Our partners at Sustainable Medina County have been BUSY fighting the pipeline and getting signatures for the county charter. Here is a rundown from them on related news and events from the last couple of weeks:

• Call to Action. Call your senators and three members of the Senate Energy and National Recourse Committee. The senate vote on the FERC nominees is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6, so be sure to call on Monday. Here is a simple script:
  • I am calling to urge the Senator to oppose hearings on the President’s nominations for the vacant FERC Commissioner Seats.
    
    Instead I want the Senator to make it his/her/their top priority to hold hearings into the abuses of power and law being experienced by communities across this nation at the hands of FERC and to identify needed reforms.
    
    Without hearings and reforms FERC will continue to abuse its power and the health, safety and welfare of all decent people here in America.
    
    Installing Commissioners advanced by a President with business interests around the world that conflict with good decision-making and energy policy here in the U.S., particularly one that demands loyalty to himself from his agency heads, is a serious national security risk.
  • Here is a list of senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_Energy_and_Natural_Resource
• The proposed Medina County Charter will not make the ballot if we don't get enough signatures. The charter will create a home rule government for the citizens of Medina County.  A government where people have a say and ca create a Community Bill of Rights.  The Bill of Rights is intended to secure our rights to clean air, water and soil.  We the People of Medina County believe that we have the right to protect our environment today and for future generations.  (Our elected officials need to stop playing politics with our children's future health and environment.)
• The NEXUS pipeline is a high pressure TRANSPORT line.  Gas will be traveling at 1440 psi, moving at more than 800 miles per hour through the pipeline.)The NEXUS pipeline will not benefit anyone in Medina County.  Residents of Medina County will be taking considerable risks with no benefits.  Corporate profits are the the only motive.  
• Residents ask Army Corps to revoke blanket permit for Rover pipeline. See this article for more information: http://whmi.com/news/article/28589
• The Ohio EPA says there is diesel fuel in spilled pipeline drilling mud. See this article in the Canton Repository for more: http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20170601/rover-pipeline-faces-more-environmental-scrutiny
  
• Senate vote on FERC nominees likely to be DELAYED, but this doesn't mean you should stop calling! A hearing for the two nominees, Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson, was held May 25, delayed by missing paperwork. Following the committee vote on Tuesday, which is expected to result in the approval both nominees, a vote from the Senate will be required. The full Senate vote is expected to be delayed by some Democrats amid concerns about the environmental impact of pipeline construction. You can read more here: https://www.thestreet.com/story/14160515/1/u-s-pipeline-cos-ready-to-blow-past-regulatory-roadblock.html​
• And finally, an inspirational quote from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges: "Those that carry out effective resistance in times of distress, they understand all the forces are right against them. They understand how powerful those forces are. They understand how small they are. And yet they resist any way. Resistance becomes about something other than winning. It becomes about affirming who we are as human beings. Understanding that if Justice perishes, human life on Earth has lost it's meaning. It is a perpetual never ending struggle. And we're called to that struggle and have faith that the struggle is worth it. Even if every indicator around us seems to say that it is futile"

Our partners are Sustainable Medina County are hard at work as usual. Here is what they're up to and how you can help:

Help us in our fight to stop this pipeline altogether.

Many communities along the routes of proposed pipelines are initiating a COMMUNITY BILL OF RIGHTS, which would give the people living there a voice and a right to be heard.

This pipeline is a high pressure TRANSPORT line that will not benefit anyone in Medina County.  We are taking on considerable risk, with no benefits. Corporate profits is the only motive. The more pipelines, the more frenetic fracking in our state.

When you see a petition for a COMMUNITY BILL OF RIGHTS, please sign it, so that this issue can be placed on the ballot in November!

For more information, please go to:
sustainablemedinacounty.org or NoNexus.org
​

Image courtesy of EcoWatch, http://www.ecowatch.com/green-lawsuit-nexus-pipeline-2392368568.html

Our partners at Sustainable Medina County alerted us to an update on the Nexus Pipeline. A group of 60 people in three counties have filed a lawsuit to stop the pipeline.

You can learn more in the article in the Medina Gazette: ​http://www.medina-gazette.com/Medina-County/2017/05/14/Lawsuit-aims-to-stop-NEXUS-pipeline.html

​Here's a note from one of our partners, Sustainable Medina County. Their mission is to "...protect Medina County’s environment to ensure a healthy ecosystem for today’s residents and future generations."


At our meeting on April 17th we heard updates on the NEXUS and ROVER pipelines. Since we are in the second week of obtaining signatures for the Medina County/Bill of Rights initiative petition, discussion was had on the need for more circulators training new circulators.  We need 5,000 valid signatures by Medina County registered voters.

Petition Circulators do not have to reside in Medina County.

The next meeting for the group is scheduled for May 1st at 6:30pm at Wadsworth Buehler’s Community Room (175 Great Oaks Trail) and all who want further updates on the NEXUS pipeline and compressor station or are interested in helping circulate petitions are welcome to attend.  The proposed Medina County Charter can be found on the Sustainable Medina County website link:  sustainablemedinacounty.org.

We recently organized with Medina County Together the Medina County People’s Climate March and it is scheduled for Saturday, April 29th from noon to 2pm on Medina Public Square (S. Court and W. Washington St.). All are  to meet by the water fountain and are encouraged to bring signs.