When Missouri Governor Jay Nixon revealed his comprehensive energy plan for the state, activists noticed that it seemed "designed to exclude meaningful public input." That's how Missouri Beyond Coal organizer John Delurey described it. "He had seven meetings in primarily rural parts of the state, all held in the middle of workdays," said Delurey. "To make it worse, we were informed of these meetings less than two weeks before the first one."
But Missouri activists rose to the challenge. They know that the governor's energy plan would play a major role in the state's implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, Delurey said, so they quickly went to work getting people ready to testify on behalf of clean energy.
"Thanks to a combined effort from the Missouri Sierra Club and the Beyond Coal campaign, more than 350 people attended these sessions over the course of October," said Delurey. "The Governor’s office recorded 83 verbal comments from members of the public - primarily from Sierra Club members and nearly entirely strongly supportive of all things clean energy."
He added that special mention should go to Missouri Beyond Coal organizer Sara Edgar, who spear-headed the last-minute hard work of turning out that many people to the hearings. She had just five days to turn out a big crowd to the first hearing in St. Louis - where she also unveiled a map of Missouri made up of 200 photos of clean energy supporters.
"It was an opportunity for the public to show their support for clean energy - a rare opportunity given the political climate in our state and the amount of influence of fossil fuel and utility money influencing energy decisions in our state," said Edgar. "It was important to make sure that the public was heard and not just the coal companies and utilities who are trying to weaken the rule."
Another highlight - Missouri Sierra Club organizer Gretchen Waddell-Barwick hand-delivering more than 500 comments in support of the strong statewide energy plan during the hearing in Kansas City. Delurey said he was also inspired by the huge turnout of students, teachers, and community members at the Kirksville meeting -- not to mention the major coalition support from small businesses and non-profits.
"We maintained constant pressure on Governor Nixon to choose an energy plan that focuses on the win-win-win opportunities brought forth by the Clean Power Plan," said Delurey. "Missouri’s energy plan should highlight opportunities for job creation and economic stimulus embedded in the transition to a cleaner, more efficient energy portfolio. Our presence at these events rang loud and clear - the people want clean energy and they want it now."
Delurey also credits Sierra Club staffers Emily Rosenwasser, Justin Uebelhor, Andy Knott, John Hickey, and Michael Berg for their tremendous help in getting such great turnout and media at the events. State officials needed to hear from the public.
"These meetings were a unique outlet for our members to express their concerns and frustrations about the slow pace of progress," he explained. "At the Kirkskville hearing, one of the students who commented started to tear up as she explained how worried she is about her future. It is rare that the executives and directors in the energy sector have to face passionate and heartfelt comments so openly and so directly."
The state energy plan process continues in Missouri, and Delurey said activists will keep speaking out for more clean energy in the Show Me State. "The planning process is about to dive into the weeds by separating into topic-specific working groups. We will follow them there and are already planning on sending our members and staff to represent our issues in each of these working groups."
Above all, he's proud of the amazing work Sierra Club activists and staff have done in the process thus far.
"As a relatively new employee of the Sierra Club, I was inspired by the teamwork and leadership that the Missouri Sierra Club staff showed throughout this process," said Delurey. "We were the only group in the state ensuring turnout at each of the seven hearings - it was the perfect application of a diverse staff and a statewide membership base."