While the plan to construct a multi-billion dollar liquefaction facility at the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant in Lusby has received overwhelming support from local and state elected officials, one political figure has identified herself with the opponents of the project. Friday, March 7 Delegate Heather Mizeur [D-District 20], a candidate for governor, visited all three Southern Maryland counties. Her first stop was a meeting of the local Sierra Club. The one-hour session was held at Charles County’s newest library branch in St. Charles.
While Mizeur’s address was primarily about her opposition to Dominion’s plan and the possible expansion of a controversial hydraulic drilling procedure known as fracking, she also spoke about other issues, including her support for the legalization of marijuana.
Sierra Club member Bonnie Bick said the organization is concerned the Cove Point project could make Maryland “the fracking capital of the East Coast.” Currently the state has a moratorium on fracking in place and is conducting a study as to whether to allow drilling for natural gas in the Maryland portion of the Appalachian Region.
Bick said she attended the March 1 hearing conducted by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) and was impressed by the resolve of the citizens living in proximity to the plant.
“The only one it [project] is good for is Dominion,” said Bick, who described the fuel to be drilled, pipeline-transported to and exported from Cove Point as “natural methane gas.”
Bick also pointed out that parts of the Southern Maryland Region are part of the Taylorsville Basin, which could become a territory marked for fracking. “The best water in the world could become contaminated,” said Bick, who lamented the Cove Point project as being an indication Maryland could be digressing in its effort to transition to high renewable energy use by the year 2020. “It’s like zooming in the wrong direction,” said Bick. “We don’t want to cut our fingers off while holding onto the cliff.”
“It [Cove Point project] has local implications for this area, statewide implications, and implications globally,” said Sierra Club member Frank Fox.
Mizeur indicated the Cove Point project was proceeding much too quickly as was the state’s looming decision-making process regarding fracking.
“We need to have a more pragmatic approach to this,” said Mizeur. “Second chances are expensive. We’ve got to get this right the first time. After reviewing the science on this no one can be in favor of this project.”
If the Cove Point LNG Plant liquefaction project were to receive
