Actions – Save Our Planet

ALL GONE!

Trump is Gutting Our Environmental Laws!

In two separate moves, the Trump Administration is stripping away our envioronmental protections:

• First off, he plans to re-examine the way the laws provided in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are implemented with the goal of streamlining major infrastructure projects at the expense of the environment and our health.  NEPA is fundamental to our environmental protections, allowing the public to resist damaging projects and hold polluters accountable. The proposed changes will make it harder for communities to use the safeguards provided by NEPA and will allow corporate polluters to manage their own environmental impact studies. The changes also will remove climate change as a consideration in planning projects.
• And now, under the guise of protecting our health during the current coronavirus crisis, he has suspended enforcement of environmental laws, giving polluters a free road to further damaging our environment.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO:

Trump Administration Wants to Gut NEPA

Trump Administration Suspends Environmental-Law Enforcement

What to do? Write your senators and congressman and ask them to speak out in support of NEPA, and write to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to protest his action in suspending environmental-law enforcement.

Posted 4/4/20

NOW!

Thank Attorney General Herring for Helping to Protect Our Waters!

Thank AG Herring for standing up to protect our Commonwealth from the GOP administration’s roll back of the Clean Water Act. And also ask him to take another important step by filing an emergency injunction to stop all heavy equipment construction along the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Only sediment and erosion control should be allowed.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO:

Attorney General Herring stands up for the Clean Water Act

Protect our Commonwealth – Mountain Valley Pipeline

Reviewed 4/9/20

NOW!

Write to Your Representatives and Senators Affirming Your Support for the Science Integrity Acts – H.R. 1709 and S. 775!

You know how important science has been in government decision making, such as health, safety, and climate science. Democrats have tried hard to limit the damage caused by administration attacks on science. Senate bill S. 775 and House bill H.R. 1709, both entitled “Scientific Integrity Act,” would maintain the scientific work performed by government scientists and encourage dissemination and flow of results to stakeholders. Thanks to the persistent pressure of activists like us, H.R. 1709 has just been released from subcommittee with bipartisan support and will be voted at some point soon in the House. S. 775 continues to languish in subcommittee.

Please contact your representative to express your support for H.R. 1709, and both senators to encourage them to do what they can to get S. 775 out for a vote. It’s unlikely, of course, that S. 775 will pass a Senate vote, or that either bill will be made law by the president. But we can make Republican legislators declare their positions on the wrong side of history, and set the stage for rapid movement on this important issue once Democrats regain control of the Senate and White House.

Ask your representatives and senators to do one or two of the following actions in support of scientific Integrity (from the Union of Concerned Scientists):

1. Investigate how censorship threatens federal scientists and the functioning of federal agencies critical to health and the environment;
2. Hold hearings that demonstrate the public value of science-based programs and policies that develop when scientists are freely able to conduct and share their research with the public, legislators, and rule-makers on critical safety issues, from chemical exposure to climate change resilience;
3. Further protect the rights of federal employees to speak out about waste, fraud, and abuse by expanding the 2012 Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act; and
4. Explore ways to strengthen the use and quality of independent science advice Congress receives through structures such as the Congressional Research Service, the GAO, or through the restoration of the Office of Technology Assessment.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON THE ACTS:

H.R. 1709

S. 775

Reviewed 4/8/20

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO:
Friends of Nelson County on the ACP end run.

Reviewed 4/9/20

NOW!

Ask Virginia AG Mark Herring to Join With Other State’s AGs to Sue Against Trump Executive Order 13868 on Pipelines

One of Trump’s new orders calls for the EPA to review a section of the Clean Water Act that requires applicants seeking federal permits for energy-infrastructure projects that might pollute protected waters to get certification from the states where any potential contamination could happen. Federal guidance and regulations regarding that requirement – which gives states a direct role in building projects – are described in the executive action as “outdated” and responsible for “confusion and uncertainty” that slows down infrastructure projects.

The order also seeks to make it easier to transport natural gas when a pipeline can’t be used. The action stipulates an update to a Dept. of Transportation safety regulation on facilities that store natural gas in its liquid state so that it an be carried long distances when pipeline transport isn’t possible. The change would allow transport of the liquified natural gas in approved railroad tank cars.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TEXT OF THE ORDER (especially sections 7 and 8):
Trump’s Executive Order 13868 on pipelines.

Updated 4/9/20

NOW! 

Ask Senators Kaine and Warner and Congressman Connolly to Oppose Trump’s Recent Executive Order About Advisory Boards

Another of Trump’s new orders calls for all executive agencies to reduce the number of advisory boards by one-third. This is a thinly veiled attempt to further reduce the role of science-based decision making in government.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TEXT OF THE ORDER:
Trump’s Executive Order on advisory boards.

Reviewed 4/9/20

NOW!!! 

Please Help Resist Pipelines in Virginia!!!

Resist the destruction of Virginia’s lands, natural resources, and privately owned property by for-profit pipeline builders.

The Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines continue to encounter legal difficulties, particularly for their disregard of their impact on stream crossing. However, work continues on several sections in West Virginia. Recent information on the status of the pipelines is provided by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ.) Check out an update for the Mountain Valley Pipeline here: Mountain Valley Pipeline update and for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline here: Atlantic Coast Pipeline update

DEQ broke its promise to properly review the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines, and is attempting to evade its responsibility to protect our drinking water. They must review all individual threats to water quality posed by these pipeline proposals. The DEQ must exercise its full authority to protect our waters! Instead, they turned over authority to the Army Corps of Engineers to do a “blanket review” that in no way adequately protects our forests and water. The Governor can direct the DEQ to do its job and we need your voice to help make that happen.

Several Virginia delegates and Senators sent a letter to the Governor asking him to uphold the State laws regarding pipeline construction. Check out their letter here: Virginia Delegate letter regarding pipeline construction  

And here’s what you can do:

• Call Governor Northam at (804) 786-2211, and ask him to order the DEQ to use the full authority granted them under the Clean Water Act to conduct a detailed, exhaustive #StreamByStream analysis of water crossings.
• Call the DEQ at (804) 698-4000 and ask them to use Virginia’s full authority granted under the Clean Water Act to conduct a detailed, exhaustive #StreamByStream analysis of water crossings.
• Like and share our page and posts with your friends and family on your own social media using hashtag #StreamByStream.

Although tree sitting has ended, there is a detailed update on the former “Tree Sitters” brave and selfless efforts to thwart the Mountain Valley Pipeline in the April 22, 2018 edition of the Washington Post entitled Their high ground is up a tree. 

Reviewed 4/9/20

NOW!!! 

Join with Wild Virginia and Urge Governor Northam to Protect Virginia’s Waters

Contact the Governor today and urge him to:

See that his administration prohibits any construction, including clearing of trees, for either pipeline unless and until all conditions of water quality certifications are met,

Order the DEQ to conduct individual Clean Water Act section 401 reviews for stream and wetland crossings covered by the Corps of Engineers’ Nationwide 12 Permit,

Ensure that DEQ provides for public notice and comment on additional plans ACP is required to submit and that there is a clear procedure for the State Water Control Board to review and decide whether the certification will become effective.

Get further information from Wild Virginia here: Urge Governor Northam to Follow His Values and Defend Virginia’s Waters

Contact the Governor’s office today by calling (804) 786-2211, or email the Governor’s chief of staff Clark Mercer at clark.mercer@governor.virginia.gov.

Reviewed 4/9/20

SUPERCEDED BY THE VCEA IN THE 2020 GA SESSION!

Please Write to Governor Northam and Let him know his net zero carbon plan is too timid!

The Governor’s Executive Order 43, for example, promises to put Virginia on a path to net zero carbon by 2050. That’s a good thing – but it is also 31 years from now and 20 years after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it will be too late for our planet to reverse the current catastrophic path that we are on.  EO 43 set an interim goal of a 30 percent reduction in carbon usage by 2030 – which is a good start – but lower than, for example, the 40 percent reduction that Duke Energy has proposed. And it is more than telling that, on the day EO 43 was announced, Dominion Energy said that its own approach to energy is “aligned” with the Governor’s.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO:

Governor Ralph S. Northam Executive Order 43

Reviewed 4/9/20

FAILED IN THE 2020 GA SESSION! MAYBE NEXT TIME!

Democratic Party of Virginia Endorses the Green New Deal!

Write to your State Senator and Delegate to let them know that they need to follow the lead of the DPV and disavow contributions from fossil-fuel utilities. In the DPV’s endorsement of the GND, the DPV states that it will not accept contributions from Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power. That is a good thing, but there has been no similar announcement from other major recipients of fossil-fuel contributions, including, in particular, the Virginia House and Senate Democratic Caucuses.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO:

DPV Endorses GND

Reviewed 4/9/20

The comment period has ended. We’ll see what happens.

Comment on Proposed Changes to the Clean Water Act that Will Lead to Further Water-Quality Degradation!

Please comment  (https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405) on the proposed changes to Section 401 under the Clean Water Act which will:

• Severely limit the time that states and tribes are allowed to review water quality impacts of projects, which can often be complex and deserving of careful, methodical investigation, as is the case with interstate natural gas pipelines, for example;
• Prevent states and tribes from considering overall health and biological health and integrity of water resources; which are foundational to a scientific understanding of water quality; and
• Give the federal government final say over a state’s or tribe’s decision whether or not to approve a water quality permit, which is akin to a bait-and-switch approach to policy-making.

The EPA’s proposed changes would upend a cornerstone of the Clean Water Act designed to ensure a proper balance of power between the federal government and states and tribes in determining the best, most protective course of action in considering major development projects. It would make it harder to protect water quality and safeguard communities from pollution. 

References: 

 https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09082019/epa-fast-track-pipeline-permits-clean-water-act-rule-change-trump-executive-order

https://www.environmentallawandpolicy.com/2019/08/epa-proposes-sweeping-changes-to-clean-water-act-section-401-water-quality-regulations/

Reviewed 4/9/20

The comment period ended on August 26, 2019. We’ll see what happens now.

Comment on the US Forest Service’s Attack on Our Right to Comment on Their Actions

The USFS is seeking modifications to the application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to allow them to proceed with projects without adequate input from the public. Given the attacks on our green spaces – from Bears Ears to Sequoia to the Boundary Waters to Tongass and beyond – we can’t afford to give up any rights in how our national forests are used. National-forest lands are for multiple-use purposes but to take away our right to have input into the decision making is as anti-democratic as it gets.

Winter Wildlands Alliance has a great write up on the impacts of this move. Please click here to go to their website:
Winter Wildlands Alliance

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TEXT OF THE PLAN AND TO PROVIDE COMMENTS:
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance.

Updated 9/15/19

On September 12, 2019 the EPA and U.S. Army repealed the 2015 rule defining “Water of the United States.” Let the polluting begin!

Please Help Resist Trump’s Revision of the Definition of Waters of the US!!!

On December 11th, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its proposal to slash federal clean water safeguards. Trump’s Dirty Water Rule is a radical reinterpretation of the Clean Water Act that would eliminate protections for rain-dependent streams, which feed drinking water sources for millions of people. And it would put at risk more than half of our nation’s wetlands, which filter pollution and protect our communities from flooding. The following link explains the issue:  We need to stop the Dirty Water Rule.

Only polluters benefit from this action – everyone else loses! You can help by sending in comments on the proposed rule by April 15, 2019. Here’s how:

• Follow this link to the docket that provides additional information on the proposed rule and get better informed on the issue: Docket Folder Summary 
• Provide a rational and compelling argument that the proposed rule should be rejected. You can do this at: You are commenting on:
• Alternatively, you may submit comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ- OW-2018-0149, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/ (our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Email: OW-Docket@epa.gov. Include Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW- 2018-0149 in the subject line of the message. Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center, Office of Water Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460. Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays). Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID No. for this rulemaking. Comments received may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the “How should I submit comments?” heading of the GENERAL INFORMATION section of this document.

Updated 9/14/19

SUCCESS!!! 

Dominion Power Agrees to Close All Coal Combustion Residuals Impoundments in Virginia

The new law requires Dominion to do the following:

• Excavate all of the coal ash at four facilities, and either recycle the ash into products like cement and concrete, or place it in modern, lined landfills. At least a quarter of the coal ash must be recycled, and the construction of any new landfills will be subject to local zoning and permitting requirements;
• Develop a transportation plan with the affected localities where any coal ash needs to be moved offsite; and
• Prioritize the hiring of local workers throughout the closure process.

Concern stems from the past history in the US of erosion and breaching of impoundments and contamination of surface-water resources, and storage of CCR at a site like Possum Point, on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, is just asking for serious trouble in the future as sea and groundwater levels rise and the potential for erosion and breaching exists. In addition, such impoundments, closed or not, represent past, current, and future potential sources of contamination of underlying groundwater and migration of the contamination in groundwater to nearby surface-water bodies. Finally, there is a demand for recycled coal ash in the concrete industry that does not seem to be adequately considered by the closure plan; recycling would remove the ash from the site permanently and produce a financial benefit at the same time.

Here is an informative article from the Southern Environmental Law Center on the issue: HB182 on coal combustion residuals in surface impoundments.

In the future, find your Delegate in the Virginia legislature at: Find your Virginia Delegate here.

Updated 4/2/2019

SUCCESS!!! 

Governor Northam Vetoed HB2269 and HB2611

The Republican-controlled Virginia legislature passed two bills that would have been detrimental to the environment. They were:

HB2269: Would have prohibited Virginia from participating in the regional transportation sector emissions program.
HB2611: Would have prohibited Virginia from participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The Governor vetoed both measures on March 14, 2019.

In the future, remember that you can communicate with the Governor using the Email Form on his website using this link:  Call for Governor Northam’s Veto  

If you wish to write a letter or postcard:

Governor Ralph Northam
P.O. Box 1475
Richmond, VA 23218

There is a phone number listed on the Governor’s website if you prefer to go this route: 804-786-2211

Updated 4/2/2019

SUCCESS! 

Virginia SB950, Designed to Protect Virginia Waters from Pipeline Operations

Governor Northam signed this bill into law effective July 1, 2018!

Requires the Department of Environmental Quality (the Department) to determine whether any activity associated with a federally regulated natural gas pipeline project will occur in an upland area or other sensitive area, will be likely to result in a discharge to state waters and will not be covered by a federal Clean Water Act certification. The bill requires the Department, for each identified activity, to conduct a separate supplemental review of the project. In certain cases, the bill requires the Department to recommend that the State Water Control Board (the Board) impose additional conditions on the project. The bill also directs the Board to require both a Virginia Water Protection Permit and an Individual Water Quality Certification under the federal Clean Water Act for any interstate natural gas pipeline and, for such pipelines, to review water body crossings as well as plans for erosion and sediment control and stormwater management. Finally, the bill directs the Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the act.

Get further information and a link to the bill itself from Richmond Sunlight here: Comment on Virginia SB950

Failed in Subcommittee 

HB 1686, the Renewables First Act in the Virginia Legislature, is gone for this term

HB 1686 failed in Subcommittee. However, with any luck and a lot of hard work by voters, the Virginia legislature will flip to predominantly Democratic in November so this and many other good but killed bills will be resurrected for the 2020 legislative session. We’re leaving details of this bill in place for future reference.

The majority of Virginia’s electricity is based on burning fossil fuels, mainly natural gas and coal. Dominion’s 2018 Integraded Resource Plan calls for meeting the expected demand growth (15% by 2033) by building a minimum of eight new natural-gas plants. This plan moves Virginia in the wrong direction by continuing to increase CO2 emissions.

The Renewables First Act (RFA) was developed to stop these actions and thrie resulting increase in CO2 emission, and is now an official bill, HB 1686 ! The RFA is only one in many steps in a long journey toward a zero-carbon energy future, but the bill packs a punch by making sure that the next 5,500 MW of electric generation capacity needed to meet demand growth in Virginia comes from renewables.

The RFA will come up for consideration during the current General Assembly legislative session. With your help to build support, we can get the RFA passed.

Lots more information at: Zero Carbon Virginia  

Zero Carbon Virginia recommends the following actions:

• Add your name or your organization’s name to the list of those supporting the bill – you can do that here.
• Call, email, or write your state Delegate or Senator and tell them that you support the Renewables First Act (HB 1686). If you are going to write or email, here is a template you can use to get started. You can find out who your elected representatives are at this website.
• Meet with your legislator to ask them to support the Renewables First Act. You can download this one page handout to guide your discussion and leave behind when you meet with your legislator.
• Spread the word about the Renewables First Act through your social media with #VARenewablesFirst as your hashtag (e.g. share our post, Support the Renewables First Act) and by talking to others about the bill whenever you get a chance.
• Join their e-mail list, or follow them on Twitter to be notified of  opportunities to take action as the FA makes its way through the Virginia General Assembly.

Updated 2/25/2019

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Comment on the 2018 Virginia Energy Plan

Although comments about the 2018 Virginia Energy plan are no longer being received, you can access the plan and the comments provided through the link below.

The 2018 Virginia Energy Plan is intended to provide a strategic vision for the energy policy of the Commonwealth over the next 10 years. There is a written comment period ending on August 24 that allows citizens have a voice in the plan’s development. Written comments may be submitted online via the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall web site. Do you want to see Virginia focus on renewable energy? Do you believe Virginia has enough gas without building more pipelines? Should legislators be able to take money from an energy company monopoly (Dominion Energy)? Are you worried enough about climate change to take action? Let the state know by August 24. Click here for more details and to make comments: 2018 Virginia Energy Plan

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Protest EPA’s Proposed Rule “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science”

This slickly entitled proposed rule seeks to eliminate the use in making public policy of any research for which the data it was based on was not released to the public. This would eliminate the value of many health-related studies that used personal-health histories to general their conclusions. More information at: Pruitt unveils controversial “transparency” rule limiting what research EPA can use

Please send comments to EPA concerning this issue by August 16, 2018 either Online (Preferred Method) or Mail/Hand delivered. The date of May 30, 2018 noted in the original Federal Register entry later was extended.

This event has passed. Let’s hope it helped. Thanks, Gary. 

Public Hearing on Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science, Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

Note that as of this date the link below yields the notice,”Sorry, but this webpage is not available for viewing right now.” Suspicious!

Gary Timm will be speaking at this open hearing at EPA with the Union of Concerned Scientists. We can register to also attend in support. There may be a little protesting afterwards outside the building. Please sign up if you can go – registrations were due on July 15 but it’s still worth a try. Alternatively, the following link provides a means for providing comments to the proper docket number. More info at: Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science

Updated 4/7/19

This event has passed. Stay tuned for other events along this line. 

Online Training on How to Get Candidates on the Record for Science, Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Union of Concerned Scientists Webinar:
How to Get Candidates on the Record for Science
Wednesday, July 18, 2018 7:00:00 PM EDT – 8:00:00 PM EDT

Join us for a training designed to help you get candidates publicly on the record for science. We’ll share strategies on how to engage candidates on science in public spaces, use social media to get candidates on the record for science for the public good, and be a voice for science during the 2018 midterm elections and beyond! More info at: How to Get Candidates on the Record for Science

This event has passed. More such events are likely to occur.

Youth Climate March, Saturday, July 21, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

In Washington D.C. at 10:30 AM on July 21, 2018, youth will march on the National Mall for the demands delivered to our leaders during The Youth Climate Lobby Day. They will rally and highlight the voices and stories of youth on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Then, they will flood the streets as a demonstration of youth power and show how #ThisIsZeroHour to act on climate change. More info at: Youth Climate March

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Comment on “Update to the Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act”

A frequent and consistent complaint from the construction industry is about the lengthy environmental review and extensive permitting required for most projects, particularly those of large scale like major highway construction. Reducing this process is a natural target of the Trump administration, given their passion for reducing regulations. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is considering updating (read “intends to update”) the regulations and is seeking public input on the plan. Because the CEQ is headed currently by climate-change denier Mary Neumayr, one can predict how this will play out.

The link below takes you to the Federal Register site for the proposal, which discusses the issues and lists a series of questions for public comment to address. As you might expect, the goal of the action can be assumed to be a significant reduction in regulations, some of which should be maintained. A rather-biased industry take on the issue can be found at: CEQ Proposal to Update NEPA Regulations

Please send comments to the CEQ concerning this issue by July 20, 2018 either Online (Preferred Method) or Mail/Hand delivered.

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

GOP Administration Attacks the Endangered Species Act

Trump and his cronies now have proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act that will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the law. More information at: GOP Administration proposes drastic changes to the Endangered Species Act. 

Some official information on the issue from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is at: ESA Implementation | Regulation Revisions

Please send comments concerning this issue by September 24, 2018 either Online (Preferred Method) or Mail/Hand delivered. There actually are three components to this action, as listed at the location above entitled ESA Implementation/Regulation Revisions.

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Action to Take to Resist Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Oil and Gas Drilling

Many of you are veterans of past fights to keep drilling out of the ANWR. Well, the threat is back. The Trump administration has proposed opening ANWR to drilling and has posted Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Alaska on April 20, 2018. The ANWR is an important wildlife refuge in northern Alaska and it is expected that drilling in the Refuge will cause irreparable harm to the wildlife of the region, besides contributing to more climate change by providing additional fossil fuels for consumption.

Please send comments to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management concerning their plans to prepare an EIS for ANWR drilling. Comments on the Notice of Intent should be submitted by June 19 either Online (Preferred Method) or Mail/Hand delivered.

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

SUPPORT CLEAN AIR IN VIRGINIA!!!

Comment in favor of reducing and capping carbon emissions!

With the loss of climate concerns at the top echelon of our Federal government, more and more states are taking over responsibility — and guess what – Virginia is one of them! The State is proposing a regulation for capping carbon emissions. They held numerous town halls on the proposed regulation, entitled “Reduce and Cap Carbon Dioxide from Fossil Fuel Fired Electric Power Generating Facilities (Rev. C17)”

The comments posted are mostly in support, and the majority of those are telling DEQ that they aren’t going far enough in this regulation. For example, some call for “applying the regulation to all sources of carbon pollution, including transportation. Pollution from biomass must also be included in carbon caps.”

To see comments provided for this action, check out:

COMMENT LINK:  http://www.townhall.virginia.gov/L/comments.cfm?stageid=8130

GOOD EXAMPLE COMMENT: http://www.townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewComments.cfm?CommentID=63612

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Actions to Take to Resist Offshore Drilling in Virginia Coastal Waters

The Trump administration has proposed opening most of the waters of the U.S. continental shelf to offshore drilling, reversing another environmental protection provided by the Obama administration. This includes the waters off the Virginia coast. Even former Governor Jeb Bush at one time opposed drilling in the waters off Florida, and several states – including California and Florida – continue to ban offshore drilling. Claims that offshore drilling is “safe and environmentally sound” (Washington Post, January 5, 2018) should be considered in light of the proposal last month to suspend studying the safety of offshore oil and gas drilling in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Please send comments to the Department of the Interior concerning their proposed plans to mass drill along the American Coast and off-shore areas. The first of three proposals for the period 2019–2024, the Draft Proposed Program 2019–2024, was released on January 4, 2018. Comments on the DPP should be submitted by March 9 either Online (Preferred Method) or Mail/Hand delivered.

In response to an informal question at an inauguration event in Sterling, VA on January 5 about whether or not Virginia could maintain the drilling ban on its own, Attorney General Mark Herring said he was not sure how Virginia could proceed but that he would check into it. Former-Governor McAuliffe in August 2017 officially declared his opposition to offshore drilling. Please contact the Governor’s chief of staff Clark Mercer today by calling (804) 786-2211.

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Comment on Federal Register – Stop EPA from Withdrawing the Clean Power Plan

Repeal of the Clean Power Plan is addressed in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355. You can find the text of the document at:

Repeal of the Clean Power Plan 

It’s also important to call and speak to your members of Congress on this issue.

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Require Virginia’s DEQ to include biomass power plants in the Virginia Climate Plan

On Monday – January 8th, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will begin accepting public comment on a draft carbon cap-and-trade plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the commonwealth’s power plants.

However, a gap in the proposal limits its effectiveness: The program won’t cover carbon emissions from wood-burning — “biomass” — power plants, allowing Virginia’s several wood-burners to continue polluting without mitigation and rewarding coal-fired power plants that switch to burning wood from forests.

Please send comments to DEQ requesting inclusion of BIOMASS power Plants in the plan

Information on the Plan:  http://www.townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewStage.cfm?stageid=8130

Contact/Comments:

Name:                    Karen G. Sabasteanski

Address:                1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400, P.O. Box 1105

Email Address:     karen.sabasteanski@deq.virginia.gov

Telephone:           (804)698-4426    FAX: (804)698-4510

Washington Post Story:   DEQ CLIMATE PLAN

The comment period has ended – we’ll see what happens

Comment on Federal Register – Stop EPA from Repealing Emission Standards

On November 9, 2017, EPA Administrator Pruitt signed a proposal to repeal the emission standards and other requirements for heavy-duty glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits. The public comment period for the proposal will be open through January 5, 2018. From EPA’s website (Their Spin).

Make your comments here: https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0827-2368