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 Protesters blocked entrances to the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission's headquarters for more than 90 minutes, holding signs
calling the agency the "Fracking Expansion Rubberstamp Commission"
and chanting "Wake up FERC."
Some workers were forced to step over the protesters to access the
government building's main entrance. Police eventually began
directing FERC employees around the protesters to an alternate
doorway.
The sit-in, organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, also
left confused motorists shut out of the driveway adjacent to FERC.
The climate activist group is one of several across the country that
have led protests against what it terms "the toxic impacts of
fracking" - the oil and gas drilling technique that has helped the
United States become the top natural gas producer in the world and
opened the door to substantial U.S. gas exports.
Environmentalists have raised concerns that the use of fracking has
fouled drinking water, polluted the air and contributed to global
warming.
Monday's demonstration followed a larger march on FERC on Sunday
against LNG exports and the proposed construction of an LNG export
terminal and gas liquefaction plant near a densely populated
residential area in Maryland.
Activists at the FERC sit-in said they hoped their protests would
help the issue gain more prominence.
"We're trying to make this a higher priority for everyone, so
everyone will up their action and their involvement with the issue,"
said Cathy Strickler, a retired high school counselor from
Harrisonburg, Virginia.
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Green groups have called on FERC to not issue any more permits
authorizing the construction of LNG export plants until a thorough
assessment of potential climate change impacts is completed.
FERC declined to comment on Monday's protest.
Police handcuffed and briefly detained 24 of the more than 30
protesters at the FERC building, before releasing them with
citations for blocking a public passageway.
Dominion Resources Inc, currently seeking a FERC permit for its
planned Cove Point LNG export project in Maryland, said the
protesters were "misrepresenting" facts.
While some natural gas delivered to Cove Point will come from shale
formations, the company said Cove Point "does not depend upon or
encourage the practice of hydraulic fracturing."
The first U.S. LNG exports to countries with which Washington does
not have free trade agreements are expected to begin next year. FERC
is considering more than a dozen applications to build plants to
export the fuel to markets in Asia and Europe.
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Tom Brown)
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