Keene City Council backs gas proposal, delays climate res

After weeks of following the resolution asking Keene to stand with the Paris Climate Agreement bounce from committee to City Council and back to committee, last night it was back on the council agenda and passed. The resolution, proposed by Keene City Councilors Terry Clark and Randy Filiault had some revisions along the way, but was well-received last night and not opposed.  The resolution is particularly timely as ECHO Action continues our campaign against a natural (fracked) gas plant in Keene. The temporary plant, proposed by Liberty Utilities, was approved on June 15th. The company promptly began the permitting for a permanent plant in Keene. ECHO Action received a grant this week that will help extend outreach and a community and business forum is being planned. The economic benefits of renewable energy over fracked gas will be the focus of the forum. http://www.echoaction.org/single-post/2017/07/07/Keene-passes-resolution-to-push-the-goals-of-the-Paris-Climate-Accord

STOP LIBERTY UTILITIES from making NH a carbon corridor. You'll find the transcript of Liberty Utilities admission to their relationship with Kinder Morgan at a Winchester Select Board meeting on the Pipeline Education page.

💥 PETITION: Sign now! http://bit.ly/2rHGwn q NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, A gas plant in Keene, and every Liberty Utilities contract approved, brings us one step closer to a pipeline, toxic methane billowing compressor stations, and an noxious industrial gas plant. We need your support now. Your call matters. Please help. Thank you! During the Wednesday, June 21st Planning, Licensing and Development (PLD) Committee meeting, citizen after citizen asked the committee for their support on the Paris Climate Accord. They voted to approve it. Citizens also spoke of their concern about the Keene gas plant vote that ended in a vote of 5 to 4. Many City Councilors were unable to vote because they did not attend the site visit. PLD Chair, David Richards, stated that so many councilors left out of such an important vote was highly unusual and that he missed the site visit because of surgery. After requests from those speaking, PLD committee member Bart Sapeta suggested that the vote should be reconsidered. This suggestion alone is encouraging, but it's not enough to get the vote changed. We need your calls and emails to the Mayor and City Council today. Please EMAIL & CALL MAYOR LANE. (script below) 1. Ask him to reschedule a site visit and provide the opportunity for all of the City Councilors to see the site. 2. Ask him to reconsider the gas plant vote which was made without all of the City Council and without consideration of any alternatives. 3. Ask him to suspend the vote until a community forum can be held to educate city leadership and citizens, other options can be considered and an informed decision can be made. 4. Remind him that when communities accept fracked gas, we become complicit in the poisoning of air, water, wildlife and people in the fracking fields. NOTE: 💥 LIBERTY UTLITIES HAS ALREADY STARTED THE APPROVAL PROCESS FOR A PERMANENT GAS PLANT, as they stated they would, once the temporary plant was approved. 💥 Liberty Utilities and Kinder Morgan have an admitted relationship. Please see the diagram and information provided below. More information at ECHOaction.org/pipeline-education 💥 Liberty Utilities offers cities a 10% reduction in fuel rates and raises rates on their other customers. 💥 Once the permanent plant is online, this helps to created a need for gas that will justify a pipeline. Gas will be exported to Canada to go to European markets and the price will rise. (The gas industry currently has a glut (excess of gas) and are selling way below normal rates.) Businesses should be saving money and serving the community by converting to heat pumps and renewable energy now, staying in line with the goals of Keene's Climate Action Plan. 💥 Mayor Lane has stated that "there will be no pipeline". He does not have the authority to tell FERC to stop a pipeline. If he and the City of Keene provide the conditions, help create the need for a pipeline, saying no will not stop FERC. Read about people fighting pipelines who had their land confiscated through eminent domain. Our representatives in the Senate and Congress can't stop FERC and neither can Mayor Lane. 🔴 CALL & EMAIL TODAY. MAYOR KENDALL LANE Keene City Hall 3 Washington St., Keene, NH 03431 (603) 357-9805, mayor@ci.keene.nh.us https://www.ci.keene.nh.us/government/mayor EMAIL THE MAYOR & CALL CITY COUNCILORS: (Copy & paste) mayor@ci.keene.nh.us, jmanwaring@ci.keene.nh.us, shooper@ci.keene.nh.us, mgreenwald@ci.keene.nh.us, cjacobs@ci.keene.nh.us, dcrichards@ci.keene.nh.us, tmclark@ci.keene.nh.us, roconnor@ci.keene.nh.us, rsutherland@ci.keene.nh.us, pjones@ci.keene.nh.us, tpowers@ci.keene.nh.us, rfiliault@ci.keene.nh.us, bchadbourne@ci.keene.nh.us, bsapeta@ci.keene.nh.us, ghansel@ci.keene.nh.us, glamoureux@ci.keene.nh.us - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CALLING / EMAIL SCRIPT Dear Mayor Lane, Thank you for the leadership Keene has demonstrated on climate action. A climate action plan, climate adaptation plan, climate protection committee, state-of-the-art recycling plant, food co-op and active climate groups in the community are something to be proud of. These commendable actions are the reason that residents of the Monadnock Region expect Keene leadership to keep taking strides that inspire us all to build clean, green, healthy, vibrant and economically strong towns and cities. Keene's reputation reaches across the Granite State, throughout the Connecticut Valley and beyond. You may have noticed that attendance at meetings in support of a resolution to align with the Paris Climate Accord and in support of choosing alternatives to Liberty Utilities' plan for a gas plant in Keene has been populated by residents from as far away as Nashua and Brattleboro. We hope that our sincere desire to support Keene's progress and to maintain it's reputation for forward-thinking decision making is apparent to you. We were very disappointed that so many Keene City Councilors were unable to participate in the 5 to 4 vote that ended up in approving Liberty Utilities' plans for a temporary gas plant, because they missed the site visit. We respectfully ask that you reconsider the vote and invite all of the City Councilors to another site visit. Additionally, we ask that you suspend any further decision making until such time as a community forum can be held. There are economically competitive alternatives in solar and heat pumps that will save money, prevent another conversion when natural (fracked) gas prices rise, and will keep Keene in good standing with residents as well as businesses. Sincerely, Your Name Your Town & State - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CLIMATE ACTION SUPPORTERS ECHO Action NH: #FossilFree603 Environmental Justice Network NH Pipeline Resistance: No Keene Gas Plant, Liberty Utilities/Kinder Morgan NH Plastic Pollution Alliance Empowerment: The Children's Climate Quilt Project Climate Rebel Coalition NH Winchester Pipeline Awareness Monadnock Progressive Alliance Keene, Progressive Neighbors Post Oil Solutions (VT) Bob The Green Guy (VT) Roaring Brook Affinity Group 99th Monkey Affinity Group (VT) NH Pipeline Health Study Group Keene Peace & Climate Activists