Jennifer Kunze - Program Organizer

For over a century, Baltimore has been a hub for dirty energy sources and other industry that has put our environment and our communities in danger.   From coal-burning power plants and the BRESCO trash incinerator to crude oil train terminals and the coal export facility in South Baltimore, dirty energy has made Baltimore fail to meet health-based air quality standards, displaced residents, all while failing to supply enough jobs to keep Baltimore's economy strong.  The city has long

Five years ago, as a student at St. Mary's College of Maryland, I spent much of March calling legislators and traveling back and forth from St.

Last week, a freight train on its way to the Port of Baltimore derailed in Ijamsville, a small town in Frederick County.  Fortunately, although the train was carrying hazardous materials, none of the eight cars that derailed were punctured, and other than disruption to other freight shipments through Maryland, there were no impacts.  Read more about the derailment and see pictures in the Frederick News-Post.

The Monocacy River is a vital source of drinking water, recreation, and tourism in Frederick County, but its water quality is dangerously impaired.  This year's update to the Monocacy Scenic River Management Plan contains key provisions that will prevent pollution from entering the Monocacy, restore its biodiversity, and protect it for both drinking water and recreation for future generations.

"I don't want to be sitting here when something happens and we didn't do everything we could possibly do to prevent it."

When Marylanders consider the risk of fracking in our state, we usually think of the Western Maryland counties – Washington, Alleghany, and Garret – that lie above the Marcellus Gas Basin.  But smaller gas basins cross all parts of our state, including two in Frederick County.  The Culpeper Basin stretches north from Virginia beneath Adamstown and Ballenger Creek to southern Frederick City; the Gettysburg Basin comes south from Pennsylvania beneath the Monocacy River touching Emmitsburg, Thurmont, and the northern edge of Frederick City including parts of Fort Detrick.  All together, 19% of Frederick County has frackable gas beneath it – and that puts our farms, rivers, and drinking water at risk.

“Generally, they’re getting worse.” That was the verdict on Frederick County’s local streams at last night’s public hearing on the County’s Financial Assurance Plan, a document that should outline how the County government will pay for stormwater restoration projects mandated by the Chesapeake Bay Plan.

Wednesday, July 6th marked the third anniversary of the deadly oil train explosion in Lac-Mégantic, when 47 people lost their lives in the fires caused by train cars carrying crude oil derailing and breaching in the center of their town.  In commemoration of this tragedy, over 60 communities across the continent put at risk by oil trains are holding vigils and protests this week to draw attention to the deadly risks of these shipments. In Washington DC,  we j

On Monday, June 13 residents of Baltimore woke to the news that a freight train carrying hazardous materials had derailed inside the Howard Street Tunnel, a century-old freight tunnel that runs for almost two miles underneath downtown Baltimore.

Two Baltimore City college students are working with us this summer, spending half their time going door-to-door with our canvass team to educate communities about environmental issues and half their time doing their own research and community organizing work.   I asked them why they chose to spend their summer interning with Clean Water Action, and here’s what they said – check it out!