Yesterday, numerous concerned citizens and partner organizations attended and testified at a meeting of the Air Quality Control Advisory Council (AQCAC), where the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) submitted its most recent draft limits on smog-forming emissions from Maryland’s coal-fired power plants for review by the council. The AQCAC is a citizen's advisory board that can effectively approve or deny air-related regulations proposed by MDE. We need them to approve the new coal plant regulations with expediency or they could be weakened under industry pressure by more delays.
The first hour of the early morning meeting was standard procedure, and the council breezed through their usual business in a half empty room. Then, as the chair introduced the section on MDE's new NOx rules, a group of over 20 MD Beyond Coal activists streamed in wearing "I <3 Clean Air" stickers and took up all of the remaining seats. The Council is not accustomed to seeing such a show of support on a particular issue at their meetings, and they were clearly impressed when we packed the room! Our supporters outnumbered the coal industry supporters almost 10 to 1.
As we learned after the meeting, the council was even more impressed by the sincere and compelling testimony given by attendees who called for the health-protective rules to be passed without any further delay. We heard from Baltimoreans with asthma, public health professionals, mothers, faith community leaders, and other concerned citizens about the need for MDE to take swift action on cleaning up Maryland's polluting coal plants. The stories were inspiring, and the Council was visibly moved. In fact, a representative from the Governor's office complimented us after the meeting on our impressive turnout and incredibly articulate, well-informed testimony. That's a big deal!
I want to thank everyone who participated and testified at the meeting, and I also owe gratitude to Jennifer Kunze and the phone banking team who helped drive a majority of the turnout. We really showed our power on Monday, and we couldn't have done it without support from everyone involved.
Although the Council delayed their final decision until another meeting on October 6th, they provisionally approved MDE's plan to continue the regulatory process with these rules. So, we aren't done yet, but we are well-positioned to win a yes vote in October.
In the meantime, we must stay vigilant. The coal industry will be actively campaigning to weaken the regs over the next few weeks, and we must not let that happen.
Here's what you can do now:
- Mark your calendar to join us at the next AQCAC meeting on Monday, October 6th at 8:00am in Baltimore. Now the coal industry has seen what we can do, and they'll be ready at the next meeting with more people on their side. We can't let them show us up and drown out the truth!
- Join our MD Beyond Coal team for a call next Wednesday, September 17th at 7pm when we will debrief Monday's meeting and discuss our plans for winning the yes vote in October.
- Keep an eye on your email for other ways to help out. The story about Monday's meeting has gained traction in local print, radio, and television media outlets with small stories (like this one: http://thedailyrecord.
com/2014/09/08/panel-delays- ), and we will be looking for help writing Letters to the Editor and OpEds in response.final-vote-on-smog- protections/
Want more details?
You can follow this link for the press release that went out today: Push Maryland Department of the Environment to Stand Up to Industry Pressure