CHICAGO, IL – Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus L. Wilson ruled Monday that the Trump International Hotel & Tower violated and is in violation of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and committed a continuing public nuisance through a series of failures to comply with state and federal law dating back to 2008. The judge ruled that the evidence was uncontested that Trump Tower, operating as 401 N. Wabash, is liable on all remaining counts brought by Friends of the Chicago River, the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter, and the State of Illinois in this long-running litigation.
Groups submitted a request for rehearing to challenge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of Venture Global’s proposed methane gas export facility, CP2 LNG. FERC made the highly controversial decision at its June meeting with a slim 2-1 vote and a strong dissent from former commissioner Allison Clements. Niskanen Center submitted the request on behalf of Sierra Club and a coalition of environmental organizations and impacted community members.
Today, the US Court of Appeals for the DC District agreed that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission failed to fully and adequately assess the cumulative and direct environmental and health impacts that would be caused by air pollution from Commonwealth LNG, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act and Natural Gas Act. While the court stopped short of vacating FERC’s approval of the project, it returned the decision to FERC for reconsideration.
SAN FRANCISCO – A coalition of environmental groups and consumer advocates—Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, Utility Consumers’ Action Network and Climate Action Campaign—filed a motion today with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to dismiss five utility pilot projects that aim to mix hydrogen into existing gas lines. The Sierra Club is represented by Earthjustice in this proceeding.
EPA will be required to decide – no later than May 30, 2025 – if the plan submitted by TCEQ complies with the Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule. EPA could either approve the do-nothing state plan, partially approve it, or reject it and then issue a federal plan to limit haze emissions.
In response to legal action by Earthjustice, Environment Integrity Project, National Parks Conservation Association, and Sierra Club, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia signed a consent decree today that includes deadlines for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action on 32 states’ plans to reduce haze pollution that harms air quality in many of our most treasured national parks and wilderness areas.
Environmental and community groups filed a letter this morning with the Department of Energy urging the department not to rush to approve Energy Transfer's flawed application to export gas from the planned Lake Charles LNG export terminal.
In a major win for climate and public health, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied yesterday an effort by the oil and gas industry and its political supporters to suspend critical EPA protections against methane pollution while the court considers legal challenges to the rule. Sierra Club and its allies submitted multiple briefings opposing these legal attacks, which a three-judge panel rejected with no noted dissents. This means that EPA’s badly-needed standards will remain in effect while the litigation proceeds in court.
Washington, DC - Yesterday, a Trump-appointed judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction to block the Biden administration's pause on liquefied methane gas export approvals. While the order does not require the authorization of any new LNG facilities, it requires the Department of Energy to continue its review of pending LNG export applications. The judge’s order does not stop the DOE from its ongoing update of the data and analysis used in its Public Interest Determination process for determining whether to authorize new LNG export…
Westminster, CO – Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is proposing trailblazing provisions for direct financial assistance to communities impacted by coal plant closures, and plans for resource procurement estimated to reduce its emissions by 89%.