Press Advisory for Sept. 20 Rally at FERC

… Sept. 20, 2017 News Advisory and Daybook/Calendar …

OVER 100 COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL GROUPS PROTEST FERC’S PROMOTION OF TRUMP’S DIRTY ENERGY AGENDA

Demonstration Features Rev. Lennox Yearwood and Speakers From Communities Nationwide Threatened by Pipelines.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Activists, homeowners, and farmers from communities nationwide threatened by pipelines and natural gas infrastructure will protest the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) plans to carry out President Trump’s dirty energy agenda. The “STOP TRUMP’S DIRTY ENERGY AGENDA, THE CHANGE STARTS HERE” protest takes place as FERC holds its first monthly meeting since its quorum was restored after eight months. Protesters will greet the FERC commissioners outside from 8:30-9:30 a.m. with the message that the agency’s rubber-stamping of fracked gas pipelines and infrastructure must end. Activists will then take their concerns into FERC’s open public meeting at 10:00 a.m.

The protesters – representing over 100 local and national groups (including OVEC, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition) – will then take their anti-pipelines message to the Congress, where they will urge members of the House and Senate to reject any legislation that increases U.S. reliance on fossil fuels and expands natural gas pipelines, including S.1460 (The Energy and Natural Resources Act), and to support legislation that promotes a rapid transition to a clean energy economy, including H.R. 3671 (Rep. Gabbard’s ‘OFF ACT’) or the Senate ‘100 by 50’ Act.

Speakers will call out FERC’s failure to regulate the fossil fuel industry, protect communities, and address climate change. Recently, activists have scored several victories, including regulatory and judicial victories against the Atlantic Coast, Constitution, Valley Lateral, and Southeast Markets pipelines. Protestors are calling for a moratorium on any new pipeline approvals until Congressional hearings into FERC’s abuses take place.

Speakers for the protest include:

• Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus;
• Maya van Rossum – the Delaware Riverkeeper, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network;
• Anneke Walsh – a frontline activist fighting the Millennium Pipeline;
• Alice Orrichio and Susan Meecham – frontline activists fighting the Penneast Pipeline;
• Karen Feridun — Berks Gas Truth, a grassroots citizens’ group fighting to bring an end to unconventional natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania and fighting the DTE pipeline; 
• Normandy Blackman – a landowner opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in North Carolina;
• Malinda Clatterbuck – from Lancaster Against Pipelines, a group fighting the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline in Pennsylvania;Deborah Kushner – a fontline activist opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Virginia;
• Maggie Henry – from Beyond Extreme Energy, an activist network of organizations and individuals fighting dirty energy extraction;
• Todd Larsen – from Green America, a national organization that promotes a green economy.

 What:

Activists from local and national groups will protest outside FERC Headquarters in DC. 

Who:

Representatives of over 100 local and national organizations http://bit.ly/Endorsers_Sept20_2017 

When:

Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. ET

Where:

FERC Headquarters: 888 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20426

Media Contacts:  

Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, 215-801-3043 (mobile), keepermaya@delawareriverkeeper.org

Melinda Tuhus, 203-623-2186 (mobile), melinda.tuhus2@gmail.com

Max Karlin for Green America, (703) 276-3255 or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com