Press Releases

August 12, 2019

Conservation groups today launched a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)

August 12, 2019

In a lawsuit filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council are challenging a final rule issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) last month that lowers the penalties for automakers failing to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.

August 6, 2019

Charleston, W.V.-- A coalition of West Virginian advocacy groups including the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices, and the Sierra Club sued four coal and chemical facilities alleging serious violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The facilities listed below have been dumping toxic pollutants into local waterways in violation of their permits. These lawsuits follow previous notice letters submitted to these companies in early June.

August 2, 2019

Yesterday, Sierra Club filed direct testimony of its expert witness in the rate case of Interstate Power & Light (IPL) at the Iowa Utilities Board. IPL owns all or part of seven coal plants in Iowa.

July 26, 2019

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that it will seek to expedite proceedings before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in order to restore a permanent block on border wall construction using unauthorized military funds. The announcement comes after the Supreme Court temporarily granted the administration’s request to unfreeze up to $2.5 billion in military funds for wall construction while the Ninth Circuit considers the merits of the government’s appeal.

July 26, 2019

Today, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a permit that the ACP needs to continue construction

July 22, 2019

Earlier today, Senators Leahy, Feinstein, Grassley, and Cornyn sent Andrew Wheeler and the EPA a letter on their dangerous changes to the FOIA process. Below is a quote from Sierra Club’s Legislative Director Melinda Pierce on the news:

July 16, 2019

SPRINGDALE, PA-- Today, the Sierra Club sent a “notice of intent to sue” letter to NRG Power Midwest alleging serious violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) at the company’s Cheswick coal-fired power plant in Springdale. The plant has been discharging heated wastewater into the Allegheny River at temperatures over nine-times what is currently allowed--potentially affecting the waterway’s local ecosystem and killing aquatic species.

July 9, 2019

Advocates for a Cleaner Tacoma filed a lawsuit today challenging the Washington State Department of Ecology’s issuance of a key permit for Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) proposed fracked gas facility in the Port of Tacoma. The Sierra Club is supporting the legal challenge to the project as an “interested party.”

July 3, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court today denied the government’s attempt to begin construction of President Trump’s border wall using funds unauthorized by Congress. The ruling upholds an earlier district court order that blocks the administration from building wall sections along the southern border in New Mexico and Arizona using illegally diverted military funds.