TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I support all initiatives that will reduce the human carbon foot print. We need to act now or our grandchildren will have no future on this planet. We need to look at new ways of transportation in rural area like Maine, fossil fuel is not the answer. Also it is necessary to change the way we heat our homes and the average household needs assistance in making these changes, grants and financial assistance should be considered as part of this process. We need to look to scientific research to create the direction the world needs to move to save this planet.

The cost of fuel I need and use for my small business is already high enough and it’s hard as it is to fill the tanks, lots of the equipment I have runs off gas or diesel and there’s no substitute for this equipment. This could possibly force another Maine small business have to shut its doors. I am 21 years young and after about ten years of hoping I would get to this point I don’t want to have to give up on my dream because of the cost of fuel. The only thing it will do is force company’s to up the price for their services this will not solve a darn thing because the big big companies can afford to pay more money small Maine businesses like mine cannot afford to. Janet mills is bad for Maine and for Maine small businesses

we as a world are obligated to do all we can to clean up what we have done to our planet and implement whatever it takes to keep our planet clean and healthy.

I wish to thank Gov. Lamont for being involved in the design of this process & I would hope that Connecticut will sign the final draft. The cap on transportation emissions & a fee on fossil fuel imports will allow the region to work on needed safer & more reliable public transportation & safer private transportation. By reducing the admissions, we will help to stop damaging our environment, public health, & our quality of Life.

This is another tax. It has been voted down by citizens so this is another way to get around it. If you want climate initiative, cut back on some of the bloated state salaries and positions to fund it

I'm gratified that a regional approach to reducing carbon emissions is finally on the table. I hope we continue to move forward at a greater speed on solving issues of carbon emission and providing alternative ways to transportation in our region.

Transportation is the number one source of climate pollution in the United States. That means it's time to totally reimagine the way that we transport people and goods.

The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the city of Washington, D.C., are working on a groundbreaking policy to modernize the transportation sector under the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

In order for this regional plan to work, governors of these states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., must ensure that this transportation plan is bold enough to cut harmful transportation pollution at the scale needed to avert the climate crisis. We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:

1. More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas
2. Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable
3. Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

Opponents of the Transportation and Climate Initiative have been flooding a public comment page on this plan with negative comments. I am sending these comments to support the Initiative and show there are people that understand the critical need to change how transportation needs to change in the United States.

All industrial policies must include a zero effect on the environment
In California right now, the state government is on the hook for thousands of abandoned oil wells.
The bonds required were insufficient and drillers just walk away.
Cleanup must be part of licensing
Methane off-gassing must be captured. It’s valuable too.

Studies need done on fracking chemicals getting eventually into the water table
Thousands of Pennsylvanians including farmers and homeowners count on their wells to be pure
Re-injection of fracked water back underground is fraught with danger, and will comeback as a curse on our children who may not have well water supply for themselves and livestock.

Suggest increasing licensing and bonding costs to pay for bankrupt drillers. Drillers must be personally responsible for state required mitigation...no walking away as a corporate LLC shell

I also think nicotine based pesticides must be banned.
Bird, bee, and insect populations are in crisis.
Europe has banned them to good effect

Legislature must debate a carbon capture tax, and follow the science, not the corporate interests.

Water supplies must be nurtured and protected from any destructive chemicals such as the phosphorus from corporate pig farms and farming in general. Maryland is currently suing Pennsylvania over excessive phosphorus. Who can help the farmers use less phosphorus and move cows further back from water sources?

Regarding transportation: with self driving trucks and autos soon sharing the roads, we need policy for the ramifications.
We need more and better rail service for commuters with fast connectors into the cities
Cars should be parked at outlying lots with light rail, etc. moving people into cities
Suggest a mass transit tax on gas and oil selling it to the public with specific projects.
Of course, the roads are deteriorated most everywhere. A working infrastructure is key to Pa’s future
Do what needs to be done. Compromise is imperative. The committee leaders must be visible to the public selling the future
When does Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philly get connected with high speed rail?
Monorails save right of way issues and may still be viable for cities.

Who is speaking for a plan for the future? We need an energy and environment “Czar”.

With sea levels rising, flood insurance (federal) must not pay for rebuilding homes
in flood plains more than once. New housing in flood plains at owners risk
It is time for shore communities to plan to move back from danger without hope of payment from government except taxed help with new infrastructure.
No more sand refurbishment for shore communities. No more water walls to protect cities. Move or expect no help from government. Publish flood plains maps expected in the lifetime of a mortgage. No more mortgages or insurance except at private cost for all shore dwellers in peril.

Make this clear now. by government giving tax payers a “heads-up” now on all these issues we can steer to a less expensive in the long run, and environmentally sound future for all Pennsylvanians, our neighboring states, America, and Nature which sustains all life.