Arrests in Annapolis

Today, 13 faith leaders and western Maryland residents were arrested.
They were arrested because there is a threat looming over all our communities, as the moratorium on fracking in Maryland is set to expire this October.
They were arrested because we are at a crucial moment in Maryland history, as the Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill to ban fracking and the Maryland Senate looks to do the same.
They were arrested because this is the moment we need to stand up and send a clear message: Maryland needs a statewide fracking ban NOW.
It was immeasurably inspiring. Our activists were handcuffed, loaded into police vans, and sent to jail, where they spent hours and hours before being released. (At the time of this writing, more than 7 hours after the arrests, they haven’t been released yet).
Right now, we need to carry on the work of our friends by sending our message to the Maryland Senate. Here’s most important thing you can do right now: Call Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. Tell him to support a fracking ban.
Here’s what to say: “My name is ____ and I live in ____. I support those arrested this morning protesting fracking. Please support only a total ban on fracking in Maryland, and bring the fracking ban bill up for a vote in the Senate.”
miller-image-fracking
 
Now, here are some highlights from today’s events.
The morning started with inspiring speeches from our faith leaders. Including this one, from Unitarian Universalist Reverend Terence Ellen, who connected fracking to global warming and extolled the virtue of fighting for a fracking ban:
 

 
Then, activists moved across the street to stand on the steps of the State House, all the while chanting songs and cheers about standing strong in the fight against fracking:
 

 
Finally, as Maryland legislators began filing into the State House, it was time for the arrests. The people willing to get arrested moved to the right of the steps, to block the entrance of the statehouse. Dozens of others who joined for the action stood across the street in solidarity and support.
Food & Water Watch documented the arrests:
 
arrest6
arrest4
arrest3
arrest12


Thirteen were arrested in total. After the arrestees were taken away, the rest of the activists continued to rally and cheer for a fracking ban.
Here’s the winner for best costume (come on, you didn’t realize there was a costume contest? There’s always a costume contest).

 33323434692_251e9f6247_k
 
All of this was to send a clear message. We will not back down. We will not give up. We will keep up the fight until the Maryland General Assembly places a statewide fracking BAN and protects our public health, our water and our climate.
Now, time to keep on fighting.

Senators, Local Elected Officials, Business Owners and Activists Showcase Wide Support For Fracking Ban Before Key Legislative Hearing

200+ Maryland business owners call for statewide fracking ban

ANNAPOLIS — Elected officials, business owners and dozens of activists from across the state gathered today to demand a ban on fracking in anticipation of a Senate committee hearing on the bill. The group also delivered to senators a letter from more than 200 Maryland businesses owners in support of the ban. The letter states in part, ”Fracking follows a boom-bust cycle that leaves communities burdened with health problems, damaged infrastructure, and a weaker economy in the long term.”
Additionally, more than 35,000 petitions and letters from Maryland residents in support of a fracking ban were presented to the General Assembly today. The petitions were gathered by Chesapeake Climate Action Network, CREDO Action, Food & Water Watch, Maryland Sierra Club, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, and other grassroots members of the Don’t Frack Maryland coalition.
“We need to take a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to fracking in Maryland. We have one shot to prevent the pollution, local economic disruption and public health crises associated with dangerous drilling from destroying our state,” said Sen. Bobby Zirkin (D-11). “The type of damage that fracking causes is irreversible. You can count on me to honor the wishes of Maryland residents; that’s why I introduced a fracking ban.”
“Fracking needs to be banned in Maryland so that we can protect our tourism industry in Garrett County,” said Steve Green, owner of High Mountain Sports in Oakland. “People come here to experience the outdoors and enjoy our beautiful mountains, lakes and rivers. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure fracking and tourism are not compatible.”
Senators Anthony C. Muse (D-26), Bobby Zirkin (D-11), Barbara A. Robinson (D-40) and Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (D-44) spoke at a press conference echoing support for a fracking ban and urging quick passage. About half of the entire General Assembly has already co-sponsored the fracking ban bill.
“We cannot allow fracking companies to come into our communities, poison our water, and pollute our air,” said Sen. Barbara Robinson (D-40). “We’ve seen what has happened to our neighbors in Pennsylvania, where drinking water contamination is the norm. I will stand by the people of Maryland in their overwhelming support for a ban on fracking. I strongly support the passage of Senate Bill 740 for a statewide ban.”
“I strongly support a total ban on fracking in Maryland,” stated Sen. Ron Young (D-3). “The oil and gas companies want to start fracking in October, despite the fact that fracking poses real threats to our citizens’ drinking water, environment, and health. Furthermore, fracking would jeopardize the tourism industry in Western Maryland, where the state has spent tens of millions of dollars on outdoor recreation. The risks are simply too great. To protect our public health, we should ban fracking once and for all.”
The fracking ban bill is supported by dozens of counties and municipalities, which together represent over two-thirds of Maryland’s population, that have passed local fracking bans or resolutions supporting a statewide ban.
“The Mountain Lake Park Town Council, of which I am a member, voted some three years ago to pass an ordinance banning fracking within our town limits, fearing that the practice could easily jeopardize our town’s water supply. The ordinance passed by a unanimous vote by the members of our council and our mayor, every one of whom are natives of Garrett County,” said Don Sincell, Member of Town Council, Mountain Lake, MD. “It is my great hope that the state legislature follows our lead in order to protect Maryland in general, and Garrett County in particular.”              
“The Western Maryland Delegation is doing democracy an injustice by turning a deaf ear to the growing mountain of public opposition to fracking and scientific evidence on the risks fracking poses to our communities and environment,” said Woody Getz, Frostburg Commissioner of Public Works. “Communities and businesses in Maryland deserve to be protected by their elected officials. It’s time for the General Assembly to ban fracking and heed the will of the people.”
The rally took place shortly before the Maryland Senate will begin debating two bills about the drilling practice. Attendees expressed concern that even “gold-standard” regulations would fail to adequately protect public health,the environment or the growing tourism industry in Western Maryland.
“More than 200 business owners across Maryland, including myself, have signed a letter supporting a ban on fracking because we know that fracking will never be safe,” stated Nadine Grabania, owner of Deep Creek Cellars in Garrett County. “If the General Assembly allows fracking to begin, thousands of jobs and western Maryland’s thriving tourism and agriculture industries would be jeopardized—and the value of both commercial and residential property will be threatened. Business owners know that we cannot afford the risks.
Polling shows that voters across party lines in Maryland support legislation to ban fracking by a 2-to-1 margin, according to a poll conducted by OpinionWorks. Polling from The Washington Post similarly found that 60 percent of Maryland voters oppose fracking.
Advocates from across the state in support of a fracking ban will gather for a mass mobilization in Annapolis on Thursday, March 2. The “March on Annapolis to Ban Fracking Now” is expected to draw hundreds into the streets, and will feature leaders from across the progressive movement, including Ben Jealous, former head of the NAACP, and Reverend Lennox Yearwood of Hip Hop Caucus.
###
 

Why I'm Marching To Ban Fracking In Maryland

Guest post from Elisabeth Hoffman of HoCo Climate Change
When I march Thursday for a fracking ban, I’ll be calling on Maryland to heed the warning of the canary that is Pennsylvania. And West Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma and the others.
No state has gotten fracking right, because fracking can’t be made safe or even safe enough.
Everywhere this industry goes, residents rise up to defend their homes and farms, their children and pets, and their forests and towns from the noise and lighting, the truck traffic and ruined roads, the polluted air and water, and even earthquakes. No regulations are sufficient to corral the fracking industry.
Other states let industry experiment on their communities. From studies in fracked areas, we know that fracking is linked to increases in asthma attacks; preterm births and high-risk pregnancies; anxiety, fatigue, migraines and sinus ailments; and hospitalizations for heart and neurological problems. New research finds a link between fracking and a form of childhood leukemia. Thanks to documents from a freedom of information request, we are also learning that Pennsylvania officials suppressed thousands of residents’ complaints about water contamination and other problems. We know too that much damage remains hidden in legal settlements: Industry pays up only after residents take a vow of silence about what happened.  
Along with the fracking come the pipelines and compressor stations and export factories that bring yet more destruction to towns, fields and forests; spikes of toxic pollution, and threats from explosions. Communities must fight not only industry but the rubber-stamping Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has cozy ties to industry and refuses to take into account the cumulative damage from these fracked-gas projects. In Pennsylvania, for example, residents are rebelling against the 350-mile Mariner East pipeline that will take fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale to export for Scotland to make plastics, of all things; the 124-mile Constitution pipeline that slashed through a sugar maple forest, before it was denied key approvals; and the nearly 200-mile-long Atlantic Sunrise pipeline, slated to cut through preserved farmland and communities in Lancaster and four other counties. Lancaster-area opponents have built The Stand, a wooden watchtower in the path of construction that will be the base for peaceful resistance should Williams Corp. show up.
My county, Howard, is one of only four in Maryland with no shale gas underground. Yet even here, fracking is elbowing its way in. Williams plans to expand and modernize a half-century-old compressor station to connect with that contentious Atlantic Sunrise project. And so we are joined quite literally to our friends fighting this pipeline. Maryland, too, must make a stand. We can’t let the fracking industry invade our state.
Of course, along with the fracking and the infrastructure comes the climate-disrupting methane, which is on the rise in fracked Pennsylvania. Fracked gas is no bridge fuel for our climate emergency.
Fracking and building pipelines is like installing more phone landlines – but with the added dangers. We need to be done with these antiquated fossil fuels, not doubling down on them.
What’s clear is that cheap fracked gas (and oil) is an oxymoron from industry’s playbook of alternate facts. Industry won’t pay for the lifetime of medical bills. Or clean up the air, soil and water. Or compensate for carved-up forests or climate chaos. Or monitor the toxic water it leaves underground.  Or cover the losses to the tourism industry and property values. These costs and much more remain off the industry’s books, instead showing up in our community and household balance sheets.
Even the prospect of fracking is discouraging investment in Western Maryland’s tourism businesses. Industry is fighting this ban too hard – with ads and in the state legislature – for us to be persuaded (as some have claimed) that it has little interest in Maryland. Perhaps industry just doesn’t want to be told what to do.
Yet that’s exactly what we must do. Maryland is where we say no to the whole fracking package. Instead, we’ll invest in renewables and efficiency. As a friend in fracked Pennsylvania says: “Good neighbors don’t ask you to put yourself in harm’s way so they can turn a profit. Good neighbors don’t engage in practices that may have long-term consequences for the health and welfare of the community. Good neighbors are neighborly. They don’t knowingly pollute the air, soil and water. They don’t ruin roads and disturb tranquility. Good neighbors are invested in the community, less interested in extracting wealth than building lasting bonds. Good neighbors leave a place better for having been there.”
Join me this Thursday in marching to ban fracking in Maryland.
##

VIDEO: To ban fracking once and for all, we need YOU to march on Annapolis

On March 2nd, concerned citizens, business owners, health professionals, and activists from across the state will gather for the “March on Annapolis to Ban Fracking” in Maryland. This comes at a crucial time as the current moratorium on fracking is set to expire in October. Without a ban, oil and l gas companies will be free to move in, threatening the health, economy, and environment of communities all across the state.
Watch these citizens explain why they plan to march in Annapolis:

“You want to get things done properly you have to engage your government.”

Fracking has been linked to dangerous health impacts, and has been proven to contaminate water hundreds of times in neighboring Pennsylvania. Fracking also brings us one step closer to climate disaster through the burning and leakage of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. “It’s going to impact the entire state, because watersheds and air move beyond boundaries,” said one citizen.
So, what are we, the active citizens, to do? Every one of us can make our voice heard by rallying and marching in Annapolis on March 2nd.
Hope to see you there!

National Week of Action to #StopOilTrains Builds Momentum in Baltimore

The first week of July marked the start of an international week of action aimed at highlighting the growing opposition to dangerous oil trains in the US and Canada. With over 70 events taking place across North America, this event is scheduled to commemorate the 47 people killed in the Lac-Mégantic 2013 oil train disaster by people taking up the struggle to fight against these oil trains in own communities.
As participants in the week of action, CCAN coordinated with members of Clean Water Action to raise awareness about the dangers that oil-train blast zones pose to the Baltimore community.
A number of Baltimore’s most iconic institutions are located in the “blast-zone”, which activists highlighted by using light projections on places like the National Aquarium and during the Baltimore Artscape Festival.
IMG_3331 DSC_0157
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Additionally, on Wednesday July 6th  CCAN and Clean Water Action delivered over 2000 petitions and handwritten letters to City Council President Jack Young calling for further action to be taken against dangerous oil trains in Baltimore city.
 
petition drop
 
 
 
Click here to add your name to our petition demanding the Baltimore City Council to pass Health and Safety Ordinance for oil trains in Baltimore.
 
 
 
 
Screen Shot 2016-07-08 at 6.46.32 PMWrapping up the week of action, activists participated in a Banner Drop at Camden Yards in Downton Baltimore in protest of oil trains that run alongside the stadium and threaten this beloved Baltimore institution.
The international week of action to #StopOilTrains reaffirmed the growing movement across North America to take back our communities from oil companies and explosive oil trains. Now, more than ever, is the time to get organized and get loud. To get involved, attend our monthly volunteer meetings to plan and strategize how to make our voices as loud as possible.
 Volunteer Meetings are held the last Wednesday of the month at 6pm at Impact Hub located at 10 E North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21202. Click here to RSVP.
 
 
 
 
 

It's time: Join the call to ban fracking in Maryland

Governor Hogan issued us a new challenge when he vetoed legislation to expand our renewable energy standard. He thumbed his nose at a decade of bipartisan climate progress in Maryland and, until we overturn his veto, he temporarily blocked our path to new jobs and cleaner air.
But you know what else? Governor Hogan fired us up even more to fight for what we know is right.
This summer, CCAN and our allies in the “Don’t Frack Maryland” coalition are moving full-speed ahead with an all-out campaign to permanently ban fracking in our state. We’re launching this long-planned effort even as we commit to overturning Hogan’s harmful clean energy veto. And we’ll need your help right from the start!
Join us next Wednesday evening, June 15th, for a statewide grassroots conference call to kick off a summer of organizing to ban fracking. Climate champ Heather Mizeur will be our special guest!
Heather will help get us fired up for action. I will give you the latest updates on the fight against fracking across the country and the world, as well as the momentum we’re already seeing towards a permanent ban right here in Maryland.
Then, we’ll dig in on how you can make the biggest difference this summer: by working in your own communities to ban fracking. After the call, we’ll send you our hot-off-the-presses activist toolkit with everything you need to get started.
Just over a year ago, we made history by passing a two-year moratorium on fracking that prohibits dangerous drilling through October 2017. That clock is now ticking down.
Unless we act in the next General Assembly session, our hard-won moratorium will expire and the Hogan administration could finalize regulations that invite the fracking industry in. We can’t let that happen. The science is in. Fracking pollutes the air we breathe and the water we drink, and threatens local economies, all while worsening climate change.
That’s why CCAN is gearing up THIS SUMMER to educate more Marylanders about the dangers of fracking, to help more cities and counties ban the practice, and ultimately to build the grassroots power we need to win.
Join me, CCAN organizers — and special guest Heather Mizeur — on Wednesday, June 15th at 7pm to find out how you can be a part of permanently banning fracking in Maryland this year.
Already, over 70 groups (and counting) in Maryland have called for passage of a permanent fracking ban – from climate groups like us, to environmental groups like our friends at the Maryland Sierra Club – who just announced their support this morning – to riverkeepers, outfitters, service unions, health groups, farmers and faith leaders. And Maryland’s two most populous counties — Montgomery and Prince George’s — have effectively banned the practice.
With or without Governor Hogan, we’re ready to move forward — not backwards — on climate in Maryland. That means keeping clean energy solutions on the fast-track while keeping harmful fossil fuels like fracked gas in the ground.
RSVP now and help us launch a summer of organizing to ban fracking!

Quebec Oil Train Activist Marilaine Savard Inspires Baltimore

Last week, CCAN invited oil train activist Marilaine Savard down to our region to attend a series of events. Marilaine is from Lac-Megantic, Quebec, and unintentionally became an activist and spokesperson to stop oil trains across the country. That’s because she lived through the deadliest oil train disaster in history. In July 2013, Lac-Megantic was changed forever, when an unattended 74-car crude oil train derailed and exploded in their small town, killing 47 people. Since then, she has advocated for rail safety and climate justice in the San Francisco Bay area, Albany, NY, Pittsburgh, PA, and now Baltimore, MD.


Marilaine Savard, from Lac-Megantic, and Keisha Allen discuss issues facing their communities and stopping oil trains.
Marilaine Savard, from Lac-Megantic, and Keisha Allen discuss issues facing their communities and stopping oil trains.

Thursday morning Marilaine came to the office to meet everyone at CCAN and eat breakfast, and after coffee and bagels we left for Annapolis. We arrived in Annapolis to meet Jennifer Kunze (a former CCAN Fellow, now an organizer with Clean Water Action) for an event with Delegate Clarence Lam about oil trains and his recently introduced bill, the Rail Safety Act of 2016. We had a small but mighty audience who attended and learned about Marilaine’s story. Marilaine shared her story, Delegate Lam introduced and outlined his bill, and Frtiz Elder, a representative from Railroad Workers United discussed policy initiatives that workers are concerned about, specifically calling for more crew members on the train.


After that, we drove to the neighborhood of Westport in South Baltimore, to meet up with Keisha Allen, president of the Westport Neighborhood Association. Keisha met us with her neighbor, Doug, and we walked from her house to the tracks, about two blocks away, and discussed the problem. This was a highlight of the trip for me. It was powerful to connect the two of them, since Lac-Megantic and Westport have almost the same exact curve in the tracks that border their community. It was a true moment of solidarity that we rarely get to experience. They also discussed how it’s hard for low-income communities to advocate for change, and Keisha discussed some of the other issues facing the community, like asthma from pollution, trash, and poverty.
Before heading back to Lac-Megantic, Marilaine stopped by Clean Water Action Baltimore for an interview with WYPR.
Before heading back to Lac-Megantic, Marilaine stopped by Clean Water Action Baltimore for an interview with WYPR.


After, we went to Charles Village for the town hall. It was a really powerful and moving event, with over 70 people in attendance. Marilaine’s story touched everyone in the room, everyone was moved with her account of the experience. Next, Paul Plymouth, from the City Council President’s office spoke about the City Council’s recent action, introducing an ordinance that requires public disclosure of health and safety risks from oil trains in the city. You could tell he was genuinely moved by Marilaine’s presentation. Fritz Edler from Railroad Workers United was there as well and discussed the labor perspective, and why railroad workers should partner with climate groups to fight against oil trains. He also shared images of the 47 memorials in Lac-Megantic made for those who died. Finally, attendees from Residents Against the Tunnels (RATT) discussed the B&P Tunnel Project that they are opposing in the Resovoir Hill neighborhood. Throughout the evening, we generated hand written letters to Mayor Rawlings-Blake asking for her to sign the ordinance once it’s adopted by the City Council. After the event, people seemed genuinely moved and interested in taking action, especially by taking photographs of trains in their communities.


The next morning, Marilaine and I headed up to Baltimore to record an interview with Tom Pelton for WYPR’s “Environment in Focus” radio show, which aired yesterday. We were with Tom for about an hour to discuss Marilaine’s story and Delegate Lam’s Rail Safety Act. After that, I dropped her off at the airport and we said our goodbye’s. She was extremely grateful, and said she felt really good coming down here to do these presentations. Even though it was hard for her to share her story, she was extremely moved by our organizing and is excited to continue the fight.


To join in the fight against oil trains in Baltimore, and to find out how you can volunteer, let us know! If you see an oil train in your neighborhood, be sure to take a picture and email it to jon@chesapeakeclimate.org.

Shedding Light on the Shady Industry of Crude Oil Trains in Baltimore

Over the last year and a half, our campaign to stop dangerous and explosive oil trains in Baltimore has built some serious momentum. This is a blog post about what we’ve accomplished, and what we have planned next.
In the winter of 2014, CCAN and partners submitted hundreds of public comments in opposition to Targa Terminals’ proposed crude oil and tar sands shipping terminal in Curtis Bay. In addition to submitting comments, technical comments filed by the Environmental Integrity Project got state regulators attention. The Maryland Department of the Environment halted the company’s permit, stopping construction of the terminal and potentially keeping over a million gallons of oil from running through our city every day. During that process, the Baltimore Sun reported that another terminal was already shipping crude oil out of the city, and that explosive crude oil trains were likely running through the center of the City, but rail companies CSX and Norfolk Southern were suing the state of Maryland to keep route information secret.

A DOT-111 Train running through Baltimore along 26th street near Charles Village.
A DOT-111 Train running through Baltimore along 26th street near Charles Village.

So, in July of 2015, nearly a hundred of us rallied outside of City Hall as part of a National Week of Action to stop oil trains, calling for public disclosure of train routes. That same day, the City Council held an informational public hearing about crude oil trains, and, slowly, us and the City Council started to learn more about this shady industry. Of course, the rail companies refused to show up, prompting even more questions from the City Council. After that hearing, they agreed that something needed to happen.
Finally, last Fall, we started to shed some light. In September, a Baltimore judge ruled against rail companies, forcing them to release oil train route information to the public, confirming that explosive crude oil trains do run through the heart of our city and put 165,000 people (or a quarter of the city’s population) at risk. Now, the city council is ready to take action.
Just last week, City Council President Jack Young introduced a bill to study the health and safety impacts that oil trains place on the city. These are unprecedented studies that should tell us even more about the burden oil trains place on communities. We will be able to answer questions like: what pollutants leak out of oil trains in communities near rail lines? Or, what should the city do in the event of an oil train derailment and explosion?
Of course, these simple questions should have been answered before we allowed oil trains to run through the heart of the City, but it’s heartening to see the City Council finally asking questions like this to expose this industry for what it is: an extreme risk to communities that we shouldn’t have to bear. Ultimately, we know that there is no safe way to transport oil. Whether it’s by rail, pipe, or truck, crude oil is too much of a danger for communities and for the climate. The only way to ultimately protect ourselves is to transition away from our dependence on fossil fuels. But exposing the oil train industry and giving communities the knowledge that they deserve is an important first step.
If you want to learn more about crude oil trains and what we’re planning next, come to CCAN’s Town Hall on Thursday, February 11th in Baltimore. We’ll be joined by a guest from Lac-Megantic, Quebec, who will share her personal experience of the oil train disaster that destroyed her community. We’ll also hear from  representatives from the City Council, who will discuss their recent action, and what we need to do to pass the ordinance and get it signed by the Mayor.
 

Court win increases oil train transparency, but it’s not enough

At the end of the summer, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill ruled in favor of safe cities and healthy communities, stating that rail companies must disclose the routes of dangerous oil trains the public. His ruling affirmed that communities have a right to know if dangerous, explosive trains run through their neighborhoods. This lawsuit victory is one part of a growing national movement to stop dangerous oil trains from rolling through communities and spreading a network of dirty fossil fuels. Now, we have a clearer picture of where oil trains actually move throughout Maryland, and what we can do next to stop them!
Oil trains in Maryland enter from states that border us to the north, coming from major oil hubs like Newark and Philadelphia. Following Pulaski Highway (Rte. 40), oil trains roll past Havre de Grace and Aberdeen, and cross Herring Run into Baltimore. Trains then move through the heart of the city, following 26th street into Charles Village, turning south at Jones Falls. At that point, trains enter the Howard Street tunnel, passing directly under the Maryland Institute College of Art, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Maryland General Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center, Lexington Market, and the Baltimore Convention Center. Trains exit the tunnel next to a Raven’s stadium parking lot, and wrap around the stadium as it travels south crossing Gwynns Falls, through Westport and then Brooklyn to a shipping terminal on the Fairfield peninsula.

Reported route of oil trains throughout the State of Maryland. Find the interactive version of the map at www.blast-zone.org.
Reported route of oil trains throughout the State of Maryland. Find the interactive version of the map at www.blast-zone.org.

Oil also comes in from the west, directly from Pittsburgh. Trains travel on the CSX railroad line through Cumberland, passing Harpers Ferry, and through Frederick County, where it meets the headwaters of the Patapsco River. It then follows the Patapsco through Monrovia to Ellicot City, where it enters the City through Morrell Park and Mount Winans, where it meets up with the northern rail line to the shipping terminal in Fairfield. Through research, we found out that this puts over 165,000 people in the blast zone in Baltimore. In Baltimore city, these trains predominately run through communities of color and low-income communities, disproportionately putting these people at risk, and is an environmental injustice.
In the past two years, over 100 million gallons of crude oil have been offloaded from oil trains in Baltimore. These numbers come from the State’s Oil Control Program, which is a regulatory agency that requires oil and rail companies to disclose how much oil comes through the state. But here’s the catch: the OCP requires oil companies to report only when over 1 million gallons of crude oil are unloaded from a train in Maryland. This means that if a train is carrying less than 1 million gallons of crude oil (about 35 tankers on a single train), it can be unloaded and stored in Maryland with no need to report this information to the public. It also means that oil trains passing through the state, on their way to oil hubs in the Northeast, for example, go unreported. The real amount of oil that travels through Baltimore and Maryland is still unknown, although it’s almost certain that it’s much, much more than what’s being reported.
The harder we fight oil trains in Baltimore -- the harder it is to frack in North Dakota!
The harder we fight oil trains in Baltimore — the harder it is to frack in North Dakota!

The truth is, oil companies are still keeping the public in the dark. Because of this, CCAN will continue to push for public transparency and education surrounding oil trains, and work to make it as hard as possible for oil companies to ship their dirty, explosive fracked oil through the state. Ultimately, oil trains shouldn’t exist, the dangers are too high, and a federal ban should be instituted immediately. However, in Baltimore, we’re calling on the city council to pass a 4 year moratorium on new crude oil shipping terminals, to stop the alarming increase of oil trains in Baltimore. And as we continue into the new year, CCAN will work at the state and national level to make it harder for companies to ship out crude oil.
We know to stop runaway climate change we have to keep fossil fuels in the ground. It turns out, one key way to do this is stopping the transport of fossil fuels, making our fight against oil trains just as important. An excellent report that just came out from Oil Change International proves that point. Our recent legal victory is a great step forward in the fight against fracked oil, but it’s not enough.
If you are interested in volunteering with CCAN to stop explosive oil trains in our region, contact Jon Kenney at jon@chesapeakeclimate.org or 240-396-1985.