Recommended Actions for the Week of 20170904

Source: RC Member

Description: Calling all Riveters! The Atlantic salmon polluting our waters are not yet contained. Lummi Nation’s fishing fleet spent the weekend trying to capture the Atlantic salmon but there are still many more to catch.

Contact Information: You can help by making three phone calls.

• Senator Kevin Ranker: 360-786-7678
• Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz: 360-902-1001
• Governor Jay Inslee: 360-902-4111

Suggested Script: Hi, this is ____ from _____ and we need your help in northwest Washington. The invasive Atlantic fish spill is still not contained despite the hard work of Lummi Nation’s fishing fleet. Please put all available resources into fixing this problem.

Once the immediate threat is contained, please find a way to remove these invasive Atlantic fish from our waters. We can’t afford the harm to the Salish Sea and Puget Sound.

Source:  Re Sources for Sustainable Communities

Description:  Whatcom County’s temporary moratorium on permits for fossil fuel export projects is set to expire soon.  County Council must introduce a new ordinance to extend the moratorium by Tuesday, September 12^th.  The County Council needs to hear that the community supports them in maintaining this moratorium.  Email County Council members and ask them to introduce a new ordinance to extend the moratorium, then attend the public hearing on September 26^th to urge the Council to approve the ordinance.

Background: Whatcom County continues to face proposals to export fracked gas and tar sands via pipelines through our farmland and rivers and across the Salish Sea to overseas markets. Right now, the county is conducting a legal study to develop tools to protect public health and safety from increases in rail, pipeline, and tanker shipments. In the meantime, companies like Kinder Morgan, SSA Marine, and Williams Pipeline are barred from applying for permits under a temporary moratorium on permits for unrefined fossil fuel export projects.

Contact Information: Click here to email County Council members.

Suggested Script: 

Subject: Extend the moratorium on permits for unrefined fossil fuel export projects

Honorable Council members,

As a voting citizen of Whatcom County, I urge you to extend the moratorium on permits for unrefined fossil fuel export projects by September 26th.

Lifting the moratorium now would allow companies like Williams, SSA Marine, Kinder Morgan and Petrogas to apply for permits and obtain vested rights, exempting them from new development regulations.

I support action to the greatest extent of your power to protect the people and natural resources of Whatcom County from risky expansions to export fracked gas, tar sands, crude oil, propane or coal through Cherry Point.

I hope you will take further action following completion of the legal study underway. Thank you for serving our communities.

[Your full name]
[Your city, voting address optional]

Additional Information:

Bellingham Herald: Whatcom Council approves second 6-month ban on crude oil exports

Whatcom County Interim Ordinance: Imposing an Interim Moratorium on the Acceptance and Processing of Applications and Permits for New or Expanded Facilities in the Cherry Point Urban Growth Area The Primary Purpose of Which Would Be the Shipment of Unrefined Fossil Fuels Not to Be Processed at Cherry Point

Sightline Institute: The Thin Green Line

Source:  RC member

Description:  Information and donation link.

Background:  On September 4, 2017, a Groundbreaking Ceremony was held for the Arch of  Healing and Reconciliation, a community collaboration to honor the sacrifices and contribution of Whatcom County’s Immigrants. The Arch of Healing and Reconciliation will be erected across from Bellingham City Hall (on the grass outside of the library) as a monument to honor the brave immigrants form China, India, and Japan and in recognition of all immigrants from China, India, and Japan and in recognition of all immigrants who came to America seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families through hard work and determination.

Source:  350.org (edited)

Description: Hurricane Harvey caused flooding that has devastated Houston and parts of Louisiana.  In South Asia, monsoon flooding has killed 1200 and displaced 40 million.  Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to deny climate change and roll back climate protections.  In the face of these tragic events, we must urge our leaders to connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather events, condemn climate denial, and promote bold, just climate action.

Background: Climate change has amplified extreme weather events.  Greenhouse gas emissions have increased the likelihood and severity of heat waves, extreme rainfall and storm surges.  A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, increasing the potential for heavy downpours, while warmer oceans can produce more intense hurricanes.  Storm surge is exacerbated by sea level rise, increasing flooding risk.

Contact Information: 

Senator Patty Murray, WA (206) 553-5545, DC (202) 224-2621

https://www.murray.senate.gov/contact/e-mail.cfm

Senator Maria Cantwell, WA (206) 220-6400, DC (202) 224-3441

https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/contact/email/form

Congressman Rick Larsen (WA 2nd Legislative District), WA 360-733-4500, DC (202) 225-2605

http://larsen.house.gov/contact-rick/email-rick

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA 1st Legislative District), WA (360) 416-7879, DC (202) 225-6311

https://delbene.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

Suggested Script: As a constituent from [insert city, County], I am deeply concerned about the devastating impacts of recent flooding to vulnerable communities in the Gulf region and across south Asia.  The science is clear – global warming is increasing the severity of extreme weather events.  I urge you to strongly condemn the Trump Administration’s climate denial, connect the dots between Harvey and climate change, and intensify your efforts to promote bold, just climate action.

Additional Information:

NPR: How a Warmer Climate Helped Shape Harvey

NY Times Opinion: What Climate Scientists Want You to See in the Floodwaters

Guardian: In an era of dire climate records, the US and South Asia floods won’t be the last

Source: Save EPA

Description: The  Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed to rescind a 2015 rule that would have imposed federal requirements to protect our water supplies from fracking on federal and Indian lands. This rule would also provide information to the public on what harmful chemicals are being used in these operations. The rule is currently the subject of litigation and has not yet gone into effect.  The 2015 rule was issued in response to growing public concerns about the impacts of fracking on groundwater drinking water supplies.  The Trump Administration now argues that the rule would be too costly, and that the rule is unnecessary because states are already regulating the oil and gas industry, and that many companies are disclosing the chemicals used voluntarily or under state law. BLM will accept public comments on the rule through September 25, 2017.

Background: Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is used by the oil and gas industry to stimulate production from oil and gas wells. As this practice has become more widespread, there have been growing concerns about its impact on groundwater contamination, what chemicals are being used, and how the fluids that come back to the surface are managed.  In March 2015, the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued the first major rule to regulate these operations on federal and Indian lands. As part of the Trump Administration’s rollback on federal environmental regulations, the BLM is proposing to repeal these fracking regulations for the oil and gas industry on federal and Indian lands.

Contact Information:  Click here to submit comment online.  Comment deadline is September 25, 2017, 8:59 PM PST.

Talking Points:

• [Explain why this issue matters to you; describe relevant expertise; cite scientific, media, or anecdotal sources where possible]
• The Trump Administration’s proposed repeal of this fracking rule, coupled with dramatic cuts to other environmental programs, represent a continued assault on public health and our environment.
• Rescinding the 2015 rule would take away federal requirements to protect our water supplies from fracking on federal and Indian lands and to provide information to the public on what harmful chemicals are being used in these operations.
• While there is some state regulation of fracking, it is important to ensure consistent, strong regulations to protect human health and the environment.  And the 2015 rule allows states and tribes to request variances from provisions for which they have an equal or more protective regulation in place.
• While the Trump Administration states that the fracking rule would be too costly for industry, its own analysis estimates that the compliance costs would only be 0.1 to 0.2 percent of the cost of drilling a well. This would be a small price to pay to protect the public and the environment.
• Regulation of the oil and gas industry and fracking should be based on sound science and public input. More than a million comments were submitted for the 2015 rule, and this Administration should not dismiss the rule without full consideration of the concerns for public health and safety.

Additional Information:

Regulations.gov: Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands; Rescission of a 2015 Rule (Docket ID BLM-2017-0001­

Save EPA: Oil and Gas: Rollback of Control on Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands

Guardian/High Country News: The BLM wants to nix fracking rule on water pollution