Citizens for the Preservation of Middletown Valley..........................................

November 2, 2010:
New Board of County Commissioners elected to serve the County – Be sure to stay abreast of the activities taking place in our County Government. Attend Public Hearings and give testimony of issues of concern.

September 9, 2010 - San Bruno, California, eight people killed and dozens of homes were destroyed … Read more.

September 28, 2010 – Cairo, Georgia. I crew member killed, 3 others injured… read more.

November 12, 2010 – Monroe, Louisiana.Three men working on natural gas lines were injured… read more.

December 14, 2010 – Lockport, Illinois. Pipeline leaks crude oil near wetlands… read more.

December 17, 2010 – Corpus Christi, Texas. Gas line fire and explosion leaves one person critically injured… read more.

December 28, 2010 – Covington, Mississippi. Pipeline at an underground gas storage facility leaks forcing the evacuation of families... read more.

January 24, 2011 – Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Gas pressure regulators failed causing a pressure surge; causing gas fires resulting in 7 homes being destroyed. Dominion East Ohio… read more.

March 17, 2011 – Minneapolis, Minnesota. A natural gas line running through a neighborhood ruptured and gas ignited causing evacuations and the closing of an interstate highway... read more.

September 15, 2010:
The primary election is history. The ten candidates for County Commissioner (five Republican, five Democrat) have been determined.

September 7, 2010:
CPMV sent the following questions to candidates for local office:

Please join us for a casual evening of networking with your neighbors on September 19th. Your attendance will help support our all-volunteer effort to preserve Middletown Valley. Purchase your tickets here before September 12th.

May 13, 2010:
While the CPMV would rather not be on any "lists" and we would rather see the potential, lingering unknown threat from DTI go away... at least we can be proud that we are making the news. The most recent publicity has come from an Associated Press News Feed on May 13th.

May 13, 2010:
The CPMV wishes to thank the Civil War Preservation Trust for their continued support in our efforts to preserve the land of the Middletown Valley.

For the second year in a row, South Mountain Battlefield and Fox's Tavern have been recognized in the 2010 "History Under Siege" report as one of the 10 most endangered battlefields in the United States.

Do you think the Board of Trustees of Dominion Transmission is aware of this recognition?

March 23, 2010: This family lives near a Dominion compressor station in Ohio. In the videos below, the compressor station looks to be about 1/2 mile away from their home. If this doesn't make you angry... nothing will!!

March 11, 2010: The John Fox tavern was selected by Preservation Maryland as one of the 11 most endangered sites in Maryland. Read the CPMV press release here...

March 6, 2010: The CPMV would like to invite you to learn more about the "greening" of our community.

February 24, 2010:
Did you know the CPMV was established in 2008 and that the threat by Dominion Transmission to Middletown Valley still looms?

Changes have taken place on the Board of the CPMV and Elizabeth Bauer is now the President. We would like to thank Rich Maranto for serving as President for the last two years and look forward to his continuing support as a volunteer.

Listening sessions are coming on Saturday, March 13th and Saturday, March 27th from 9:00 am until 11:00 am. Read on…

February 1, 2010:
By now you may have heard the exciting news. CPMV has a new President, Elizabeth Bauer and a new addition to the board, Kathryn Ruud.

January 13, 2010: If you ever wondered what a Dominion compressor station sounds like, you NEED to view these recently uploaded YouTube videos!!!

January 7, 2010: If you are interested in how Middletown AND Frederick County will grow over the next decade, they you should attend this Open House!

November 12, 2009:
CPMV Board of Directors meeting at the Main Cup in Middletown. Some of the issues on the agenda:
— 2009 financial report.
— Wrap up and debrief of CPMV 2009 projects.
— Website statistics report.
— Goals and projects for 2010.
— Officers for 2010. Per CPMV bylaws, officers serve one year terms. No officer may serve more than two consecutive terms in the same officer position. We established these bylaws so that there would be an orderly, sustainable, transition of leadership at CPMV that involves a broad cross-section of our community... stay tuned for some exciting news in 2010!

September 30, 2009:
The winner of the Heritage Day's raffle for an autographed copy of Curtis Older's book "The Braddock Expedition..." is Brendan Bauer. Brendan bought $15 worth of raffle tickets! The winning ticket was #22. Thanks for supporting CPMV!

September 8, 2009:
Union Civil War re-enactors will hold a road march past the Dominion property on 9/12/09. Schedule and details here...

August 15, 2009: Main Cup (Middletown)
— Listening Session form 9:00 am to 11:00 am
— Sign pick up!
— Volunteer to help with CPMV's September events! For details, contact Donna.

July 24, 2009:
FNP article (7/18), History endangered: Natural gas line proposed in historic valley. According to DTI spokesperson Bob Fulton, the compressor station "would be about the size of a medium-sized barn". Really?

Click here to see DTI's two closest compressor stations. Each of these facilities support four gas turbine compressor units. In a November 2007 public meeting a DTI representative stated that this size is a standard build-out that should be expected for the Marker Rd. property.

July 23, 2009:
The A.C. Jetts annexation petition that was to be discussed at a public hearing on Monday (7/27) has been withdrawn. It appears that the reason they withdrew it was because it was likely to be rejected. If the annexation petition was rejected the company would have to wait a full year before re-applying. By withdrawing they can re-apply whenever they want. Here's the revised agenda for the 7/27 meeting.

July 20, 2009:
Frederick County DRAFT Comprehensive Plan: Public hearings will conclude this Wednesday (7/22) for those already signed up to speak. This plan will determine how Frederick County grows during the next several years. It is worth a look:

Copies of these documents are also available on CD at the Division of Planning Office.

Check out the Mid-Maryland Priority Preservation Areas map. It clearly shows that Dominion's proposed site for their new industrial facility would be built on land that is:

We need to keep asking the question, "Is this an appropriate location to build an industrial facility?"

July 14, 2009:
Middletown Annexation: A public hearing will be held on Monday night, July 27th at 7:00 p.m. to dealing with the annexation of the A.C. Jets property. Citizen comments will be recorded for the record, after which there will also be a vote by the Burgess and Commissioners that will decide the annexation petition.The meeting will be held at the Municipal Building on Main Street. See details here...

July 13, 2009:
CPMV event scheduled to highlight the historic nature of Dominion's proposed industrial site on Marker Rd. On September 12, 2009, Union Civil War re-enactors will hold a road march retracing the route taken by the 30th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Ninth Corps of the Army of the Potomac to Fox’s Gap on South Mountain.

If you are a Union Civil War re-enactor and want to participate in this event, please download and complete a registration form. All proceeds from the march will be donated to the non-profit Civil War Preservation Trust.

June 12, 2009:
Various CPMV subcommittees are meeting to formalize plans for upcoming events. Permits for the first event have been completed. We will have an announcement in July!

May 17, 2009:
The CPMV Board discussed the great suggestions from our community and made some decisions. More to come on this exciting news…

May 1, 2009:

We have a new neighbor!

A Dominion employee just moved in to the historic John Fox Tavern. I hope that he appreciates the history of his new home.

Dominion’s “standard operating procedure” is to place one of their employees in housing on (or near) the site of their industrial facilities. In Leesburg, VA, DTI has several employees living in homes next to their two (adjacent) compressor stations. So it begins…

April 16, 2009:
Several great suggestions have been submitted for upcoming CPMV events, including:

A music festival, fund raiser with nationally known musicians. A local volunteer has staged this type of event for other non-profits. Her husband is a musician.
Participation in Heritage Days in the Fall.
Staging a re-enactor’s “March on South Mountain” to highlight how little Dominion Transmission knows about our community and the historic land that they have purchased on which they plan to build an industrial facility.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions AND more importantly, to all of the individuals in our community who have volunteered to make them happen! The CPMV Board will discuss each suggestion at our next meeting.

March 26, 2009:
Gazette article: Groups work to preserve two Frederick County battlefields.

March 23, 2009:
The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) videos of the Press Event are now online. Specifically check out the Richard Dreyfuss and the Jim Lighthizer video.

March 18, 2009:
Today the John Fox Tavern site WAS SELECTED as one of this year's 10 most endangered Civil War battlefields! Click here to view the CPMV Press Release.

Academy-Award® Winning Actor Richard Dreyfuss
Helps Unveil “History Under Siege” Report at the National Press Club in Washington, DC

Photos by Bruce Guthrie

The complete report "History Under Siege™: A Guide to America’s Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields 2009" is available on the Civil War Preservation Trust website.

(above) Richard Dreyfuss talks about why preserving history matters.

(right) Rich Maranto discusses CPMV's preservation efforts with Mr. Dreyfuss.

March 16, 2009:
We learned that the John Fox tavern site was NOMINATED FOR CONSIDERATION as one of this year's most endangered Civil War battlefields. We were contacted by Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) staff during the vetting process.

We WON'T KNOW if we made the list until the CWPT's press conference on March 18, 2009 at 10:00am. View details here.

March 16, 2009:
Today we sent a letter to Carolyn J. Moss, DTI's Managing Director of State Government Affairs. In the letter we requested that Dominion provide our community with periodic updates on their plans to build a compressor station on the John Fox Tavern property. We recognize that this is not required, however in the past DTI has expressed an interest in being a “good neighbor”. We hope that this includes keeping our community informed of their plans. Read the letter here.

March 14, 2009:

How do industrial factories get permission to build in the backyard of historic properties?

The answer is... one step at a time, in small increments.

Recently, we've heard some disturbing (as yet unconfirmed) rumors that a local group might be negotiating with (and thereby supporting) Dominion, to gain access to the historic John Fox property. If you have any information, report it to: neighborhoodwatch@cpmv.org

March 12, 2009:
If the Fourth Circuit Court ruling below stands, maybe the FERC will actually consider CPMV's "FERC process improvement" that we proposed about one year ago in a meeting with the FERC and Representative Roscoe Bartlett.

As was stated in that proposal: "improvements to the FERC “pre-application” process will help to involve key stakeholders earlier in the process, will get local land use experts engaged in the project at the beginning, and will ultimately allow energy companies to select sites that are appropriate and acceptable to the local community for critical energy infrastructure projects."

March 10, 2009:

Read this very interesting review of a recent Fourth Circuit Court ruling that could be important to us.

According to the "Wind Power Law Blog", the ruling "scales back the asserted authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue permits...”.

I'm no lawyer, but it seems like this ruling would also determine which entity has jurisdiction for allowing industrial development on historic land that is in the middle of rural legacy and ag preservation areas... like the Marker Road site.

View the ruling here.

March 8, 2009:
Now that Dominion has purchased the Marker Road property and has made their intention clear, it'is going to take all of us working together to make a difference. Sometimes it is good to remember how much support there is from local politicians, local and national organizations, and our community.

March 5, 2009:
Following up on a suggestion from one of our members, we’ve been reviewing public testimony. Below are some things your neighbors have said "on the record":

"As landowners of a large tract of ground (124 acres) located next to this proposal, my husband and I are greatly concerned about quality of life issues and possible loss of our organic dairy farming livelihood, including livestock. This project has the potential to permanently damage and thus jeopardize three farming operations, two of which are dairy farms, including our own, all of which are located directly downstream from the proposal site."
— Darrell and Ginny Wolf (FERC Letter, February 18, 2008)

"As a landowner, I depend on my well for my water source. There is a wetland area at the bottom of this project. This is due to many underground springs in the area. These springs feed the stream that runs through the property. However, it also supplies much more. This stream is used my many farmers as a source of water for their livestock, and ponds. Water runs downhill, as does contamination. Pollutants int the water could be distributed into the wells of countless landowners."
— Constance J. Routzahn (FERC Letter, February 17, 2008)

March 1, 2009:
The CPMV Board learned a lot from the “Listening Sessions”. Thanks to all who participated! Big things are happening. Our next Board meeting is on the 14th and there’s a lot to discuss… one thing that we heard repeatedly was that this doesn't seem like a reasonable choice for an industrial site... What do you think?

February 24, 2009:
Check out the forum for an interesting updates about the FERC.

February 14, 2009: CPMV Holds Final "Listening Session"
The past 2 weeks have given us the opportunity to meet many new CPMV'ers!
So, we are doing it once more... stop by for a few minutes on your way into town, have some coffee, meet your fellow CPMV'ers, show your support, and discuss local issues including the "Middletown Compressor Station".
When: Saturday, February 14, 2009 from 9 to 11 am
Where: The Main Cup, 14 West Main Street, Middletown

The Gazette published an article about our first "Listening Session". View it here.

February 17th and February 19th:
For those who are following the "WTE Incinerator" issue, the costs have increased significantly (to over $525 million) and the BOCC is looking at several potential sites for the facility (and the 350 ft. smoke stack). This facility will be a regional incinerator. Frederick County will be the destination for trash from other counties. There are a couple of important public meetings this week.
When:Tuesday, February 17, at 7 p.m. & Thursday, February 19, at 7 p.m.
Where: Winchester Hall, 12 East Church Street, Frederick, Md., 1st floor

February 2, 2009:
CPMV is now accepting ads on our website. In January we had over 18,000 hits (2,700 page views), This is a great value. Pass the word. Please click on an ad and show your support for these local companies. Click here for details on how to advertise.

January 30, 2009:
There is a good article in the Gazette by staff writer Connor Sheets. View it here. In commenting on the land purchase, Dominion spokesman Robert Fulton is quoted as saying: "In our minds, and in our studies, it was the best location, and so we purchased it in anticipation as a potential site."

January 27, 2009:
Frederick News Post article: Dominion buys property for gas project

January 22, 2009:
CPMV has conducted an exhaustive search of all publicly available documents relating to the Marker Rd. property. We have located the following:

The Marker Rd property was SOLD to Dominion!
View the details here.

Please register and comment on the CPMV forum. We use the email list from the forum to alert our community of critical events.

January 15, 2009:
A local Real Estate agent confirmed that the Marker Rd. property is NOT listed for sale in the MRIS database.

January 9, 2009:
A Dominion representative was seen on the Marker Road property meeting with the occupants of two other vehicles.

If anyone knows about this meeting or the disposition of the property, please post it on the CPMV forum, or you can report it anonymously by emailing the information to the following address: neighborhoodwatch@cpmv.org

Here are the things we know:

On November 3rd 2008, DTI asked FERC to terminate its pre-filing review process for the Storage Factory Project including the proposed Gas Compressor Station in Frederick County. View their "Notice of Project Suspension" here.
DTI's "Notice" states that when the project resumes "in a few years", DTI anticipates the need for "natural gas facilities" (plural) in Frederick County.
DTI has released their options on the property in Jefferson, MD and that land is back on the market.