Stated Clerk Writes to Army Corps of Engineers about Increased Coal Export Traffic in the Pacific NW

Col. John G. Buck

Seattle District Commander

Seattle District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

P.O. Box 3755

Seattle, WA 98 124-3755

Re:  Support of Lummi Nation Request for Denial of Permit for the Proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal Bulk Dry Goods Shipping Facility (Ref. No. NWS-2008-260).

Dear Colonel Buck:

As Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a Christian denomination in the Reformed tradition, it is my responsibility to communicate the will of the General Assembly, our church’s highest governing body, which is composed of representatives from all 171 presbyteries in the nation. Last year, the 221^st General Assembly (2014) expressed, by unanimous consent, serious concern about the expansion of coal transportation through the Pacific Northwest. I therefore urge you to deny the permit for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal Bulk Dry Goods Shipping Facility at Cherry Point, WA.

The Assembly “recognize[d] that regional issues of extraction, pollution, transportation, and export have interstate, national, and global implications, both for environmental justice concerns and for global climate disruption/change. Such impacts range from coal dust pollution, diesel particulates, potential for derailments, negative impacts on real estate, and public health and safety concerns, to global climate change, sea level rise, acidification of oceans, severe weather events, and the ethical dilemma of profiting from the export of coal and other fossil fuels for use in countries whose environmental and pollution restrictions are less stringent.”

For these reasons we also urge that any expansion of coal train routes undergo a complete Environmental Impact Assessment conducted at multiple locations along the proposed expansion route so as to assess the impact on vulnerable communities.

To add to these environmental justice concerns, I understand that the proposed Cherry Point coal terminal will be located on Lummi Nation sacred sites. This terminal threatens Lummi fishing rights and their way of life. The potential damage to salmon, crab and herring fisheries cannot be mitigated.  Nor can the damage to ancestral homes and archeological sites be repaired once they are destroyed.   All of this has been clearly spelled out by the tribe in numerous letters to the Army Corps of Engineers. Siting this coal terminal at Cherry Point plainly violates Lummi Nation treaty rights. As a church, we have confessed our complicity in the oppression of this nation’s First People and affirm that “programs and services to Indian peoples are not ‘gifts,’ but are rights accorded to them as citizens of the United States and as members of Indian tribes who secured those rights through ‘government to government’ agreements and treaties.” I write to stand in solidarity with the Lummi Nation and urge you to reject the permit for the new Terminal.

Our covenants are sacred -- those with God, those between the U.S. government and the governments of indigenous people, and our covenant with each other to till and to keep the Earth healthy for generations to come. I call on the Army Corps of Engineers to uphold the treaty rights of the Native communities of the Northwest, to ensure that our extraction, transportation and export of fossil fuels not do harm to vulnerable communities and the environment, and immediately to deny the permit application for a proposed coal export terminal at Cherry Point, Xwe’chi’eXen in the Native language.   

Sincerely,

The Reverend Gradye Parsons

Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

CC:      The Honorable Jay Inslee

            The Honorable Patty Murray

The Honorable Maria Cantwell

The Honorable Suzan DelBene

The Honorable Rick Larsen

The Honorable Jaime Herrera Beutler

The Honorable Dan Newhouse

The Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers

The Honorable Derek Kilmer

The Honorable Jim McDermott

The Honorable Dave Reichert

The Honorable Adam Smith

The Honorable Denny Heck

           

To read the complete GA Overture, click here.

To download the PDF of this letter, click here. 

General Assembly Concerned by Coal Trains

Approved as amended (amended text below) by the 221st General Assembly (2014) on the consent agenda --

On Affirming a Programmatic Review of the Impact of Expanded Coal Export Projects on Human Health and Well Being

The Presbytery of Seattle overtures the 221st General Assembly (2014) to state concerns related to the ongoing and expanding extraction and export of fossil fuels, particularly coal, from the U.S. for use in Asia, and approve the following measures for public health and climate stewardship:

     1. Urges civil authorities to conduct promptly a full, programmatic review and assessment of the impact of expanded coal export projects in Washington and Oregon on human health and the well-being of communities along the Northwest rail lines. [This should include full Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) produced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the studies should be conducted at multiple locations along the proposed expansion route so as to assess the impact on vulnerable communities.
 
     2. Commends the Washington State Department of Environmental Quality (WA DEQ) for its decision to conduct a full EIS along the route within its jurisdiction and directs the Stated Clerk to communicate this approbation to WA DEQ.
 
     3. Recognizes that regional issues of extraction, pollution, transportation, and export have interstate, national, and global implications, both for environmental justice concerns and for global climate disruption/change. Such impacts range from coal dust pollution, diesel particulates, potential for derailments, negative impacts on real estate, and public health and safety concerns, to global climate change, sea level rise, acidification of oceans, severe weather events, and the ethical dilemma of profiting from the export of coal and other fossil fuels for use in countries whose environmental and pollution restrictions are less stringent.
 
     4. Affirms that civil authorities are called upon to require full disclosure and consideration of the combined effect of all coal export projects taken together on the poorest and most vulnerable communities, locally and globally. The General Assembly further affirms that the evaluation of coal export involves moral choices, in which key considerations are caring for the creation that God has made and with careful stewardship and justice for those who depend on a stable climate and water supply for survival.
 
     5. Directs the Stated Clerk to write to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, and the governors and congressional delegation of Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho, urging comprehensive Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) along proposed routes for expanded export of fossil fuels, including analysis from the National Transportation Safety Board and other bodies as necessary.
 
     6. Commends the presbyteries of Seattle, Cascades, and North Puget Sound for their environmental awareness and advocacy, and encourages other Presbyterians and councils of the church to consider the impact of resource extraction, transportation, and use in their regions and to work with state and national ecumenical bodies and the Office of Public Witness of the Presbyterian Mission Agency in addressing concerns.

Action Alert- Invest in Green Climate Fund

Carbon pollution, no matter where it occurs, causes climate change everywhere. As part of one world, we believe we must act for the good of all here and now, and for future generations to come.

A key aspect of addressing global climate change is building the capacity of developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change/disruption. People in developing countries suffer disproportionately from climate disasters that threaten their health and livelihoods. Our faith compels us to stand with the most vulnerable and to act with justice for all throughout God’s creation. We believe we are called to take a strong, active stand on the Green Climate Fund and work for its success.

 

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was conceived in 2009 to help poor and vulnerable countries to address these challenges. More than 30 countries have already pledged $10.2 billion to get the fund up and running. In his current budget proposal, President Obama has requested $500 million for the GCF. To maintain U.S. leadership in addressing the global climate challenge, Congress must approve this request.

Tell your members of Congress to invest $500 million in the Green Climate Fund; it is essential to combating global climate change. Click http://capwiz.com/pcusa/issues/alert/?alertid=65764676

Leading emitters of greenhouse gases have a moral obligation to act. The U.S. is the largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases. Developing countries must have the funds needed to move forward with sustainable clean energy, avoiding the dirty fossil fuels that created the current crisis. Countries who have profited the most and contributed the most to the current crisis, meanwhile, must have the courage and accountability to finance the solution.

In a time of increased natural disasters, another important aspect of the GCF is that it will enable countries to build resilience to changing weather patterns, sea level rise, and extreme weather events. An investment of $500 million in Fiscal Year 2016 (the budget currently under debate in Congress) is a small but critical contribution to ensure vulnerable communities are prepared to avoid the hard-hitting impacts of climate change.

Contact your members of Congress today to ensure the U.S. does its part to fund climate solutions around the globe. Click http://capwiz.com/pcusa/issues/alert/?alertid=65764676

PC(USA) Comments on EPA Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule

NOTE: If you have not submitted comments on the EPA's proposed Carbon rule, you may still do so by the end of the day on Monday, Dec. 1, at our Action Center.

December 1, 2014

Environmental Protection Agency

Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20460

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602

Dear Administrator McCarthy:

First, let me begin by thanking you for meeting with my colleagues and me the week before Thanksgiving in the Faith Leader meeting at which we delivered thousands of comments on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule from concerned people of faith. I am truly grateful for your leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency and your proactive approach to protecting the Creation with which God has blessed us.

Adding to that cloud of witnesses and representing the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the highest deliberative body in this denomination, I am writing to support strongly the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule, which will limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.  Knowing that carbon pollution is the leading cause factor in global climate change, that the U.S. economy has historically been the largest greenhouse gas emitter, and that power plants are the single largest contributor of such pollution in the U.S. economy, we believe that this rule is essential for addressing global climate change. Climate change is one of the most pressing moral issues of our time, endangering the well-being of current and future generations and all of God’s creation.

In 2008, the 218^th General Assembly wrote:

With our Lord, we stand with the ‘least of these’ and advocate for the poor and oppressed in present and future generations who are often the victims of environmental injustice and who are least able to mitigate the impact of global warming that [is falling] disproportionately on them.

As citizens of the U.S., which has historically produced more greenhouse gases than any other country, and which is currently responsible for over a fifth of the world’s annual emissions, we implore our nation to accept its moral responsibility to address global warming [through public policy, as well as through our own actions individually and as communities]…

As advocates for justice, we reject the claim that all nations should shoulder an equal measure of the burden associated with mitigating climate change. Industrialized nations like the U.S. have produced most of the emissions over the last three centuries and deserve to shoulder the majority of the burden… (The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming, approved by the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA))

This policy statement went on to outline numerous policies that could and hopefully will yet be employed to achieve the goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (many requiring an act of Congress). At the time, we called for a national response to climate change that would be based on the best available science, would mitigate the worst impacts of increased prices on people living in poverty in the U.S., and would provide ample adaptation support for the poorest and most affected communities around the globe.  While it is not in the EPA’s jurisdiction to accomplish all this, the Clean Power Plan is an important step in the right direction.

Further, our most recent General Assembly “affirm[ed] the vital importance of sustainable development through faithful stewardship of natural resources and the Precautionary Principle. Such methods of preventing irreversible ecological impacts are part of the basis for a responsible, moral, and scientifically-informed human flourishing, affirming the sacred in societal and creation care, and protecting the earth for future generations.” Clearly, a Clean Power Plan is vital to the principle of sustainable development and future energy decisions should be strongly advised by the Precautionary Principle.  

We know from our global church partners that climate change is already changing life on earth, as we know it. Multi-year droughts in some areas, sea-level rise and extreme flooding in others, are impacting communities and people around the world, particularly those who are most vulnerable, lacking the financial and technological resources required to adapt to a changing climate. Climate change is also already impacting global agriculture, both food supplies and prices. Reducing hunger and alleviating poverty are key concerns for the Church. Yet, we know that climate change is increasing the need and reducing our capacity to respond to it effectively.

By setting limits on the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in our economy, the proposed rule will not only begin to reduce the U.S. economy’s contribution to this overwhelming problem, but also will improve public health by decreasing the number of unhealthy air days.  Too often, the people that bear the burden of harmful emissions are communities of color and low-income families.  By reducing our emissions from existing power plants, we will be cleaning up the air that was gifted by God, so that all may breathe freely.

If we hope to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and protect communities around the world, reducing carbon emissions from power plants must be a top priority for our country.  The proposed rule will make important progress towards that goal while still allowing states the flexibility to implement standards in ways that make the most sense for their economies and power needs.

Climate change is already affecting all of us.  But mostly, it will affect our children, our grandchildren, and our most vulnerable neighbors, if we fail to take bold action now to curb its worst impacts.  As Presbyterian Christians, we believe that we have a moral obligation to leave our children a healthy and safe world and to care for our neighbors.  This proposed rule is an important step on the path to meeting that obligation.

Thank you for taking this bold step to protect our future.

Sincerely,

The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II

Director for Public Witness

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Faith Leaders Meet EPA Administrator McCarthy

For more information contact:

Tricia Bruckbauer, Creation Justice Ministries (253) 592-5534

(see below for photographs)

Faith Communities Meet with EPA Administrator McCarthy

Deliver thousands of comments in support of the Clean Power Plan

Washington, D.C. – Representatives from 17 religious organizations met with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy Tuesday afternoon to highlight the support and work of the faith community on the rules to regulate carbon emissions from power plants.  Those gathered represented the U.S. Baha’i Office of Public Affairs, Church of the Brethren, Church World Service, the Coalition On the Environment and Jewish Life, the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Interfaith Power & Light, the Islamic Society of North America, Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, Sojourners, the United Methodist Church, the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, and Creation Justice Ministries.

Over the last year, the faith community has been involved in advocacy efforts to influence and support the Clean Power Plan. Many religious leaders testified at EPA hearings across the country on behalf of their communions.  People of faith also gathered outside of the EPA headquarters twice to bless the hearings and those offering public comments.  Many of the groups collected grassroots comments totaling in the thousands.

There is a call in most of the world’s religions to care for the Earth and for our fellow man.

Many communions represented in the meeting got involved with the EPA’s carbon rules because of a desire to address climate change and work toward cleaner air.

"The diversity of faith communities actively advocating for the Clean Power Plan is both broad and strong,” stated Rev. Stacy Martin, Director of National Policy and Advocacy for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  “While we sometimes come at the issues of climate change and clean air from different religious purviews, we share a common moral call to care for the planet in order to serve our most vulnerable neighbors, and future generations."

“Many in the Christian community are excited and hopeful about the Clean Power Plan,” offered Tricia Bruckbauer, Program Director for Creation Justice Ministries. “We view clean air as a gift from God, and advocate for the right of all God’s people to breath freely.  This plan to regulate carbon emissions is a step in the right direction.”

Upon finalization of the national rule, religious communities will look to the States to aid in the State Implementation Plan processes and ensure values of justice and equity are included in the different plans.  The public comment period for the Clean Power Plan is open until December 1st.

###

Creation Justice Ministries is an ecumenical organization representing 38 Christian denominations and their policies related to the environment.

Meeting Begins by Sharing Faith Commitment to Creation Care
Photo Credit: Eric Vance, EPA Photographer

OPW Director J. Herbert Nelson tell Administrator McCarthy
about PC(USA) concern around carbon pollution and climate change
Photo Credit: Eric Vance, EPA Photographer

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy speaks eloquently about her
own concern for carbon pollution
Photo Credit: Eric Vance, EPA Photographer

The Assembled Faith Leaders' Delegation with Administrator McCarthy
Photo Credit: Eric Vance, EPA Administrator