On Thursday, February 15th, over 250 concerned people of Maryland, West Virginia, & D.C. came together in Annapolis, MD to rally and hold a candlelight vigil outside of Governor Larry Hogan’s mansion. We organized this action as part of the No Potomac Pipeline Coalition which includes 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. For a full video of the event check our livestream video here.

The action began with a series of speakers from Maryland to West Virginia, including activists, legislators, homeowners, and more. Speakers highlighted Hogan’s hypocrisy on fracking if he failed to reject this pipeline. Despite banning fracking in order to protect Maryland’s health and environment, his administration is still considering the construction of a fracked gas pipeline underneath the Potomac River, a source of drinking water for 6 million. “If built, the Potomac Pipeline would continue to enable the destructive legacy of extractive industries in Appalachia,” said Deirdre Lally, Western Maryland Organizer with the Maryland Sierra Club. “If we are to thrive and lead healthy lives in the mountains many of us call home, we must envision a future beyond extraction and stop this industry.”

After the rally, attendees marched to Governor Hogan’s mansion, circling the building holding signs and chanting “No Potomac Pipeline!”

For months, the Coalition has been asking Hogan’s Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) 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 has only just yesterday asked the Army Corps of Engineers not to give the project a permit until a state review is completed. MDE Secretary Ben Grumbles told the Corps in a letter that the state “has identified potential water quality and public interest factors” that could warrant special conditions being placed on the TransCanada Corp. project.

In January, our 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.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to send a message to Governor Hogan telling him to oppose the pipeline!

Big thank you to the Beyond Gas Team Steering Committee, Jill Clark Gollub, Ruth Alice White, Katie Mettle, Kathleen Moors, Pat Simpson, Marty Reisinger, Annie Bristow, for working to organize SC recruitment and turnout at this rally!

Deirdre Lally

Western MD Conservation Organizer

&

Zack Gerdes

MD Conservation Organizer

MEDIA

Associated Press https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-official-weighs-special-conditions-on-pipeline/2018/02/15/f3838434-1292-11e8-a68c-e9374188170e_story.html?utm_term=.7e8478e9bc40

(pasted below in full)

Baltimore Sun http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/environment/bs-md-potomac-pipeline-delay-20180215-story.html

WDVM http://www.localdvm.com/news/maryland/people-protest-outside-of-gov-hogan-mansion-on-proposed-pipeline-for-fracked-gas/976333116

Marcellus Drilling News (lol) https://marcellusdrilling.com/2018/02/antis-pressure-maryland-gov-hogan-to-reject-pipeline-under-potomac/

AP pickups:

Herald-Mail https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/maryland-official-weighs-special-conditions-on-proposed-natural-gas-pipeline/article_8ea6d08c-12c1-11e8-9c17-13c1fb9f40c9.html

Daily Record http://thedailyrecord.com/2018/02/15/md-environment-secretary-weighs-special-conditions-on-pipeline/

Miami Herald http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article200340159.html

Seattle Times https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/maryland-official-weighs-special-conditions-on-pipeline/

Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-bc-md--gas-pipeline-potomac-river-20180215-story.html

Fox Business http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2018/02/15/maryland-official-weighs-special-conditions-on-pipeline.html

Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article200340159.html

Yahoo News https://ph.news.yahoo.com/maryland-official-weighs-special-conditions-233713801.html

Fort Bend Herald http://www.fbherald.com/news/maryland-official-weighs-special-conditions-on-pipeline/article_a8d9b6d4-827d-5b25-97f7-19a7e054f5c0.html