We are humbled by the recognition given to NOPE! by Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune.  Commissioner Portune, who has been an unfailing NOPE! supporter from the first, describes our work as “one of the greatest citizen uprisings against bad decision making that I have seen in my career in public service.”  He goes on to say that because of our effort, Duke Energy has called a halt to their efforts and imposed a delay to consider information that we have brought to light.

Certainly the original Tangleridge neighbors in Blue Ash deserve a lot credit for having the conviction to say “not in my backyard or yours”.  They worked tirelessly to engage and inform leaders and citizens across Hamilton County.  However, this effort evolved from a small team of individuals, to a coalition of 14 communities uniting against one of the wealthiest, most powerful companies in United States to say NOPE!  A pipeline of this size and scale does not belong in our neighborhoods, next to our schools, near our places of worship or where we work and play.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, and need all of our communities to continue to make their voices heard.  There are leaders who are hearing us now, and doing everything they can to help.  However, there are other leaders who may not understand that we hold them accountable for the safety of our communities.  We expect them to be actively involved to insure that if additional infrastructure is needed to meet the needs of our communities, it is developed and installed in a way that actually does meet the needs of our communities.

Read Todd Portune’s Letter to learn more about the work being done to impact the Duke’s pipeline.