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MARYLAND ISSUES

Gov, Larry Hogan's hypocrisy on climate change and fracked gas.

Hogan has been profoundly duplicitous on fracked gas and climate change. I serve on the Maryland Commission on Climate Change (MCCC) and have seen firsthand the governor’s policies that make Maryland’s contribution to global warming worse. As Hogan and his senior staff know, climate change is being exacerbated by emissions of methane gas from the drilling and combustion associated with fracking. Isotope measurements show fossil fuels contribute significantly more to the levels of methane in the atmosphere than previously understood — and natural gas is the biggest culprit. Each methane molecule has a heat-trapping potential up to 86 times greater than carbon dioxide. This is one of the reasons Maryland legislature banned fracked-gas drilling in 2017. Hogan signed that bill, yet he accelerated his policy “kick-starting” greater combustion of fracked gas in Maryland, while vetoing legislation promoting wind and solar power. His administration has been actively helping Canadian gas companies sidestep the drilling ban by importing fracked gas and promoting its consumption. He is partnering with fossil fuel giant TransCanada to pipe Pennsylvania fracked gas through Maryland and has a $100 million plan to increase gas use and build pipelines across the state. Hogan uses outdated data to claim fracked gas is somehow a clean energy, while he ignores the avalanche of new data which was presented to the MCCC — showing fracked gas probably is worse for the climate than coal.The trends are scientifically established: extreme precipitation events such as the Ellicott City floods are happening with 50 percent greater frequency along the East Coast, according to data from NOAA. And a 2014 federal report says it is highly likely that heavy precipitation events will increase because of climate change. The more slowly we react to global warming, the more severe the threats. Hogan should stop misleading Marylanders on fracked gas and start really supporting wind and solar power.
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Hogan's soft line on fossil fuels

The Hogan administration recently announced the approval of a Nontidal Wetlands and Waterways permit for a fracked gas pipeline that would slice through Western Maryland and waived its right to perform a full, independent review of the pipeline under the Clean Water Act. The proposed “Potomac pipeline” is a project of TransCanada — the same company that is behind the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline — and would drill under the Potomac River, one of our state’s most important natural resources. Is this how our state wants to respond to dangerous climate change and transition Maryland away from fossil fuels? There appears to be a troubling trend toward leniency for fossil fuels in the state. The author, Shane Robinson, introduced House Bill 1826, emergency legislation that would require MDE to conduct a full, independent analysis of pipeline projects proposed in sensitive geology and not allow the agency to voluntary waive its right to conduct such an analysis. In order to rectify MDE’s failure, the bill also requires the state to deny without prejudice the current application of the Potomac pipeline and go back to conduct a full 401 review should TransCanada wish to move forward. This is what Marylanders want and what they deserve.
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