. The coalition includes: Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Friends of Buckingham, Highlanders for Responsible Development, Jackson River Preservation Association, Potomac Riverkeeper Network, Shenandoah Riverkeeper, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Shenandoah Valley Network, the Sierra Club, Virginia Wilderness Committee, and Wild Virginia.
“The Virginia State Water Control Board had a clear duty to look at all potential impacts to state waters from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and make sure our water quality standards are upheld. Instead, the Board went along with the DEQ’s approach of arbitrarily segmenting its review and shirking its legal duties,” said David Sligh, Conservation Director of Wild Virginia. “This approach was clearly constructed by DEQ to avoid the conclusion that would come from a scientifically valid assessment – that this project cannot be built as proposed in a way that protects our waters and our communities.”
The Board may have another opportunity to deny certification once DEQ completes review of several critically important plans submitted by Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC. DEQ has not made public the timeline for when that information will be available, and it has stated that there will not be an opportunity for public comment. The groups hope to continue to work with the new Northam administration to address the problems with the 401 process for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Today, SELC on behalf of the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Virginia Wilderness Committee also filed a legal challenge to a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a legal challenge on behalf of the Sierra Club and The Virginia Wilderness Committee to a decision by the National Park Service. The agencies both issued permits for the pipeline. These decisions further highlight agency failures to adequately review crucial information in a process that is being driven by developers rather than regulators.
“From the very start of this process, Dominion has pressured state and federal regulators charged with protecting local communities and the environment to quickly approve its project, despite the risks to landowners and natural resources and despite widespread public opposition,” said SELC Senior Attorney Greg Buppert. “As this challenges demonstrates, it’s clear these agencies must fundamentally reevaluate the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and their processes that failed to thoroughly and properly evaluate this project and its impact.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Biological Opinion granted developers the ability to move forward with the project despite its impact on endangered bats. The opinion, which specifically permits harm for a “small percentage” of bats, is not in keeping with the law, which requires the agency to more accurately determine the number of endangered species developers are allowed to harm.
“We depend on the Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that endangered species are not unjustifiably harmed,” said Nathan Matthews with the Sierra Club.  “They’ve fallen far short of their obligation here.”
The final legal challenge from SELC targets the National Park Service’s issuance of a permit to allow the pipeline to cross beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway. Constructing the pipeline would have long-term impacts on the Parkway’s viewshed.
Media Contact: Claudine McElwain, cmcelwain@selcva.org, 434-977- 4090

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. With nine offices across the region
(Charlottesville, VA; Chapel Hill, NC; Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Washington, DC; Birmingham, AL; Nashville, TN; Asheville, NC;
and Richmond, VA), SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast’s foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC
works on a full range of environmental issues to protect the South’s natural resources and the health and well-being of all the
people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org
About the Sierra Club:
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million
members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra
Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild
places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.