“We’re seeing a high degree of investment in the technologies that are going to allow us to decarbonize our energy system in a way that’s efficient and that creates jobs and helps grow the economy,” said Brad Campbell, president of Conservation Law Foundation.
“Because this is one of Vermont’s vulnerable populations, we need to prioritize safe drinking water in schools,” Jen Duggan, director of Conservation Law Foundation Vermont, said in an interview Thursday.
You know that sinking feeling? The one where you think you’ve done a good job, but it turns out you didn’t. That’s the boat Vermont finds itself in right now when it comes to tackling climate change. We thought we were leading. But in fact we are falling behind.
“Today’s decision is a huge win for the city of South Portland, and it proves that local action can make a difference,” said Sean Mahoney, executive vice president and director of CLF Maine. “Big oil tried every legal trick in the book to try and invalidate this ordinance and they lost on every count.”
“Because other people break the law doesn’t make breaking the law right,” responded Jerry Elmer, senior attorney for the CLF.
CLF’s New Hampshire director Tom Irwin says the river has become loaded with nutrients from fish food and waste, and that tests show the water quality is much higher upstream of the hatchery than downstream.
Let’s be clear: CLF doesn’t want to stop thoughtful, responsible development – it is just the opposite. We believe these plans must be made with full public input and with public rights as the guiding principle, not just the trailing afterthought.
“What isn’t a solution is leaving a very dirty facility like this right at sea level in a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zone with no consideration of the impacts of climate change,” said Chris Kilian.
Allan Kanner, a lawyer for the CLF, argued that the risk has been made clear already. During the historic spring floods in 2010 that inundated large parts of Rhode Island, storm water washed contaminants from the Shell terminal into the river, he said.
In the face of rapid and irreversible development activity on the waterfront, it’s reassuring that CLF and other advocates are again manning the barricades to ensure a clean harbor’s benefits are enjoyed by all.
