Protect the Oxon Hill Community from Environmental Racism
Governor Wes Moore, Senator Chris Van Hollen, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Jared McCarthy, Chairman Fredrick Hoover, Delegate C.T. Wilson, Delegate Brian Crosby, Senator Melon
Take action to stop environmental racism and prevent a dangerous Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) facility from being built in the heart of the majority Black community of historic Oxon Hill, Prince George’s County, Maryland!
BESS facilities come with known fire and explosion risks and unknown long-term risks to health and safety. When facilities elsewhere malfunctioned, they leaked flammable gasses that led to catastrophic explosions. When fires occur, the toxic and lethal flammable gasses released cannot be stopped using traditional firefighting methods.
BESS facilities support renewable energy; we are not against these facilities in general. However, given the risks, we believe these facilities should be far from where people live and work.
The proposed facility in Oxon Hill would be in the middle of a busy and vibrant residential neighborhood, less than 200 feet from a daycare center and residential homes. The other proposed location for a facility is in a predominantly white Maryland suburb, Rockville, deep in the woods and miles away from the closest residence. The Oxon Hill location was chosen because it would be “cost-effective” with no input from the community and little consideration of the risks to neighbors, children, public safety, or house values.
Maryland PEPCO is owned by the Exelon Corporation, the largest electric company in the US. They have a long, dark history of placing environmental hazards in locations that jeopardize health, wealth, and safety in Black and Brown communities. It’s no coincidence that the Rockville location is a safe distance from residents, but the Oxon Hill location is in a thriving neighborhood. We need you to help the Oxon Hill community fight back!
We request the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), together with the Maryland Office of People's Council (OPC), protect the health and safety of residents by issuing a sole source contract for an independent hazardous risk mitigation analysis of the facility's risk. We also request that the PSC and OPC ensure that the energy storage facilities under consideration meet up-to-date building requirements.
To:
Governor Wes Moore, Senator Chris Van Hollen, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Jared McCarthy, Chairman Fredrick Hoover, Delegate C.T. Wilson, Delegate Brian Crosby, Senator Melon
From:
[Your Name]
I am writing to you as a concerned citizen to urge you to take action against environmental racism and prevent Maryland PEPCO from building a Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) facility in the heart of the Oxon Hill community.
BESS facilities pose known fire and explosion risks and unknown long-term health and safety risks. When facilities malfunction, they can leak flammable gasses that lead to catastrophic explosions. When fires occur, they are uncontrollable and cannot be stopped using traditional firefighting methods and the toxic, flammable gasses released can be lethal.
BESS facilities support renewable energy; we are not against these facilities in general. However, given the risks, we believe these facilities should be far from where people live and work.
The proposed facility in Oxon Hill would be in the middle of a busy, thriving residential neighborhood; less than 200 feet from residential homes and a daycare center – a critical service in the neighborhood. The other proposed location for a facility in Maryland is deep in the woods in Rockville, miles away from the closest residence. The Oxon Hill location was chosen because it would be “cost-effective” with no input from the community and little consideration of the risks to neighbors, children, public safety, or house values.
Maryland PEPCO is owned by the Exelon Corporation, the largest electric company in the US. They have a long, dark history of placing environmental hazards in locations that jeopardize health, wealth, and safety in Black and Brown communities. Placing this facility in the Oxon Hill community is an act of environmental racism. Prince Georgia’s County, which has the highest proportion of Black residents in Maryland, already has a disproportionate number of environmental hazards. The construction of this facility would only exacerbate the existing disparities.
Our voices must be heard and respected in this decision-making process! The people who live in this area have the right to a safe and healthy environment. PEPCO should work with community members to find a safer location for the proposed facility.
We request the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), together with the Maryland Office of People's Council (OPC), protect the health and safety of residents by issuing a sole source contract for an independent hazardous risk mitigation analysis of the facility's risk. We also request that the PSC and OPC ensure that energy storage facilities under consideration meet up-to-date building requirements.
We need you to help the Oxon Hill community fight back against this environmental racism. Tell legislators to stand with community members and take action to prevent this dangerous facility from being built in Oxon Hill!
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.