Delaware cancer rates — note 19731
July 4th, 2023
Yes, every picture tells a story, worth a thousand words… Alan Muller, Green Delaware, spent decades fighting the polluters of Delaware, concentrated in New Castle County, and the Indian River coal plant way south (and surrounded by cancer), and many other polluters in Delaware and beyond.
A few maps of Delaware cancer rates… from this article about articles in the Snooze Urinal (as Alan calls the News Journal):
Cancer Clusters in Delaware? How One Newspaper Turned Official Statistics into News
Alan’s Port Penn, DE is in this area on the bay, just south of the C&D Canal, dark red in the map above, dark blue in the maps below:
Cancer Cluster Investigations in Delaware
And from the state’s Division of Public Health:
CENSUS TRACT-LEVEL CANCER INCIDENCE IN DELAWARE, 2015-2019
Port Penn, DE is in the dark blue census tract on eastern edge, south of Delaware City, that bumps out into the Delaware Bay (166 incidence rate on map):
Alan Muller on Bloomgate
November 5th, 2016
Alan Muller is the executive director of Green Delaware.
Biden? A distraction, not a contender.
August 7th, 2015
Joe Biden and Champ
I wish Joe Biden would get over himself and stop musing about a Presidential run. He is not a contender. Biden’s intent? I’d guess it’s nothing more than a distraction from the strong showing by Bernie Sanders. Bernie is the nightmare of Democratic leadership, precisely because he’s the most compelling candidate for democratic voters (small “d”), people interested in preservation, revival, of our democracy.
Biden sure isn’t what I’d look for in a candidate. A recent post on Politico, How a Young Joe Biden Turned Liberals Against Integration, brings to light Biden’s efforts to preserve segregation. That should be enough to take him off anyone’s potential Presidential candidate list.
Alan Muller, Green Delaware, has had to deal with Biden for a long time now, and has a lot of insight into Biden’s character based on Biden’s record and actions. One story I’ve heard often is of a group opposing the Iraq war meeting with Biden in his office, and of Biden’s absolute and nasty dismissal of them and their concerns (expletives deleted for this PG-13 post).
Racial issues have been a struggle for Delaware, and Biden provides an example of white resistance to integration. Delaware was a slave state. Though it bills itself “The First State,” and though Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, it was also the first state outside the Confederacy to reject the 14th Amendment, in 1867, and Delaware was very slow to ratify the 14th Amendment — it held off until 1901, 33 years after it was approved by enough states to be added to the Constitution.
Here’s an example of Biden’s “leadership,” a reminder of Biden’s efforts as a U.S. Senator to maintain segregation:
How a Young Joe Biden Turned Liberals Against Integration
Will Delaware, like Illinois, sue FERC and PJM?
July 30th, 2015
Sure hope so — they’ve got it coming. Cost apportionment is a big issue, and for PJM, well, they’d taken their cost apportionment dream to FERC, got the FERC rubber stamp, but it seems they’ve not done a good job of it, according to the Federal Court — that’s old news:
Fast forward to today — turns out Delaware’s Gov. Markell is objecting to costs assessed to Delaware ratepayers, (though I’m not seeing any objection to the project itself coming out of Delaware). DOH! He’d better, this project does nothing for Delaware.
Here’s the PJM Planning doc that tells all:
Note on the first page the statement of need, of why this project is wanted — this is really important:
PJM specified that solution proposals must improve stability margins, reduce Artificial Island MVAR output requirements and address high voltage reliability issues.
So let me get this straight — they’re having stability and reliability issues and PSEG wants to reduce Artificial Island MVAR output requirements, and want to charge Delaware ratepayers for this? PUH-LEEZE… This is a benefit to PSEG, not Delmarva…
And look what our big-coal friends at ODEC have to say:
ODEC letter regarding Artificial Island 7-29-2015
This project taps into the new line that was built not long ago:
Delaware has no regulation of transmission need or siting — so utilities can pretty much do whatever they want. Further, it’s a FERC tariff, so the state doesn’t have anything to say about it going into the rates, and cost apportionment. Great, just great. So now Markell is objecting? It’s a little late…
Delaware needs legislation — legislation like a “Power Plant Siting Act” and a legislative requirement of a need determination for whatever infrastructure they think they want. They need legislation specifying that only Delaware utilities can own and operate transmission in Delaware (see House Bill 387 from the 2014 session). Here’s what House Bill 387 would have done (It would have been an effective good start, protective of Delaware!), establish that a utility wanting to construct and operate transmission demonstrate NEED! Here’s the wording, though it would require quite a bit more, and some solid rules, to be effective:
a.the need for the proposed transmission line;
b.the impact on the reliability of the transmission grid
c.the long term viability of the public utility proposing the line;
d.the technical engineering and operating expertise of the public utility;
e.the technology and design proposed for the new transmission line; and
f.the economic and safety impact of the proposed transmission line.
Here’s the report about this PJM approval from Jeff Montgomery, News Journal:
Disputed cost-shares remain in plan for new power line
Note this snippet:
And here’s the schedule for this project going forward from the PJM Board meeting yesterday:
Seems there’s an opportunity before the FERC ALJ. But before then? What is Delaware going to do? Well, take a look at what Illinois did when it didn’t appreciate the FERC Cost Apportionment scheme — they sued FERC and won, based on the notion that if they weren’t benefitting, they shouldn’t be the ones paying:
The FERC Cost Apportionment scheme was remanded, and it’s in settlement negotiations right now. What is Delaware doing in that docket? To review the public postings, go HERE and search for FERC Docket EL05-121. The next settlement conference is Thursday, August 6, 2015, starting at 10:15 a.m. in a hearing room at FERC HQ. Delaware is represented in this, at least there are Delaware PSC staff listed on the service list, Janis Dillard, John Farber, and Robert Howatt. So what are they doing about this cost apportionment scheme? Seems this settlement conference is just the place for raising a stink about the PJM cost apportionment scheme, to raise issues of “benefits” and “cause cost, pay” arguments. Are they showing up and speaking up for Delaware?
Delmarva Power to rebuild transmission in DE?
January 3rd, 2015
Delaware’s a small state, and it’s just the wrong shape for getting a good transmission map. Click the above one for a larger view, but it’s still hard to see. But check it out! Take a look at that black line, stretching from Red Lion down to Milford. That’s the 230 kV line that Delmarva Power wants to rebuild. If they play this as I think they will (please prove me wrong), they could use this “rebuild” to significantly increase transfer capacity, which given the withdrawal of the Mid-Alantic Power Pathway (MAPP) transmission project, that’s something to watch for.
Public meeting about transmission line rebuild
7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015
Odessa Fire Company
304 Main St., Odessa, Delaware
Hosted by Delmarva Power
There’s essentially no regulation of transmission in Delaware, a fact that’s hard to believe given the impacts and power associated with transmission. This project is intended to go right down an existing easement, but the original line was built 50 years ago, and there’s been a lot of development in Delaware since then. Look at the map, and there’s a lot of development right next to this transmission line. Do you think these folks know anything about this transmission plan? Do you think anyone along that easement is getting direct notice about this???
At first glance, a couple of things occur to me.
- Rebuild? As always, I want to know the details. they say it will still be at 230 kV. Let’s have the conductor specs, particularly. How big a conductor are they using, ACSR or ACSS or higher capacity? Will they be rebuild as a single or double circuit, and will it be bundled or not? Here’s the photo of the line, photo from Snooze Urinal, and it’s as it looks to me from driving under it numerous times on the way to/fro Port Penn:
Photo from The News Journal, delawareonline.com
- Use of existing easement or extending beyond? In their press release, there’s something disturbing about how they say they’re going to build this thing:
So looking at this photo above, it’s facing north, the H-frames are on the east side, the monopole on the west, and the News Journal report says:
How is that possible? The H-frames have been there a long time, and rather recently they added the monopole next to it. Now now this will be “built along the eastern border of the existing right-of-way.” EH? Here’s an example, at the intersection of Port Penn Rd. and the line, the “east” is on right on this photo/map (click photo for larger version):
This is what it looks like at the road, looking down the easement with home on the left:
And here’s another example, at the intersection of Pole Bridge Rd. and the transmission lines, also on the way to/fro Port Penn, note the new subdivision roads, Waterbird Lane and Marsh Hawk Court:
Here’s another at 955 Vance Neck Rd (the road is just to the south):
Let’s keep going further south along the easement. Here are homes along Old Corbett Rd. near the intersection of Hwy. 9 — note it’s turned around to fit better, the “easterly” direction they’ll build into is the area towards the homes:
Here’s another subdivision on the other side of Hwy. 9, and the homes along Middessa Drive:
Just a little further south, where the line turns southwesterly, the line is abutted by the homes on Mailly Drive and Corbit Sharp Drive:
Here’s what that easement looks like — build this new thing on the easterly border of the easement? I think not!
And this northern Red Lion to Milford section of the transmission “rebuild” terminates at the Cedar Creek substation, technically in Townsend:
Again, do you think these folks know anything about this transmission plan? Do you think anyone along that easement is getting direct notice about this???
Here’s Delmarva’s Press Release:
Press Release 12/23/2014 – Delmarva Power Project to Benefit Delaware
Here’s the report from the News Journal:
Delmarva to brief public on transmission line rehab
The electrical spine of Delaware is set for a $70 million rehabilitation.
The utility will host a public meeting to brief the community on the project on Wednesday in Odessa.
Contact Staff Writer Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.
For more information:
Delmarva Power will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Odessa Fire Company, 304 Main St. in Odessa.