A hearing on the issue will take place Monday, January 22, 2018, at 6:00 p.m.
HANCOCK, Md. (LG) Environmental groups fear a proposed natural gas pipeline under the Potomac River could affect drinking water for millions of people. Denise Robbins, with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network says the Hogan Administration is failing to take adequate protective measures regarding the controversial pipeline, which could cross Maryland and potentially affect the drinking water for 6 million people in the region.
“There is a huge opposition to this pipeline, and over the past several months, we’ve been trying to make our voices heard to Governor Hogan and the Maryland Department of the Environment expressing all of our concerns,” Robbins said.
TransCanada wants to build a natural gas pipeline under the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, near the borders with Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The pipeline would transport natural gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia.
“We have learned that the Hogan Administration is not going through a stringent review process, which would be the 401 Water Certification, but instead they are carrying out public hearings and public comments for a very limited permit called the Wetlands and Waterways, that’s very insufficient, and doesn’t fully capture the potential for erosion, the potential for water contamination, and they’re not going through with a full environmental review that we’ve been asking for.”
At 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 22, a coalition of environmental advocates will picket the Hogan Administration hearing on the proposed “Potomac Pipeline” for fracked gas. The picket will take place at Hancock High School in the parking lot. Concerned residents will appear with signs around the building and will refuse to attend the MDE hearing.
-Loretta Gaines