Defend Our Communities: Pass the CHERISH Act!

As Maryland considers building new methane gas and nuclear plants — mostly to power new data centers — we must ensure that these harmful industries don’t gain a foothold in already-at-risk communities.

The CHERISH Our Communities Act would require the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Public Service Commission to scrutinize the impacts new methane gas plants, trash incinerators, and other harmful polluters would have on communities that are already overburdened by pollution.

Please urge your state representatives to support the CHERISH Our Communities Act to demand that our state agencies protect communities already facing the environmental and health ramifications of polluting industries.

Your Message

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I urge you to support the CHERISH Our Communities Act because the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) have a duty to protect overburdened communities from the disproportionate pollution in their environment.

Maryland’s permitting system for new and existing polluting industries, like methane gas power plants, should reflect values meant to defend environmental justice communities already prone to pollution in their neighborhoods.

CHERISH would require that PSC and MDE strengthen their permitting process to further scrutinize the environmental and health impacts of a proposed new polluting facility before issuing permits.

The bill would also require a public input process that allows community members to share their feedback and concerns on new facilities like methane gas plants before key permits like Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity can be issued by the PSC.

Other states like New Jersey, Minnesota, and New York have already passed similar laws, and Maryland can’t fall behind. If Maryland wants to be a leader on climate and environment justice, we should be passing laws that reflect these values.

I urge you to support the CHERISH Our Community Act (SB780/HB1287 and SB0781/HB1268) because our communities deserve to be protected from harmful, polluting new facilities like methane gas plants.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~Address 1} 
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Ghost Zip Code}

Sincerely,
[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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