Breaking #Fracking Breaking #Pipelines

Just saw the images near Boston
Of “natural “ gas Pipelines ruptures
And house fires.
The Trans-Addison County Pipeline
Has safety issues not being addressed
And all I can do is tell You.
Thanks for Listening 😎

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 14

Contacts: Julie Macuga, Extreme Energy Organizer at 350Vermont, resist@350vt.org, 802-238-5777

Maeve McBride, Director of 350Vermont, maeve@350vt.org, 802-999-2820

Is Vermont Gas Next in Rash of Explosions? 

Burlington, VT. “Armageddon” is how local officials in Lawrence, MA described a series of natural gas line explosions that led to roughly 60 fires and 17 natural gas leaks. According to residents, there were so many fires “you could not see the sky.” Dozens have been injured, and a teenager is dead. On September 10, a week-old  pipeline in Pennsylvania exploded destroying property, and in response, local lawmakers are calling for a halt in its ongoing construction.1

“The situation in Massachusetts is horrific,” said Maeve McBride, Director of 350Vermont, “and it’s extremely troubling in light of the fact that there are significant unresolved safety issues with the Addison County natural gas pipeline. The public is at risk because the Public Utility Commission has not completed their investigation. It’s past time to stop building fossil fuel infrastructure”

Vermont Gas is under investigation for allegedly failing to meet safety and construction requirements during the construction of the 41-mile Addison County Natural Gas Pipeline. The investigation includes inquiries into at least 8 different categories of safety violations from the depth of the pipe burial to possible missing infrastructure components.

It has been over 425 days since the Public Utility Commission called for an independent investigation into these possible safety violations, in response to citizen-led investigative work last summer. In April, the scope of the investigation was expanded to include additional safety concerns, but no further progress has been made to date. A status conference with the Public Utility Commission, Vermont Gas, and local landowners involved in the investigation is scheduled for Friday September 21. 

Julie Macuga, Extreme Energy Organize for 350VT added, “It’s taken years for the public’s concerns to be considered, even with a mountain of evidence behind them. Now we’re stuck wondering what will happen when tragedy like this strikes Vermont-- who will be held accountable?”

###

1-https://www.dailylocal.com/news/local/lawmakers-call-for-halt-to-pipeline-construction-in-light-of/article_72f113be-b548-11e8-8867-330c7bbc941d.html

ABOUT 350VERMONT:

350Vermont is a statewide organization in Vermont working to build a grassroots movement to reverse climate change. 350Vermont’s mission is to organize, educate, and support people in Vermont to work together for climate justice – resisting fossil fuels, building momentum for alternatives, and transforming our communities toward justice and resilience. Although we are an affiliated group of 350.org with a similar mission, 350VT is an independent organization, with local campaigns to bring about solutions to climate change, advocate for a carbon pollution tax, and stop any expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.

For more information, visit: 350vermont.org

Thoughts on Gaz, #Fracking and the Future

I'm awake and I found this gem I wrote ..Like the Psalm Challenge from a few years ago, hosted by Robert Geiss, when you read the Psalm...the Song, it has different meaning depending on the context in which you read it. Today, years later, I woke up early and thought about Vermont's divergent roads. One ☝🏾 is fracker free, no pipeline extension, no extension cord from Canada to NYC,no Gaz to Vernon shut down nuclear plant. One road is leaving Vermont littered with soon to be obsolete gigundo solar mirrored fields, huge windmills placed on blasted mountaintops, vibrating the neurological system of man woman child and beasts,an extension cord the length of Lake Champlain after dredging a pathway. Disturbing fish 🐟 habitat,and revolutionary war relics and bones from soldiers in sunken war ships.Not least is the Trans Vermont pipeline. Now made shallower by the PSB now called PUC.

Sunday Psalm for #Fracking fighters

Sing me a song,
Of a Pipeline gone wrong,
and I'll tell you it's 
all about Gaz.

Pipefitters on Meth,
Drawing their last breath,
Welding their pipes,
A faint smell of Death.


Journalists Swoon,
Singing the Gaz Tune,
Keeping their Advertising,
Their Position Uncomprimising.

Politicians are told,
PSB knows the score,
3 feet underground?
Yes, said the....PSB.
no, this doesn't rhyme at all w/ me either...

Fracking voted down,
In each Hamlet & Town,
Gaz, he don't care,
He wants to be Everywhere.
(or is gaz a she, or an it...)

A 16 year old could see,
The Folly, 
like you & Me,
of a pipeline of Hell,
Destruction,
Rome Fell,
He saw the Future like We,
#fracking fighters
We Be. 


notes meg:
We love the Earth,
Our back yard,
our water,
our soil.
We love the Lake,
it gives us
Beauty, environment, fish, recreation.
We watch as the dinosaur bone wars continue.
Battles over fossil fuels-limited, finite, toxic.
Fuel prices going up again. Wars...
Is this to prop up the (un) natural gaz market?
Cram all these pipelines....through our rural neighborhood.
Not through the beautiful peoples' backyards,
they already winked and nodded and signed off in invisible ink. Oh yes, and New York State successfully averted a pipeline from Canada to International paper which sits on Lake Champlain across from Shoreham, Vermont. So why is NY silent about their "half" of the Lake Champlain which is earmarked for a high pressure gaz pipeline originating in Alberta, Canada? Maybe because their half of that part of the lake is a toxic sludge pile from vintage paper making. If I crossed all this out, it is because no one dares predict the combination of fermented chemicals and a burst pipeline...come on...it will happen. Freeze,-thaw,-pipefitters on meth, in a hurry, defective products, wear and tear. The fricking lake freezes over with Feet of ice. God help us all.meg

Gaz Trans Vermont Pipeline Update #fracking

fracking

Trying to insert letters here....bear with me 😎

Update... I couldn't post letters here. I give up 😕Meg

Public Voice silenced....Rachel comments ignored by Vermont psb 

If Rachel was in Charge,
The world 🌎 would be a better place...

Rachel's comments:

Attached is a VGS filing just received, requesting "non substantial change" determination for failure to bury the pipe deep as required by CPG and by agreement with VELCO (last May!). Also attached is a letter from VELCO saying it is all OK with them (Gaz Metro owns both).  

Some of you will recall that Cisco had taken photos of a section of pipe in New Haven wetland area that was buried very shallow (and in standing water). Those photos were delivered to the federal regulatory agency (PHMSA) along with our complaints last October, and again in April. The issue was raised and photo was also presented to GC Morris, the DPS inspector, at the forum held with DPS/ June Tierney. Cisco thereafter visited the site with GC Morris. That is the area referred to here in VGS request.  

The depth requirement was part of the CPG - and part of VGS agreement with VELCO - to bury the pipe 4 feet when inside the VELCO right of way. They are also to have buried the pipe 5 feet in agricultural lands - so farm tools do not contact the pipe - And some landowners also had various stipulations re depth associated w easements.  

No doubt, everywhere else along the route - where nobody happened to be watching and taking pics - is buried just right…?

Breaking #fracking

Updates to supersede all others...

From Vermont Public Radio Taylor Dobbs

I just deleted a bunch of info from group we get in emails 

This one is the Biggest of all!

I'll blog this one.

How ballsy that VGS  is offering liquid gas by highway for businesses off the pipeline route (huh?)

Now the power company putting extension cord in Lake (dredging!)

GMP raising rates

All consequences of Canadian power mogul

Allowed to create greedy power monopoly 

Retaining separate power vendors with original Vermont names

As the prior Governor skates away

Having achieved objectives 

Vermont Yankee Nuclear plant closed ✔️

Solar panels, Windmills subsidies,Higher power charges for 🌏 Long term effects ignored✔️

Allowed Gaz Metro to acquire multiple Vermont companies like Green Mountain Power, retain name✔️

Cram pipeline through expendable Addison County,Taking land from farmers✔️

Maintain Public Service Board That is neither Public Nor A Service✔️

Board code word for Omnipresent Omniscient Omnibus's✔️

"Easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission

Shine your Light ....Gaz Report Courtesy of Rachel 🆒

Rachel reported on the Supreme Court Hearing
About
The Trans Vermont Gas Pipeline...

Light a candle for Geprag Park...

The hearings for Geprags Park easement appeal were held yesterday morning. Rob Woolmington represented the Hinesburg intervenors.  
There were probably ten or so police cruisers awaiting the masses of protestors FYI :) why are they are so nervous?

I have spoken with/debriefed with our lawyers, and various folks over the past day - and with almost no exception, people have been in agreement with my assessment which I therefore share with you here, in case you were unable to attend and are curious, or if you still imagine the fight over phase one is “done”. 

The mood in the room yesterday was nothing like the PSB hearings. Our argument was in a nutshell basically that the PSB doesnt have authority without legislative approval to grant easement on public land due to prior public use doctrine, which is “well established” law. This is a very strong argument and is relevant to bigger, more long term issues and concerns about land use decisions, legal precedent and process. Strategically it is a brilliant approach. VGS argued that the easement was “necessary” in order to meet the "public good” of the project, and that their pipeline would have “no impact” on the park since it is installed w HDD, so would not impair or conflict with the current public use of the park. 

The judges asked very pointed and telling questions indicating they had really done their homework and understood the issues at hand and were not just in the pocket of VGS. They asked a few questions indicating that they were not at ease with VGS claim that a high transmission gas pipeline would have “no material impact” on the park. And asked how “necessity” can be assessed as “the shortest distance between two points” (north and south end of Geprags) - when the routing decisions should have been considered and evaluated earlier and prior to such constraint. One asked whether there was a consideration of cumulative impact from colocating utilities. Some questions brought out specifics of the easement agreement that spell out the various ways that the park could or would in fact be “materially impacted” by the easement, including emergency access in event of incident, and constraints on uses of the park in future, among other.  

We are told that there is no telling when a ruling on the appeal will be made, but because this is such a high profile case, it may be that they do not take too long. There is also of course no telling what the outcome will be - how the judges will rule. To protect our tender bruised souls we need to prepare for the worst. 

But it seems like we also need to prepare for the possibility that we will in fact win.

Keep those embers glowing. 

🌏 Breaking 🌎 #fracking update

From the Stop ✋ the Trans Addison County Pipeline Group

For immediate release: March 21^th

Activists address Valener/Gaz Metro investors at AGM: “Vermont Gas pipeline is a bungled mess and a bad investment. Time to invest in the future, not dirty, dangerous fracked gas.”

 Valener is the public investment vehicle for Gaz Metro, which in turn owns Vermont Gas. As investors assemble for their annual general meeting, activists from Vermont and Montreal are also assembling to express fierce opposition to the Vermont Gas Addison Natural Gas pipeline project – a fracked gas pipeline that is under construction through the state of Vermont. 

Julie Macuga, a 25 year old University of Vermont student, plans to deliver a statement to the investors inside the meeting: “I purchased shares of Valener so that I could speak to all of you directly about what you are doing… what is it going to take to make you stop destroying our state with your damaging and financially unsound pipeline?”

Activists cite cost overuns which have more than doubled from initial estimates to 166 million as a result of mismanagement, a federal pipeline hazardous material safety administration (PHMSA) investigation into unsafe construction and failure to comply with standards, a pending VT Supreme Court case over a pipeline easement through a public park, a recent letter from the 64 member VT legislature's Climate Caucus requesting steps be taken towards a reconsideration of the permit, lack of demonstrable Vermont market for the gas, and concerns about climate impacts of leaking methane from pipelines.

 “Vermont citizens and groups have been fighting this pipeline since the beginning of construction, nearly 4 years now”, stated Rachel Smolker, a resident of Hinesburg Vermont.  “This poorly constructed pipeline puts our communities at risk of a potential explosion, puts Vermont ratepayers on the hook for the costs, and puts our climate at risk from methane leaks.  Meanwhile, gas prices are predicted to rise over years to come. Valener/Gaz Metro should invest in the future and stop banking on the sinking ship of dirty, dangerous fracked gas.”

For more information: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw0uKc2rfP1fLTAyZ3dRMko0Q2s

Contact: Rachel Smolker: (802)482-2848, rsmolker@gmail.com  or Julie Macuga: Julie.Macuga@uvm.edu (802)238-5777 


------------------------and letter to editor by a friend-------

 Thanks, Bobbie

ROBERTA CARNWATH: CLIMATE JUSTICE CONCERNS OVER PIPELINE

MAR. 20, 2017, 6:55 PM BY COMMENTARY 0 COMMENTS

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Roberta Carnwath, who is a member of the Cornwall Planning Commission.

In May of 2010, when Vermont attracted national attention by becoming the first state to outlaw fracking, our governor, Peter Shumlin, said:

“We don’t know that we don’t have natural gas in Vermont, and this measure will ensure we do not inject chemicals into groundwater in a desperate pursuit for energy … One of the biggest challenges that future generations are going to face is clean, drinkable water. We have an abundance of it in Vermont. I think it’s a great message that we’re going to protect it at all costs.”

In noting the impact of the decision on future generations, Shumlin was framing the prospect of poisoning drinking water as the moral issue that it is. A moral issue like, for example, child labor, outlawed in Vermont, but … what if it were legal somewhere else, say … Alberta? And what if the product of this child labor was cheaper and more convenient than other products produced by more ethical standards? Would Vermonters say: “Yes! Let’s bring ’em in – give ourselves more choices? Heck, let’s build a pipeline and bring more of them in faster!”

A moral issue like, for example, child labor, outlawed in Vermont, but … what if it were legal somewhere else, say … Alberta?

If it is wrong to poison drinking water in Vermont, it is wrong to take advantage of the fact that people at the other end of the pipeline may not have the means to protect their back yards from exploitation by corporations partnering with their government.

In the years since the Public Service Board approved the certificate of public good for the Addison Natural Gas Pipeline, the concept of “climate justice” has been gaining respect as a factor that should be considered in economic planning. Members of the Vermont Legislature should all support the initiative spelled out in a letter from the Vermont Assembly Coalition on Climate Solutions to June Tierney requesting that the certificate of public good for the Addison pipeline be reopened. The letter gives five reasons why this action should be taken. But there is a sixth reason. The PSB should ask whether the pipeline is a good idea in the light of our emerging understanding of “climate justice.” Can we knowingly inflict damage elsewhere and still be proud Vermonters?

Breaking #fracking Chapter 5 The Earth weighs in.... action requested Please sign this one!f

If you have Never signed a petition 

Or

If you sign them every day 

Sign this one...😎

Please participate in a groundswell moment against the VT Fracked Gas Pipeline. 60+ Vermont lawmakers have joined us from the climate caucus, and we're asking for your help in making this a poignant and pointed request from the VT public, too.
Please sign this, post to facebook, and forward along. Thank you.

Sign This Petition to Stop the Vermont Gas Stystems Fracked Gas Pipeline

 https://www.change.org/p/revoke-and-reassess-the-vermont-fracked-gas-pipeline

On February 22nd close to 200 Vermont citizens attended a public forum with the new Commissioner of the Department of Public Service, June Tierney, and spoke out powerfully against the disaster that is the Vermont Gas Systems fracked gas pipeline in Addison County.

A little more than a week later, the Vermont legislature's Climate Solutions Caucus sent a letter to Commissioner Tierney, calling on her to ask that the Public Service Board reopen and reassess the permit for this ill-conceived and mis-guided, climate-changing project. You can read the caucus's letter here . And you can find the VTDigger article about it here.

We all know this pipeline is bad for us, bad for Vermont and bad for the world, and now there's a petition you can sign to let Vermont state government know you stand against it.

SIGN THE PETITION

Your signature will show June Tierney and the Department of Public Service that Vermonters oppose this pipeline. It will also show our support for the Climate Caucus Legislatiors' request to reopen and review the Certificate of Public Good that continues for this pipeline in spite of huge cost overruns, multiple health and safety violations, its disastrous contribution to climate change and the fact that the need for more fracked gas in Vermont has never been demonstrated.

And ask your friends and neighbors to sign the petition, too, by going to:

 https://www.change.org/p/revoke-and-reassess-the-vermont-fracked-gas-pipeline

Stop Construction and Keep it in the Ground!  

--

Henry Harris

Community Supported Organizer

917.922.5430

-- 

Gaz Update, Vermont

Gaz Update
Monkton, Vermont
Addison County Vermont
_____________________________________________________

From our group of Pipeline opponents.
I cannot keep up with all the court filings.
That's how the system works.
_______________________________________________________

links posted fyi only

Report: North America to lead globally in planned gas pipeline length by 2020

Hydrocarbons Technology

A total of 17 new natural gas pipelines were announced in the second half of 2016 compared to those announced in the previous report published in

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/north-dakota-landowners-sue-dakota-access-easements-44886137

North Dakota Landowners Sue Over Dakota Access Easements abcnews.go.com A group of about two dozen North Dakota landowners is suing the developer of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline for alleged deceit and fraud in acquiring land easements. Already, landowners in Iowa await a state judge's ruling in another easement case regarding the $3.8 billion,...

http://courthousenews.com/two-arrested-at-energy-transfer-pipeline-protest-in-texas/

Gaz Update

I was fighting the tide of emails from our stop the pipeline group.
Another explosion, another protest, another scientific citation,
The evils of #Fracking, the robbers of property, prosperity and peace,
Even rare sunflowers at risk.
Here are a few pertinent articles with friends' notes, comments.
In reverse chronological order.
Best wishes in the Good Fight.
Meg
Am I reading this correctly? Is Gaz Metro saying they can serve their customer's needs better w/out a pipeline? 

Project to build a liquefied natural gas storage and regasification site in Bécancour - Gaz Métro ...

Canada NewsWire (press release)

... Energy Ltd. (TCE) power plant could be supplied natural gas by pipeline at a cost similar to that of building an LNG storage and regasification site.

Finally, renewables over gas pipelines......shocking concept!

Connecticut Energy Decision Places Renewable Projects Over Gas Pipelines

Rhode Island Public Radio

The decision pulls the plug on plans to construct more natural gas pipelines in the state while boosting the use of renewable energy throughout the ...

In the Williston Observer:
http://www.willistonobserver.com/hinesburg-pipeline-protest-stirs-ire-against-state-agency/


Click link: Williston Observer letter

Friends,

We hope you'll join us at the 4th Annual 350VT Statewide Meeting on Sunday Nov. 13th. Come for part of the day or the whole day. We're excited to announce that Vanessa Gray, from Aamjiwnaang Sarnia Against Pipelines, and Jay O'Hara, from Climate Disobedience Center, will both be speaking.

This year we're focusing on solutions, and our workshops are geared toward learning about a whole host of great grassroots solutions from electric bikes to soil restoration and from green building to true community solar. We'll also have all the usual updates, campaign briefings, awards and recognitions, and a great meal.

To recap:

When: Sunday Nov. 13th from 2-8pm (come for part or all)
Where: Capital City Grange, Montpelier, 6612 VT-12
What: 350VT Annual Gathering 

2:00pm Workshops
4:00pm Statewide meeting
6:00pm Dinner & Awards
7:00pm Vanessa Gray, Jay O'Hara, & other special guests

Who: you!

RSVP by 11/4 HERE.

Please carpool as you are able. Find our ride board HERE.

Want to volunteer and help out? Awesome, please contactkeri@350vt.org

Our best,

Maeve, Keri, Brittany, Austin and the 350VT team

p.s. We are also looking for items for a raffle auction - gift certificates, movie tickets, herbal tinctures. Have you got something you'd be willing to offer? Please contact keri@350vt.org

Letter to editor by local Fracking Fighter

Department?

Posted on October 27, 2016 |  

• Opinion
   

By Mary Martin

I am writing as a member of “Just Power.” Just power does not mean just as in simply power. It stands for just as in justice — to be treated fairly and equally with a meaningful involvement. Almost four years ago, I believed in justice. I was told the Public Service Board (PSB) would hear us and then decide if they should grant a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) for Vermont Gas based on existing criteria…such as need, reliability and economic benefit.

I naively believed what I was told. Gov. Shumlin told me he had no influence over the outcome. It would be determined by a quasi-judicial board. The hearings would be fair. He must have been kidding. I was thrilled because I knew the true “need” did not exist. We were transitioning away from fossil fuels. Our state was headed toward a green, renewable future. This project would be inconsistent with our goals.

Nobody would support a pipeline of fracked gas in this day and age. Need, check, got that one covered. One down and two to go. Reliability is only as good as the provider of this nasty gas. We have seen time and time again how Vermont Gas has botched the project, permits, land acquisitions and budgeting. This is not a reliable or even monetarily viable business. Two down and one to go. 

Economic benefit and this is the real motivator. No benefit exists for the 50,000 customers in Franklin and Chittenden Counties or the 2,000 small customers in Addison County. I used the calculator on the Vermont Gas website and according to their own website my savings would be $0. Yep, $0. According to the Vermont Gas calculator, I would end up spending $150 more for the heating season. The cost to suck on this pipe is $55,000 for each new customer.

Thank you to Vermont Gas current customers in Franklin and Chittenden counties for paying this for us. New customers will pay the costs of hookup and conversion to your existing furnace (if it can be converted) and disposing of your fuel tank (mandatory).

So if by economic benefit, you are referring to Vermont Gas and not the public, it makes sense. No, the PSB is charged with meeting the economic benefit for the public not a privately held company.  Three strikes and it’s out! The only thing we needed was to have the PSB listen to the facts.

Enter the Public Service Department (PSD). PSD’s mission, as stated on their website, is to serve all citizens of Vermont through public advocacy, programs and other actions that meet the public’s need for the least cost, environmentally sound, efficient, reliable, secure, sustainable and safe energy systems for the long and short term.

The PSD should be renamed the Utility Service Department. The department has not once looked out for the public they are supposed to represent. They have sat like bobble-head dolls, agreeing with everything Vermont Gas has said. Never once did they listen to the public. We are asking for environmental justice now. Please consider how the financial and physical risks are distributed.

Ratepayers are footing the bill and Vermont Gas is raking in the money. Think about who benefits versus who pays. How evenly are the benefits distributed and how evenly is the risk distributed? People are tired of trying to do things the right way. I am tired of fighting in a rigged system. We need justice now!

Come join us and stand against this pipeline on Oct. 20. We will meet at Geprag’s Community Park, Hinesburg at 8:30 a.m. More details and signup athttp://tiny.cc/Oct20Vermont.

Mary Martin

Cornwall

Marchildon Survey

From Comrade Rachel

Greetings all, Let’s keep up the pressure and STOP THE PIPELINE!  Please take action now and then SHARE THIS with all your friends and contacts!

TIME TO PERSONALLY DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PIPELINE SAFETY! 

The Vermont Department of Public Service (aka Department of Pipeline Service) first reported failures on behalf of VGS construction standards back in June 2016 but they still have not ensured those problems have been addressed.  Instead they allowed VGS to continue construction, now for over 4 months!  PLEASE take a moment to register your concern, personally, with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration and make sure they know that we CARE about our safety! 

https://pin.salsalabs.com/o/502/c/72/p/dia/action3/common/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=18759

For background and details, read the press release, with link to the letter and all substantiating documentation that we delivered to Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration last week, here: http://www.protectgeprags.org/vermont_citizens_alarmed

Commissioner Recchia and VGS are trying to paint our safety concerns as just another attempt to stop the pipeline. https://vtdigger.org/2016/10/18/vermont-gas-pipeline-opponents-file-safety-complaint-federal-agency/ Recchia is accusing us of distorting the truth when he knows full well that not all of the violations have been fixed. His own department just supported yet another extension and now wants to resolve the case behind closed doors with a minimal fine equal to the penalty for 1.5 days of continuing violations -- for violations that have existed since June 2016!  Moreover, they are once again trying to say that it's just a handful of fringe opponents of the pipeline raising these safety concerns -- the same way they like to pretend that only a handful of people oppose the fracked-gas pipeline in Vermont. 

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT to Join 350VT, Central Vermont Climate Action, Just Power, Protect Geprags Park, Rutland Area Climate Coalition, Toxics Action, Upper Valley Affinity Group, and Vermonters for a Clean Environment by personally calling on the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to intervene in pipeline safety in Vermont. It takes just 30 seconds via the link above. 

Tell PHMSA that we're not willing to accept lax oversight or dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure.

https://pin.salsalabs.com/o/502/c/72/p/dia/action3/common/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=18759

From Alex:

Hi all,

I wanted to send a note of gratitude out to all those who came to the action in Hinesburg yesterday, and especially those who held roles in planning, organizing, and implementing it. Thank you. That was great. I've now been a part of organizing a few of these big coalition actions, and this time there were more people stepping up to the plate to make it successful than I've seen before. I think this is a strong testament to this campaign's ability to bring increasing numbers of people into collective action, and to developing the skills and relationships needed for more effective resistance in the future. Lots of love to you all.

Also, we didn't *quite* do the action we planned for, and that's OK, because it went great anyway. 200+ people took direct action together and stopped work on the "death-oriented" project. (For reference, see Rev. Wilson's great quote in the Digger story:http://vtdigger.org/2016/10/20/six-gas-pipeline-protesters-arrested-hinesburg/)

That's 200+ people who were willing to use their bodies to stop the violence of fossil fuels, and because of our power in numbers, the overwhelming majority of that crowd will face no consequences. At least 50 of us showed up yesterday willing to get arrested, and there were many more on the fence. It's important that we don't let this moment, this mass willingness to do what's right, drift away.

Our friends in Hinesburg are still depending on us to help them Protect Geprags Park. If Brian's right, and we have the potential to turn the Phase 1 fight into a Seabrook moment (that is, make Phase 1 such a costly battle that VGS never pursues Phase 3, nor brings Phase 2 back from the dead), then we need to keep giving this fight all we've got until it's actually over.

Folks, if you came out yesterday willing to risk arrest, or if you couldn't yesterday but have been willing at other points in the last four years, please don't let your enthusiasm or urgency fade. That Seabrook strategy depends on all of us continuing to take action against the completion of the pipe until we absolutely can't anymore. If you're willing to stand in defense of the park (and the planet), and willing to increase the odds of the "Seabrook strategy" succeeding, please be in touch.

Solidarity forever,

Alex

PS- I know there are important folks who were there yesterday but may not be on any of these Google Groups. Feel free to forward this message!

-- 

From Lisa:

A good story. in Digger today. Reporter even points out the workers’ cars were NOT blocked or “restrained” by protectors.

http://vtdigger.org/2016/10/20/six-gas-pipeline-protesters-arrested-hinesburg/

  don't know who this person is, but they got some facts wrong. However, not about my passion for the park!

Hope all are well and had as great a day as I did!

Nancy

P.S We were a lot more than 100!

On Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 7:05 PM, Melanie Peyser <mcpeyser@gmail.com> wrote:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2016/10/20/six-arrested-hinesburg-pipeline-protest/92420622/

http://www.mynbc5.com/article/police-arrest-six-at-at-natural-gas-pipeline-demonstration/6967959

Neighbor's testimony from the Vermont Digger

-- 

Another opinion from Burlington free press:
From Burlington free press


From Melanie:

If there one thing I've learned it's that whenever a VGS representatives says, "We've got a great story to tell" they mean it. It's just a story or one might say, a fairy tale! AARP is working hard to get a truly independent ratepayer and/or public advocate to represent the public in matters before the Public Service Board. Here is an article on what they're doing:

http://vermontbiz.com/news/october/aarp-survey-vermonters-concerned-about-utility-rates-and-representation?utm_source=VBM+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=3cd5915de1-Enews_10_17_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_85838110bc-3cd5915de1-286298361

In it, Beth Parent says that VGS has a great story to tell about rates and then goes through the companies standard claims. The fact is that the rates that DPS and VGS use to calculate savings customers, who sign up in Middlebury and Vergennes, are inaccurate. Addison County prices are much lower than elsewhere in the state. My Mom just bought oil, which we use when our wood furnace cuts out, for $1.75 per gallon. At that rate, we would have lost over $200 for a 529 gallon fill up if we had switched to natural gas. As most people know, my Mom is moving away from the pipeline, and she would not have been offered gas even with the transmission line running 300 feet from her bedroom door if she had stayed. But, the fact is that people could use the savings they're getting now from lower oil prices to invest in heat pumps and weatherizing. We have friends, who aren't opposed to the pipeline, who did that even before prices dropped and report a 50% savings on their heating bills taking into account what they paid for electricity for the heat pumps and the mild winter and without solar panels.

We all know that VGS will have to build in the cost of the pipeline into rates next year. The construction delays have actually helped the company and DPS mask the upward rate pressure by including only a portion of costs in the current rate case. Unless natural gas prices drop to nearly nothing VGS's rates will have to go up. 

It's shocking that DPS is doing nothing to stop VGS from making up "great stories" about its rates and claiming that its rates will stay at their currently low rates. The company knows full well that no matter what happens to the cost of natural gas, the amount VGS charges customers for its infrastructure will have to go through the roof when the full price of the ANGP expansion is piled onto its rate base. Vermonters deserve truth in advertising and accurate price signals. The only way to get this is through an independent ratepayer advocate, who actually works to enforce consumer protections and hold utilities accountable! Please comment on this story and support AARP's efforts to overcome the status quo of DPS complacency! 

Incidentally, I'm not kidding when I say you should be skeptical whenever VGS says it has a great story:

Last spring in Middlebury, VGS said that it had a great story to tell about fugitive emissions. The representative said that VGS "had no leaks on the book." When pressed, representatives admitted that the company does have leaks, but they pledged to fix all leaks no matter how serious immediately upon discovering them. That doesn't mean that they have no leaks or even that they discover all of the leaks. It just means that the fix leaks when found. 

Here's what VGS's leak record according to the data looks like:

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/StateProgramMetrics/StateProgramMetrics_VT.htm?nocache=590

Here's the letter in the Brattleboro Reformer.

On 10/18/16 10:33 AM, Jason Kaye wrote:

Great letter in the Brattleboro Reformer from organizers in Brattleboro in support of Thursday's action at Geprags Park.

Are you coming to build Vermont's climate movement?

Jason

From the Digger:

From the Digger

From Rachel:

Greetings everyone!  

A few updates from Hinesburg and beyond — setting the stage for upcoming October 20 events.

The PSB has still not made any final order regarding Hinesburg residents’ motion to reconsider their decision on eminent domain and Geprags Park.  Therefore there is still no construction (horizontal directional drilling) at Geprags.  

We have filed the Supreme Court appeal meanwhile.  Jim Dumont who represented us through the PSB hearings, has (wisely) determined that it would be better for us to be represented by a different attorney, and we are really REALLY pleased that Rob Woolmington, one of the top appellate lawyers in the state, has agreed to handle the appeal. (Note: this means we need to ramp up fundraising even more).  

While the eminent domain case winds its way to the Supreme Court, CLF also awaits an answer from the Public Service Board regarding its motion to require VGS to amend its petition for a certificate of public good. That could force VGS to demonstrate why the project still makes any sense. It’s a long shot, but we should lose hope that one of these legal challenges will ultimately stop the pipeline from coming into operation!

Also, some are aware but others may not be: several organizations have signed onto a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration. They’re the folks responsible for pipeline safety. Vermont DPS has delegated authority from PHMSA in return for certifying that the State is upholding minimum pipeline safety standards. We all learned a few weeks ago that DPS had issued a “notice of probably violation” to VGS alleging some pretty serious violations of construction safety standards, but DPS has since supported VGS getting three extensions of time to respond fully, allowed VGS to continue construction without proving the problems have been fixed, and asked for a minimal fine. It’s not surprising that DPS is also saying that the matter can be settled out of the public’s view and without a hearing before the PSB.

A letter, signed so far by several groups, has been sent to PHMSA requesting that they step in and verify whether pipeline safety rules are being properly enforced in the State. We’re also making it possible for individuals to contact PHMSA in support of the letter through an online tool on Toxic Action Center’s website (stay tuned for the link!). We have created a photo gallery of construction here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/145694641@N05/with/30114808551/ or send your photos to this email address: protectgeprags@yahoo.com (either way, be sure to note date taken and location). If you live near the pipeline route and are concerned about pipeline safety we hope you’ll join this initiative! Finally, we will be working to educate the public about pipeline safety issues and how to report pipeline safety concerns, and that will start with a press release and article about the dangers associated with collocating pipelines and overhead electric transmission wires on Monday!

So this is the context for our action on October 20 - Supreme Court challenge on Geprags/public land eminent domain, the pending CLF amendment motion that could still force VGS to reargue its project application, AND a call for an emergency review of the State’s (DPS’s) oversight and enforcement of federal pipeline safety regulations. 

The fight isn't over.

--------
Me again,
That's all I can handle.
Some dates are past,
The messages the same.
Stop the #Fracking Pipeline from Alberta to points south.
Meg