![]() ![]() Since Congress exempted fracking from the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, the practice has become common in the United States. The chief issue they repeatedly criticized was the state's growing reliance on an industry that has thrived by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The environment was front and center as dozens of Vermonters voiced relentless opposition to the pipeline. The Legislature has the power to alter its structure. 25 to discuss changes to the board’s permitting process. The House and Senate Committees on Natural Resources and Energy are convening at the Statehouse on Sept. “This is a process where money talks, and we don’t have it,” he said. Jonathan Shapiro, who is also a member of Rising Tide Vermont, echoed a similar sentiment after his testimony, where he posed as Captain Hook from J.M. Barrie’s "Peter Pan." Photo by Andrew Stein/VTDigger Jonathan Shapiro, a member of the anti-pipeline group Rising Tide Vermont, posed as Captain Hook from J.M. “How do we know that they are actually paying attention to the people?” Bennington asked the board. Peter Shumlin supports the natural gas pipeline. The department, however, falls under the wing of the executive branch, which is subject to the governor’s political will. The department, which is a separate entity from the board, is charged with representing the public’s interest in Public Service Board proceedings. “That is completely unfair, completely undemocratic shows, and you are rolling your eyes at me! And you are not supposed to respond to me during this process!”Īfter cooling his temper, Bennington told the board that the Department of Public Service had not responded to him or his peers on questions they submitted more than a month ago. “The citizen’s guide to the 248 process does not lay out rules, and it certainly doesn’t lay out the rules that you impose on us tonight, which were different from the rules in March,” he said. When he was given the microphone, Bennington laid into the board. Instead, he led a protest outside the hearing.īennington is one of many Vermonters who have expressed deep dissatisfaction this past year with a board process often deemed “citizen unfriendly.” Bennington and other members of Rising Tide formed an ad-hoc group called Vermont Intergenerational Stewards to intervene in the Public Service Board’s permitting process, but were not granted party status. Will Bennington, a 24-year-old organic farmer from Monkton, is an organizer for the anti-pipeline group Rising Tide Vermont. A lot of your concerns were whether the truth was told to you, and you should be ashamed of not telling the truth.” “Seriously, no matter what you say, to do something when you’re not saying the truth, hopefully it gnaws at you a little. “How are we going to feel about taking seriously the comments you give us, if you’re not going to play by the rules?” he said. ![]() ![]() John Burke, another board member, gave the crowd a stern rebuke. “People who have signed up have not been honest about this,” board chairman James Volz said. Weary members of the Public Service Board (from left) David Coen, James Volz and John Burke.
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