Residents in Peabody have been hard at work over the last few months to stop a proposed gas peaker plant from being built. We’re turning our attention to Secretary Katie Theoharides from the Executive Office of Energy Environment Affairs, head of the MEPA (MA Environmental Protection Act) office. It’s time for state officials to step in to protect our community and our future.
We are having a Virtual Day of Action later this week on Thursday, September 2nd to ask the MEPA Office to uphold our state’s most recent climate law by re-opening the MEPA process for the Peabody peaker.
We would love your support in spreading the word to your networks about this action, so that we can have the biggest impact possible. Please circulate this email and invite folks to our Facebook event for the day. Below are the steps we will be asking folks to take on Thursday.
1. Post on social media and tag Katie Theoharides and Gov Baker.
Bring attention to this issue by flooding social media newsfeeds and timelines on 9/2, so the people in power have no choice but to pay attention to and take action to stop this dangerous peaker plant. Harness the power of the people and the power of the internet to protect our community and our future.
Check out our Day of Action Toolkit for all the materials you need to post on social media and spread the word!
2. Call into the MEPA office and leave a message.
Call (857) 408-7049 (Page Czepiga, Asst Dir and Environmental Justice Point of Contact)
Sample language for your message:
“Hi. My name is [Full Name] and I’m a resident of Massachusetts. I’m calling because I’m concerned that MEPA is not following through on its mission to study the environmental impacts of projects and mitigate damage to the environment. The proposed peaking power plant in Peabody did not undergo the complete Environmental Impact Study process when it was filed in 2015. Please follow through on the new Climate Roadmap Bill and protect the environmental justice communities surrounding the proposed plant by reopening the MEPA process and doing a full environmental impact review. I hope you can be leaders on this issue. Thank you.”
3. Sign the petition, if you haven’t already.
Go to http://bit.ly/BCNS-petition and fill out your info.
4. Type up and submit comment to MEPA virtually
We want MEPA to hear from us through as many channels as possible. After you’ve posted on social media to spread the word publicly, you can also type up your thoughts and email them to Page Czepiga at page.czepiga@mass.gov. Please also CC MEPA@mass.gov.
5. Send this information to 5 friends and ask them to take action, too!
Send them the link bit.ly/BCNS-DOA so they have all the information they need to make their voice heard. Make sure you tell them to get back to you when they’ve taken action!