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Dear Community,
NOPE wanted to let you know of our continued commitment to representing all communities affected by Duke Energy’s Pipeline Plans. The outpouring of interest in what individuals along the Preferred (“Orange”) and Alternate (“Green”) routes has been overwhelming and the question that we frequently hear is “what can we do to help.” Hopefully, this newsletter will provide those answers.
There continues to be significant changes in pipeline route and application and your continued support is much needed.
TOP STORIES
Duke Filed an Amended Application:
On January 20, 2017 Duke filed several hundred pages of an amended application with the Ohio Power Siting Board. NOPE will begin the process of reviewing this application but from a cursory review it appears as if there have been some significant changes to the route selection. For example, the Orange Route no longer runs behind Kenwood Country Club’s golf course but runs along the golf cart path in the front of the club close to many residences. Next, the Orange line along Flora Avenue has been relocated to opposite sides of the street. Lastly, the Green Line which runs along Summit Park in Blue Ash has been shifted.
NOPE is troubled by the timing of the filing in light of the fact that Duke’s next mandatory informational meeting is a mere six days after this filing giving the public little, if any, time to review the amended filing prior to having an opportunity to ask questions. Furthermore, there was no public announcement of the filing AND as of January 22nd, the amended application is not located on Duke’s webpage that talks about the Central Corridor Pipeline. These actions do not appear to align with the concept of being transparent.
Duke’s Informational Session is January 26, 2017 at 5:30-8:30 p.m.
The session will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blue Ash and is an open house where one can come and go on his/her own time schedule. Duke has scheduled two half hour project overview presentations that are scheduled promptly for 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
YOUR ATTENDANCE IS NEEDED TO SHOW DUKE AND YOUR COMMUNITY LEADERS THAT YOUR INTEREST HAS NOT WANED!
NOPE is still raising funds to help pay for intervention and to assist in furthering our mission:
In September 2016, NOPE retained the legal services of attorneys from the law firm of Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm that provides legal services for modest means clients such as NOPE.
From its inception NOPE’s multi-community based activism had primarily been funded by the efforts and/or generosity of its few founding members. NOPE is a non-profit LCC and all members are volunteers on a non-paid basis. However, the legal process takes money, lots of money, so we had to turn to you, the community, to assist in funding these efforts. Should NOPE’s application for leave to intervene be approved NOPE will not only need to pay its legal counsel but will likely want participate in the retention of experts. That is why NOPE has established a GoFundMe account at https://www.gofundme.com/295gh4dw in which to raise funds to continue its fight for all communities.
Through your generosity, we have raised over $24,700.00 to date! But we continue to need your help! Please donate. You can either do so on-line by clicking on a link on our webpage at NOPECincy.org or by mailing a check to:
NOPE!
c/o Glenn Rosen, Treasurer
9228 Bluewing Ter,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
We hope to pass the half-way mark prior to the meeting on Jan. 26th.
Donations are NOT tax deductible.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
NOPE’s efforts began with a few individuals who were willing to walk their communities, engage their friends, family and neighbors, and make certain that information regarding the pipeline was made widespread. Unfortunately, there are still many communities and neighborhoods that are still potentially impacted that we have not been able to personally reach. So, we need you be “foot soldiers” and continue this path among your own friends and neighbors.
How would that work?
o Be a contact point for your immediate
neighborhood
o Walk the neighborhood and pass out flyers &
postcards. We are happy to provide templates for
these items.
o Encourage your neighbors to place yard signs,
make donations towards the intervention, and
ask others to walk and hand out information
including a copy of Duke’s emergency evacuation
policy that was sent recently sent to business
owners (Letter will be posted on NOPECincy.org).
o Review Duke’s amended application for omissions
of any sensitive locations
o If you sent a letter to the Ohio Power Siting Board
prior to Duke’s application being filed with the
change in pipeline size/pressure, send another
letter and encourage others to do so. Please
reference project 16-0253-GA-BTX. Mailing
information is on NOPECincy.org.
o Identify businesses nearby and those you
patronize and:
Send letter and copy of map showing where they
fall in relation to the blast zone (a sample letter will
soon be on NOPECincy.org)
Have NOPE speak at your school, place of worship,
and place of business.
o Encourage your neighbors to join together to fight
Duke’s efforts to obtain any easements should the
application eventually be approved.
Provide feedback/suggestions to NOPE.
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