» PIPELINE FIGHTERS ACTIVIST RESOURCES
• LEARNING AND RESEARCH RESOURCES
» Clean Energy Group’s webinar on VPPs – A guide to understanding Virtual Power Plants
» EarthWorks Action – Specializing in optical gas imaging and aiding frontline communities
— Community Empowerment Project
» EIA U.S. Energy Atlas of Natural Gas Interstate and Intrastate Pipelines – This map was created for the purpose of identifying major natural gas transmission pipelines in the United States. The link included here focuses on the New England area.
» EPA Flight Tool – Use this interactive search and map to find pollution sources. Click on the pollution source icon on the map to access pollution data, then search emissions by year in the pop up window.
» Environmental Health Project Research and Fact Sheets
» Environmental Justice Populations – Info from the Mass. Dept. of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Includes an interactive map to identify EJ neighborhoods.
» Eversource Distributed Generation Hosting Capacity Map – This shows the estimated maximum amount of distributed energy resources (DER) that can be accommodated on the distribution system at a given location under existing grid conditions and operations.
» FracTracker Alliance – Information on oil & gas drilling, sorted by topic and region
— FracTracker Oil & Gas Drilling 101
» ISO New England – New England’s Grid Operator
— ISO Realtime Data Dashboard
» Massachusetts Legislature website – Find Bills & Laws, Committees, Legislators
» Resilient MA – Climate Change Clearinghouse for the Commonwealth
• STATE AGENCY RESOURCES
» Mass Save – Massachusetts’ energy efficiency program (run by the utilities). Free and low-cost energy efficiency upgrades for most low to middle income households, small businesses and commercial and industrial customers.
» Mass Clean Energy Center – MassCEC mission is to accelerate the clean energy and climate solution innovation that is critical to meeting the Commonwealth’s climate goals, advancing Massachusetts’ position as an international climate leader while growing the state’s clean energy economy.
— Solarize and HeatSmart Tookit – how to set up a community-wide aggregated purchase program to help households afford solar and/or conversion to high efficiency heat pumps. Based on the programs pilot tested by Mass CEC.
» Green Communities Division, Mass DOER – The Green Communities Division (GCD) provides grants, technical assistance, and local support from Regional Coordinators to help municipalities reduce energy use and costs by implementing clean energy projects in municipal buildings, facilities, and schools.
— 280 of Massachusetts’ 351 municipalities are Green Communities.
Download the list here to check and see if your community is already a Green Community.
» Municipal Aggregation (Community Choice Aggregation, MassDPU) – The process by which a town or city purchases electricity in bulk from a competitive supplier on behalf of the residents and businesses within the community.
» Green Municipal Aggregation (Green Energy Consumer’s Alliance) – Info on Muni/Community Choice Aggregation with a special focus on renewable sourcing. This model allows communities to take climate action by affordably greening up residents’ electricity supply.
» Municipal Light Plants (Massachusetts Climate Action Network) – Fifty-two towns in Massachusetts are served by one of the forty-one municipal light plants. Residents of Muni towns make up 13% of all energy customers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Muni’s have unique opportunities to lead on clean energy and sustainability. Learn more about the Green Muni Action team and how Municipal Light Plant towns fit into the energy picture in general.
• STATE REGULATORY AGENCIES
» Mass Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) – The governor-appointed secretarial office in charge of multiple environment and energy related regulatory offices.
• Mass Dept. of Energy Resources (DOER)
• Mass Dept. of Public Utilities (DPU)
— Search MA DPU File Room, Docket by File Number
• Mass Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP)
• Mass Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA)
• FEDERAL REGULATORY AGENCIES
» DOT Department of Transportation
— DOT NPMS The National Pipeline Mapping System contains information about hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipelines under the jurisdiction of US DOT
» FERC – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
—— FERC Enforcement Hotline
—— How to File As An Intervenor at FERC– Presentation of MassPLAN, StopNED and No Fracked Gas in Mass
—— How to Intervene at FERC: Step by Step
» FERC Office of Public Participation
Extensive step-by-step education on ways the public can participate in FERC’s decision-making process: how to intervene, file comments, request a rehearing, etc.
» PHMSA Regulations – Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Administration
» US BOEM – Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
• ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION, ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS
» Mass Power Forward
» American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
» Clean Energy Group –
» Conservation Law Foundation –
» Acadia Center –
» Green Energy Consumers Alliance –
» Mass Climate Action Network –
» No Fracked Gas in Mass –
• LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS
» US Protest Law Tracker
In some states, it’s now a felony to protest “critical infrastructure” like pipelines. This is an interactive state by state map to track both proposed and enacted protest laws. Seems to be very current – update dates published near the top of the page.
» National Lawyers’ Guild
— “Operation Backfire”, A Survival Guide for Environmental and Animal Rights Activists
— “A Tilted Guide to Being a Defendant”
» ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union
— “Know Your Rights: What to do if your rights are violated at a demonstration or protest”
» PipeLine Awareness Network for the Northeast (PLAN-NE)