Dear Maryland Board of Public Works:
I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed gas pipelines on the Eastern Shore, the Del-Mar Pipeline and the Chesapeake Utilities Project. These interconnected pipelines would reverse course on our region’s efforts to protect the health and safety of our communities and combat climate change.
Given that Maryland has banned fracking, I find it absurd that the state is seriously looking at bringing the same public health risks to our communities by way of pipelines. Enabling fossil fuel production is in direct opposition to our state’s goals of increasing renewable energy production. Additionally, I am appalled that the request for proposals put out by the State of Maryland to repower the Eastern Correctional Institute and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore foreclosed the possibility of a clean energy by only requesting applications for gas.
The Eastern Shore of Maryland has been called “ground zero” for sea level rise due to climate change. If you approve these pipelines you are asking Maryalnders to put our environment and public health at risk for infrastructure that we may not have use for in the near future as our state and the country moves towards clean energy.
The actions and decisions we make in this decade will impact Marylanders and climate for generations to come. We do not have the luxury of making bad ones.
I strongly urge the Board of Public Works to reject these proposals.
