A natural gas power plant has been proposed for a Brownfield site in Birdsboro, PA. The plant, to be operated by Birdsboro Power LLC, will be served by a proposed natural gas pipeline, and connect to the grid via a new 230 kV transmission line. Permits are pending for some of the structures associated with the power plant, but the power plant site itself has largely escaped scrutiny, despite being used as a steel foundry for decades including serving as a military tank assembly operation for some of that time. The site is known to be contaminated with PCBs and asbestos. Radioactive materials, including cesium and uranium, are known to have been used on the site in the past. During a remediation effort currently underway, buried canisters of chlorine gas were uncovered. Numerous buried items have been uncovered during remediation, but the community was not been informed. Little information on the condition of the site has been made public in the years since the site operated as a foundry. In November 2017, when buried chlorine gas canisters were found, one was punctured by a worker who had to be hospitalized. In the event of a small chlorine spill, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends isolation and initial protective action distances of 100 feet in all directions with subsequent protection of anyone downwind for 0.2 mi (during the day). Yet people living 500 feet from the site where the proposed power plant will be built were not informed. Five days after the release of chlorine gas, Birdsboro Power sued the federal government for the cost of the “significant remaining contamination” on the site. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued the power plant’s air quality permit long before the chemical release in November and had just concluded the public comment period on the remaining permits for the power plant, gas pipeline, and electric transmission line. The public couldn’t comment on information it didn’t have. Toward the end of informing the public, we are calling on state legislators representing the affected communities and Governor Wolf to require Birdsboro Power to make public the Phase 1 and Phase 2 environmental site assessments completed in 2016. The public must be given the opportunity to provide informed comment. We also ask them to require the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection re-open comment periods on all state pending permits and certificates required for this project to allow an informed public to weigh in.

Both Senators Heinrich and Udall have been outstanding supporters of our wild public lands, but have been disturbingly quiet on this issue (they have both supported getting the additional training squadron to Holloman AFB, but now this squadron needs a place to do their training). The Gila Wilderness and Forest is a place for quiet solitude, not for training F16s at 500 feet elevation.

My name is Phil Plaza and I am an Oregon resident. I welcome the opportunity to offer my comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. I would like to begin by asking this question: Were any of you present when the drunken captain of the Exxon Valdez let his ship crash upon a charted reef, spilling almost 11 millions gallons of crude oil upon the shorelines of Prince William Sound? Well I was there. I have witnessed not only the polluted beaches and sub-soils, which remain polluted to this day, I also saw the dead seals, sea birds and aquatic life. And I also witnessed first hand, the livelihoods, the health and the economy of a fishing industry collapse. I have witnessed the dramatic impact upon the fishing town of Cordova, a once thriving fishing community and have seen their lives changed, disrupted forever. It was a disaster of enormous consequences. And through the courts, it took years of litigation before Exxon finally paid all of the punitive damages. For many folks they never did recover from the consequences of that spill. This Exxon oil company fought these assessed damages for over 10 years. Will Oregon residents have to wait for ten years or more before a settlement from an oil spill disaster is offered? The second question I pose to you is this: How many of you have actually traveled the Oregon Coastal Highway101? Considered one of the most scenic and beautiful coastal highways in the world, the Highway 101 drive, with is beaches and vistas are visited by thousands of tourists from all over the world. If you doubt this, just try to find a vacant campsite during the busy summer months. This 2 lane highway is packed, at times bumper to bumper, from the northern to the southern borders of Oregon, a distance of 363 miles. Thousands of campers, trailers, Rvs, bicyclists, hikers and tourists follow the shoreline, providing a significant boost for many of the economically challenged small communities that depend on these coastal tourist dollars in order to survive the rest of the year. One spill, as we have previously witnessed, one disaster, will forever disrupt lives and livelihoods of Oregonians, just as it happened in Alaska or along the Texas/Louisiana shores. But the real kicker, the most dangerous aspect of this off shore oil drilling proposal has to do with something we can not mitigate, control or even prepare for appropriately. To think of drilling an oil well near the Cascadian Subduction Zone, an active earthquake zone, as close as 35 miles from Oregon’s shoreline with the potential of a 9.1 or greater earthquake is criminally negligent to say the least. Have any of you spoken with the earthquake and tsunami professors at Oregon State University? As a firefighter, first responder and community organizer for our emergency prepared response plans, we understand that there is a better than 38% chance of the “Big One,” a 9.1 or greater earthquake occurring within the next 50 years and indeed we are already overdue for the “Big One” according to past records. And we know it could happen any day. This is scientific and historical fact not fiction. And just where will this oil be stored if any is even found? There are presently no facilities nor infrastructure except in Portland to transport and store this oil. The present fuel storage tanks in Portland sit upon unstable silt and mud and are in such a danger of collapsing that they are being retrofitted to withstand a large quake. Portland is not ready to receive this oil and has already been legally approved to ban any future fossil fuel infrastructure. Portland already knows a 9.1 earthquake has the potential danger of oil tanks rupturing, collapsing and thereby disrupting 7 million people. The great Republican Governor Tom McCall understood just how important Oregon’s beaches are, from lighthouse to lighthouse, for both the health and economy of our State. Governor McCall passed a law that gives us complete access to all of Oregon’s beaches, they belong to the public not the private sector. Oregon citizen’s consider our beaches and shore line a treasure. Oregon passed the first bottle bill in no small measure to keep our beaches free from plastics and glass. For me it is extremely short sighted, simply foolish and definitely dangerous for the lives and wellbeing of Oregon’s coastal residents. And for me it is morally shameful to be even thinking of such a proposal for our coastal waters. There is only one sane mitigation measure, No Drilling off of Oregon’s treasured shoreline. I urge the Bureau of Coastal Energy Management and our Oregon Governor Kate Brown to deny this ill-advised off shore oil lease proposal. After all we deserve the same consideration as Florida received. Thank you, Phil Plaza

Climate change is caused by people emitting carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere. One way to reduce contributions to climate change is to stop using fossil fuels to generate electricity. NYC could do it (for all city business, including MTA). Call on NYS to switch to "green" electrical energy by 2025.

I would like to see the State of California resist Trump's efforts to allow offshore oil and gas drilling. We should have learned our lesson after repeated oil spills in Santa Barbara. The focus should be on renewable energy, and not carbon producing fossil fuels. The entire state is at risk...wildlife, California residents, tourists, and the tourism and fishing industries.

An Excerpt from: BIRD SPECIES THAT WILL LIKELY SUFFER FROM LOGGING IN STATE PARKS and STATE PARKS AND SCIENCE By Douglas McClure Wood Cerulean Warbler: A species of High Continental Importance* with an Urgency/Half Life of only 19 years, a long-term range-wide population decline of 72% and a decline of 74% within the Appalachian Mountains region. WV’s old-growth and mature forests are important habitats. Kentucky Warbler: A species of High Continental Importance* with a long-term population decline range-wide of 29% and a decline of 41% within the Appalachian Mountains region. Wood Thrush: A species of High Continental Importance *with a long-term population decline range-wide of 60% and a decline of 49% within the Appalachian Mountains region. The Wood Thrush suffered a 1.4% average annual decline in WV between Breeding Bird Atlases, 1986-2011, representing a 29% population decline (Sauer et al. 2017; PIF 2013). Worm-eating Warbler: In WV, Worm-eating Warbler populations suffered a significant average annual decline of 1.9% for the period between Breeding Bird Atlases (1986-2011). The population declined by 31% in the 41 years before 2011 (Sauer et al. 2017). Acadian Flycatcher: The Acadian Flycatcher suffered a significant average annual decline of 1.7% in West Virginia and a population decline of 34% between Breeding Bird Atlases, 1986-2011 (Sauer et al. 2017; PIF 2013). WV had the second highest percentage of the Acadian Flycatcher’s estimated global population (10.3%). Scarlet Tanager: WV had the second highest percentage of estimated global population (9.8%). The relatively stable population of this species in WV between Breeding Bird Atlases, 1986-2011, has now begun to suffer a precipitous decline at an average annual rate of 2.3% between 2005 and 2015 (Sauer et al. 2017). Black-and-White Warbler: The center of distribution for this species is further north than the other species in this list. WV had the sixteenth highest percentage of estimated global population (1.3%). During the period between Breeding Bird Atlases, 1986-2011, the species suffered a 2.14% average annual decline in WV, a loss of nearly 35% of the 1989 breeding population (Sauer et al. 2017; PIF 2013). *Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture, 2016 (AMJV) Partners in Flight Science Committee (PIF)

Saving Our Coasts

Climate change is harming much of the world, including our state of Illinois. We're asking the General Assembly to pass legislation mandating greenhouse gas emission reduction, using Paris Agreement guidelines, for the good of the people of Illinois.

I live here. I love the ocean. I do not want it destroyed in the name of money!

Rhode Island's coasts are a major contributor to the state's economy. Florida was withdrawn from the plan for similar concerns, so should Rhode Island. I oppose all offshore drilling. It is step backwards from progress toward a clean energy economy which is creating more US jobs than any other industry.

My family, my town, my state, and all of New England depend on clean oceans for future prosperity. Rhode Island had an oil spill 20 years ago that decimated marine life and severely impacted our local economy. We note that your winter home state, President Trump, has been removed from consideration for offshore oil exploration. Why not mine?

The pet industry and their lobbyists have pushed H.3212 out of committee in the Massachusetts House and we must act now to stop puppy mills from selling to pet stores in our state.