Call a halt to uncontrolled utility "vegetation management"

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Some Questions Left Unanswered in BG&E's Letter

Bob Burchard posed the following questions in response to BG&E's letter - I believe they are worthy of answers: Why was BG&E's response addressed solely to Senator Klausemeier? If one were assured of BGE's good faith efforts, the letter would be OK. But, as it's written, it's BGE that identifies * the stakeholders * probable concerns * reasonable actions to minimize impact * the communications plan * the discovery of unforeseen stakeholders The company would also monitor itself and r… Continue

Posted by Phila on May 6, 2008 at 11:50am — No Comments

BG&E's Response to Sen. Klausemeier

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Posted by Phila on May 6, 2008 at 11:27am — No Comments

Cromwell Bridge Community Requests Meeting with County Executive

CROMWELL BRIDGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION 2320 Hoover Lane Glen Arm, MD 21057 April 29, 2008 County Executive James T. Smith, Jr. 400 Washington Avenue Old Courthouse Mezzanine Towson, Maryland 21204 RE: Cromwell Bridge Road Tree Removal Dear County Executive Smith, We are following up on the recent letters, emails and telephone calls made to your office and Baltimore County Dept. of Public Works. You are undoubtedly aware of the tree cutting on the hillside along Cromwell Bridge Road, first by… Continue

Posted by Phila on May 6, 2008 at 11:17am — No Comments

What's Happening in Cromwell Valley?

Hello to all, As with all dealings with BGE, it's wait, wait, wait THEN hurry, hurry, hurry......so here we go: The Environmental Impact Study has been completed by BGE consultants ERI/FSH. We anticipate receipt of the results early this week. We plan to hire John Davis to review and explain the contents of the study prior to the stakeholders meetings. BGE has planned to meet with Elected Officials only on Friday, May 2, 2008 in Council Chambers and then have a subsequent meeting to include C… Continue

Posted by Phila on May 6, 2008 at 11:11am — No Comments

Good News from the DNR - Planting in Patapsco!

Bob Burchard, Sierra Club ex-comm member and one of the guiding lights of this network, was checking in with Arnold (Butch) Norden, Chief Planner for the MD Park Service.

From: Robert Burchard
Subject: BGE & tree cutting in Patapasco Valley State Park

Dear Mr. Norden, You were copied on a March 21 letter that Secretary Griffin sent to me re. BGE's tree destruction in PVSP (Patapsco Valley State Park). I am interested to learn of the status of both the "stop work"… Continue

Posted by Phila on April 24, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

News from Cromwell Valley - Keeping the Pressure On

Looks like the Cromwell Valley Community Association is holding their county councilman's feet to the fire, requesting support toward keeping BG&E accountable for their promises....

From: Andrea To: T. Bryan McIntire Cc: erie.a.bland@constellation.com ; stephen.j.woerner@constellation.com ; milton.branson@constellation.com ; laura.barnhardt@baltsun.com Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 3:38 PM Subject: BGE Vegetation Management Dear Councilman McIntire; In regard to our dispute with BGE… Continue

Posted by Phila on April 21, 2008 at 4:30pm — No Comments

What's Happening in Howard County? News from CLEER

This just in, from Elaine Pardoe of the Committee for Lake Elkhorn’s Environmental Restoration (CLEER) in Howard County... Regarding our second watershed protection project, negotiating with BGE to advocate for a change in their transmission vegetation management plans after this winter's aggressive clear cutting, we are moving ahead. We have formed a task force to develop new vegetation management and community outreach guidelines. This group, which has already met at the Lake Elkhorn… Continue

Posted by Phila on April 20, 2008 at 1:28pm — No Comments

Do you have a blog? Spread the word - with images!

You've heard me mention the ways in which the slide show above can be used...and I'd like to show you a sample. Check it out at my blog, The Tree-Huggin' Copywriter - scroll down until you see the "Visit Me At..." entry on the right sidebar. How do you embed the slideshow? Two options -- click the EMBED link at the upper right corner of the slideshow and copy the text, then enter it at the appropriate point in your blog, or -- scroll down on the… Continue

Posted by Phila on April 20, 2008 at 1:22pm — No Comments

Where's a good Lorax when you need one?

You may have seen the latest commercial from BG&E - how trees and branches endanger power lines, how wonderful it is that BG&E cuts them, and how Marylanders can look forward to seeing BG&E crews doing so, because “we’re on it.” It was a virtual victory dance touting their raze-to-the-dirt "vegetation management" practices. Alerted by this, I spoke today with various people at the Forestry Division of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. None of the bills that would have p… Continue

Posted by Phila on April 16, 2008 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Good News re: SB727

Just heard from the Cromwell Valley group: From: Klausmeier, Katherine Senator Subject: SB727 THE TREE BILL Just PASSED out of committee Senator Kathy Klausmeier 103 James Senate Office Building Annapolis, MD 21401 katherine.klausmeier@senate.state.md.us Phone: (410) 841-3620 Fax: (410) 841-3085 Keep those calls and letters coming! Continue

Posted by Phila on March 29, 2008 at 11:13am — No Comments

Resources on Eco-Friendly Landscaping, Watershed Protection, etc.

Available through National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP), (800) 490-9198. Overview at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/stream_restoration/newgra.html Baybook: A guide to Reducing Water Pollution at Home. Chesapeake Bay, Inc.* Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay et. al. (March 1993). A lay publication to create awareness and actions to reduce water pollution. Homeowners are the target aud… Continue

Posted by Phila on March 24, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Request for Photos

If you have digital images of clear-cutting done by BG&E in your area (or Cromwell Valley, Gunpowder State Park, Patapsco State Park, or Columbia), please either post them here or send them to me at phila@your-words-worth.com for posting...they will be added to the slideshow on the front page, which can be downloaded and embedded in your own web page or blog. This will enable us to create a collective database of the damage done. Thank you! Continue

Posted by Phila on March 24, 2008 at 10:28am — No Comments

Who should receive your letter.....

JOAN CARTER CONWAY, Chair Democrat, District 43, Baltimore City Miller Senate Office Building, 2 West Wing 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 841-3145, (301) 858-3145 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3145 (toll free) e-mail: joan.carter.conway@senate.state.md.us fax: (410) 841-3135, (301) 858-3135 ROY P. DYSON Vice-Chair Democrat, District 29, Calvert, Charles & St. Mary's Counties James Senate Office Building, Room 102 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 841-3673, (301) 858-… Continue

Posted by Phila on March 20, 2008 at 11:31pm — No Comments

Sample letter for Senate Committee members

Here's an idea for letters to send to the Senate Commitee members. Feel free to change wording. ( 3/20/08 HB 839 just got an unfavorable report in Econ. Mat.) Since this is now out of committee there is no sense in sending to the Delegates. Need to hurry, things happen quickly. TO: 'joan.carter.conway@senate.state.md.us'; 'roy.dyson@senate.state.md.us'; 'brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us'; 'andrew.harris@senate.state.md.us'; 'paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us'; 'jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us'; 'mik… Continue

Posted by Phila on March 20, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments