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Tandy: Herring disappoints on the environment; join us on May 18

Originally on Loudoun Times-Mirror

Attorney General Mark Herring (D) last week attended the second of three “Healing Virginia” discussions being held by the Loudoun NAACP and community partners. While the actions Herring has already taken and proposed to take are commendable, his response to the questions posed to him on environmental justice in Virginia were dismaying.

One of the panelists for the event, Karen Campblin, is the NAACP Virginia State Conference Environmental and Climate Justice chair. She spoke about the very real, near-term and disastrous impacts climate change will have on communities of color (CoCs). She addressed how CoCs are negatively impacted by three pipeline projects, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and the Southside Connector, all currently under construction in Virginia. While Herring appropriately talked at length about steps that the community could take in order to remove road signs with segregationists’ names on them – like Harry Flood Byrd Highway – and other similar issues, the impact of climate change and fossil fuel infrastructure on African American communities did not receive a single word from him.

During the question and answer portion of the event, I asked Herring directly what his office is doing to protect vulnerable communities, considering the greatest predictor of the location of fossil fuel infrastructure is whether or not it’s a CoC. His disappointing response was deflection to the legislature.

Attorneys general are tasked with providing consumer protection from dangerous products, which fossil fuels are, and from bad corporate actors, which fossil fuel construction and distribution companies are. In the 1990s, it was state attorneys general that went after the tobacco industry for the public health crisis they were causing and won. Climate change will certainly kill more of us than tobacco will.

Attorneys general are further tasked with the protection of the state’s resources by upholding state and federal environmental laws. Herring’s office has argued to continue the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia and won at both the 4th Circuit and the Supreme Court. The MVP, ACP and Southside Connector are already harming potable water, poison-free land and breathable air across huge swaths of Virginia. The MVP alone has had over 300 construction violations, prompting AG Herring’s office to file lawsuits against the pipeline construction company, while inconceivably allowing construction to continue.

Enough is enough. Virginia’s attorney general must issue a halt work on the MVP, pursue his lawsuit against MVP to its fullest, refuse to settle the case, reverse his staff’s poor legal advice at the last Water Control Board hearing and affirm the state’s authority to revoke the Clean Water Act 401 certification it granted.

To convince him of this, hundreds of people will gather on the Leesburg Courthouse lawn on May 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to listen to speakers, hear music from the affected communities and find out how they can put pressure on Herring to use his power and authority to stop these tragedies from further harming our great commonwealth.

Amanda Tandy

Leesburg

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Virginia Could Really Use a Hero These Days. Attorney General Mark Herring Could Be That Hero.

by Emily Satterwhite, Amanda Tandy and Chris Tandy

Originally on bluevirginia.us

What are Virginians directly affected by the destruction caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline to do when their calls for accountable governance fall on deaf ears? What recourse do people have when a project that has received hundreds of environmental violations from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is still allowed to continue construction? What do you do when you have a scandalously corrupt Governor, but an Attorney General who might still have a future in Virginia politics?

Answer: You make as much noise as close to the place people with power are. To that end, the mountains are coming to NoVA! On May 18, rally with us at the Loudoun County courthouse for Herring: Stand with Appalachia, Not Pipelines. This is the second day of a two-day event that starts with a march in Richmond to bring this fight to Virginia’s elected leadership once again.

Virginia could use a hero these days. It needs someone who does the right thing even if it’s the hard thing, someone who puts others before himself or herself, someone who sees the big picture instead of the short term gains.

Attorney General (AG) Mark Herring could be that hero. Currently, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is tearing a path of destruction through the heart of Virginia, across the Appalachian Trail, through the Jefferson National forest, ravaging small farms, family homes, small businesses and causing environmental destruction rarely seen outside of a natural disaster. AG Herring’s office has sued the pipeline construction company, owned in part by EQM Midstream, for the more than 300 construction violations, (That’s right, more violations in Virginia alone than the entire length of the pipeline in miles. At this point, it’s like measuring violations per linear foot of construction or like the pipeline construction company is really in the violations creation business with the side effect of a pipeline being built simultaneously.) The AG, however, has not required work to stop while the violations and lawsuit are remedied.

Being the good and decent human being that we believe the AG to be, we assume that he is susceptible to public pressure. Distance has made it easy to ignore the plight of the folks along the route of the MVP, so we are bringing them to Leesburg on Saturday, May 18th from 1-3 at the Loudoun County Courthouse.

Why Leesburg? Why now? We’re holding this rally in Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s hometown to encourage him to confront the incompetence, corruption, and climate consequences associated with fracked gas pipelines.

We have invited Attorney General Mark Herring to join us and will be making enough noise that he can hear us down the street. We request that he:

1) Advise the Department of Environmental Quality – his client – to issue a stop work order for the Mountain Valley Pipeline

2) Ask the court hearing his lawsuit against MVP to issue an injunction halting all work on the MVP

3) Advise the State Water Control Board that it has the power under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and under state law to commence proceedings to revoke the certification previously issued to MVP.

As Jon Sokolow pointed out on Blue Virginia previously, the Deputy Attorney General erroneously relied upon a section of the Clean Water Act that applies to instances when a company applies for a permit to operate a project that the state previously permitted for construction. The State Water Control Board can and should exercise its power under VA Code paragraph 62.1-44.15 to revoke MVP’s Section 401 water permit. Put succinctly, the law is on the side of protecting the people and natural resources, no matter how many times our elected leaders pretend it’s someone else’s responsibility.

This event is one that Virginia environmental champions won’t want to miss. Emceed by Delegate Sam Rasoul, it features a slate of invited speakers including Karenna Gore of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary; Reverend Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus; Delegate Chris Hurst; Delegate Elizabeth Guzman; Professor Emily Hammond, George Washington University Law School; affected landowners, and more. Music will be provided by old time fiddler and banjoist Rachel Eddy and the SUN SiNG Collective’s Josh Vana, BJ Brown, and Graham Smith-White. There will be activities for kids, such as face painting, bubble-making, and a make-your-own water or prayer flag station, as well as a giant water spirit puppet courtesy of All Saints Theater Company Light refreshments will be provided with a suggested donation amount.

As they say, Virginia is for lovers. People fighting the Atlantic Coast, Mountain Valley, Southside Connector, and MVP Southgate Extension pipelines know that there’s no love in the destruction of the countless waterways and scenic view-sheds that make Virginia the beautiful place that is. We are also not waiting around for our elected officials to eventually realize the urgency of the climate crisis. We require solutions, not excuses.

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LTE in Loudoun Times

The Governor has removed two members of the Air Pollution Control Board after those members voiced unfavorable views of the Buckingham Compressor station planned for the town of Union Hill. VA League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club have been quite vocal about it, Jennifer Boysko has tweeted about it, and so has Al Gore referencing an article in the Washington Post.

You, dear reader might have heard that those members had expired terms, which is true, but there are currently 235 other appointees with expired terms who didn’t seem set to exercise their authority to stop a massive pollution source. This is a clear abuse of power on the part of the Governor. Northam might think we’re all stupid, but we aren’t.

Most of our legislators up here are Democrats lately, and I’m a Democrat as well. So far it seems that only Jennifer Boysko and Mark Keam have said anything publicly about the Governors subterfuge. I would love to know what Delegates John Bell, David Reid, and Wendy Gooditis think about this whole matter of the Governor so clearly putting his thumb on the scale to ram through Dominions compressor station. Mark Keam put it quite elegantly: “To me, the decision by Governor Northam to fire appointees of the State Air Pollution Control Board who disagree with him right before they were about to vote on a major environmental racial justice issue is absolutely wrong, and there simply is no way to explain it away.”

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Comments on MVP, ACP at State Water Control Board

Comments are open until the end of May 2018, more information is here:
http://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewNotice.cfm?gnid=828

350 Loudoun has a collection of helpful links here:
https://350loudoun.org/comments-for-the-state-water-control-board/

Greetings SWCB.

I’m very concerned about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and Mountain Valley Pipeline. I do not feel that the Army Corps of Engineers NWP 12 permit is sufficient for either the MVP or ACP. DEQ must do a comprehensive, stream-by-stream water crossing analysis if the waterways and watersheds are to be protected.

We’ve already seen quite a bit of erosion in Franklin county from the construction of the MVP, and I expect that as construction continues there will be much more of this, and worse. Both the MVP and ACP cross areas with very steep slopes, and I don’t believe that erosion and runoff are being adequately evaluated, or controlled. This virtually ensures that we’ll have mudslides, and pollution entering the waterways that DEQ is charged with protecting, and that as a resident of Virginia practically my entire life, I enjoy using for various purposes like fishing and recreation.

I’m specifically concerned about water quality in the larger rivers of Virginia such as the James and Roanoke rivers, and worry that the watersheds for these two rivers would be irreparably affected by construction of these pipelines. These rivers are a source of water for many thousands of people, as well as quite a bit of biodiversity I would assume. It’s simply irresponsible to allow this kind of construction to happen to the watersheds of these rivers on such a massive scale.

In Bath County, It’s quite clear to me that various smaller waterways where karst topography is a factor would be affected leading to contaminated well water, and destruction of active fisheries.

It is unacceptable that tree felling and construction has already started on these projects. Please ensure that a thorough stream-by-stream water crossing evaluation is completed before any further work is done, as that is the only way I’m aware of to protect water quality in Virginia.

Thank you,
-Chris Tandy

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Letter: Chris Tandy, Leesburg

View on Loudoun Now: http://loudounnow.com/2018/05/01/letter-chris-tandy-leesburg-2/

Editor:  On April 27, the Loudoun County Democratic Committee issued a statement on the tree sit protestors opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline. I’m extremely proud of LCDC for publishing this.

Why should Loudouners care? First, the pipelines will affect Loudoun and indeed the entire commonwealth. They will increase our energy bills and contribute to climate change. They will impact the Potomac, James and Roanoke watersheds. Just as important is the undeniable fact that our fellow Virginians are being harmed directly by their construction.

The Democrats I know in Loudoun believe in community and our responsibilities to each other. We should not, and cannot, avert our gaze while the Virginians who do not live in population-dense, high-income Northern Virginia are run over by greedy fossil fuel companies, like Dominion and EQT. Democrats have the best candidates and the best ideas for how to fix the problems we all face, but they must also be courageous and speak up.

I have never seen LCDC stronger than it is now, sticking steadfastly to its values. After running the table in the election last year, we’re bringing enormous energy into this year’s election with issues that people care about, such as pipelines and rural conservation. Our committee is tough. Our members have their canvassing shoes ready. We are experienced, we are dedicated and we will continue to get Democrats elected all over Loudoun.

I am calling on the following Loudoun senators and delegates to add their voices to the statements made by the 14 legislators who spoke on April 18 against the MVP and ACP and the 20 who signed a letter to the Department of Environmental Quality on the same topic: Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31), Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33), Del. David Reid (D-32), Del. Karrie Delaney (D-67), Del. Jennifer Boysko (D-86) and Del. John Bell (D-87) .

Loudoun Republicans Sen. Jill Vogel (R-27), Sen. Dick Black (R-13) and Del. David LaRock (R-33), I would also ask you to join in defending personal property rights in the face of overreaching government working at the behest of large corporations, protection of the public lands beloved by outdoors-people and the small business owners and farmers who will lose their livelihoods while a negligible amount of jobs are created. These projects are heinous for so many reasons for so many groups of Virginians. We must stand together and protect our neighbors to the southwest.

The LCDC stands with Red and demands a thorough stream-by-stream water quality review by the DEQ. As the press release states: “Democrats in Loudoun are conscientious stewards of the environment, advocates of rural conservation and defenders of social justice”. Virginia deserves better than the ACP and MVP.

Chris Tandy, Leesburg

Issues Chair, Loudoun County Democratic Committee

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Tim Kaine, Ralph Northam, and FERC, What’s going on?

After the Federal Energy Regulatory Authority (FERC) approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Senator Tim Kaine had some interesting comments on the matter. He called the approval “very suspicious circumstances”, and added “If you do not like this decision there are other agencies that still have to weigh in,” he said. “If you are active about this, please do not stop your activism. Please let these other agencies know what you think about it.”

http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/roanoke_county/politicians-react-to-ferc-pipeline-certifications/article_f9cbecc5-26a6-54b7-98d2-4f773e2ba8de.html

And recently, Senator Kaine has suggested that the permits on those two pipeline projects be reviewed again, now that FERC has a full complement of commissioners.

http://www.richmond.com/news/kaine-supports-reconsideration-for-controversial-virginia-pipelines/article_739962da-673d-5f2e-8a02-d19928457f07.html

Governor-elect Ralph Northam apparently supports Senator Kaines idea of revisiting the FERC approval.

Northam says he supports a proposal from Senator Tim Kaine for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its vote on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

http://www.nbc29.com/story/37210640/governor-elect-ralph-northam-attends-sunday-service-in-charlottesville

I love that Senator Kaine is talking about this. Frankly, having an elected official of Senator Kaine’s visibility talking about his concerns with the approval process is something I see as helpful for the movement against the pipelines, and I’m glad he’s paying attention. His questions about tolling orders are apt, as there is a lot of funny business going on w/ the FERC approvals.

That said, Senator Kaine’s letter is not an official request for rehearing, as the second link says. Another factor here is that even if the projects got their rehearing, 4/5 of the FERC commissioners are Trump appointees, and 3/5 are Republicans. Neither factor inspires confidence that a rehearing would result in a different outcome on the MVP or ACP. The ACP is high priority for the current president, and FERC has a long history of shady behavior anyway. It evaluates pipeline projects in sections, seemingly to avoid evaluating the full impact of an entire project as a whole, and ignores the climate impact of transmission projects.

Due to the outcome of some court cases, there might be cause for hope that those factors change in the future, but I’m not terribly optimistic. So I wonder, why are Senator Kaine and Governor-elect Northam talking about FERC instead of Virginia’s own DEQ? Either elected official could simply ask the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to either vacate their permits, or to revisit them and include a stream-by-stream water crossing evaluation. If that ask wasn’t legally binding, as I suspect it wouldn’t be, similarly, asking FERC to do a new assessment isn’t legally binding either.

I’m looking at this with a degree of hopeful skepticism. It’s helpful to have more conversation on the issue, but the FERC route has a lot of potential to mislead people. Governor-elect Northam, and Governor Terry McAuliffe have been fond of suggesting in the past that Virginia has no role to play in the approval process, which is simply false. Virginia can and should deny certification under section 401 of the clean water act. Pointing to FERC seems like it could be a political move to deflect attention away from the states responsibility to protect water quality.