Filter By:
Type
State
Priority
Posted On
Search Results
Solar Siting in Montgomery County: Testimony ZTA 20-01
UPDATE: The County Council is poised to vote on ZTA 20-01, and the most important of our concerns have still gone unresolved. Send a message to your Council representatives today: they must fix ZTA 20-01 to protect renting farmers and the Agricultural Reserve as a whole.
--------
On October 5th, Clean Water and Audubon Naturalist Society submitted testimony to the Montgomery County Council explaining our questions and concerns about Zoning Text Amendment 20-01, a proposal to open up the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve for solar development.
1. Introduction
The Montgomery Council
The Future of Our Air, Water, and Soil: Advocacy on the Forefront
I am often asked: “Why are you studying environmental policy?”
This is a loaded question because there are so many different ways to answer it. The other day, however, I had a revelation.
I attended a Facebook live event on PFAS (a human-made chemical class that is resistant to grease, water, oil, and heat) contamination in consumer goods. One of the speakers described how her family has lived approximately 100 meters from an incinerator for generations. Her mother recently died from a brain cancer that was thought to have a causal relationship with chronic PFAS exposure.
Hearing her story
Putting drinking water first in Frederick County
This summer, Frederick County proved itself to be an environmental leader. By passing the Climate Emergency Resolution and two critical bills to protect our forests from development, the county has demonstrated that it's taking its responsibility to fight against and prepare for climate change seriously, and has enacted the strongest forest conservation measures in Maryland. Kudos to all of the organizations and individuals who have been fighting for years to bring these changes into reality!
But the fight for clean water never stops, and this fall, we're back with the County Council to
Latest Trump Rollback Puts Our Nation’s Drinking Water at Greater Risk
"It’s unconscionable for EPA to give coal plants a free pass to continue to contaminate drinking water sources and poison the rivers and lakes where people fish to put food on their table."
Maryland Denies Permits for Southern MD Solar Project
Today, the Maryland Department of the Environment announced that they are denying the permits to clear cut over 200 acres of Southern Maryland forest for a solar project.
Clean Water Action, along with many other local and regional groups and individuals, objected to the proposal, pointing out the problems with clearing forest for solar development. While solar energy is beneficial and we have an urgent need to transition off fossil fuels, we need to place it with care and foresight. Choosing a site for solar development that requires clear cutting over 200 acres and impairing a high quality