Once Again Congress Rejects Giving Handouts to the Fossil Fuel Industry That Would Silence Frontline Communities

Washington, DC – Tonight, in a victory for frontline communities, Senator Manchin’s permitting bill has been blocked from being included in must-pass legislation set to be voted on this month. The permitting legislation would have rolled back federal permitting requirements under bedrock environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act, forcing dirty infrastructure projects on vulnerable, environmental justice communities and jeopardizing the clean air and water of many across the country.

Sen. Manchin’s legislation, which would rubber stamp the dangerous, fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline, was defeated once already when it was removed from a must-pass government funding bill in September. In these efforts to remove this dirty permitting bill, hundreds of frontline activists from Appalachia and across the country came together in Washington, DC to call on Congress to reject any attempts to weaken critical environmental safeguards. This past week, environmental justice leaders and their allies came back to the Capitol, including environmental activist Jane Fonda, to garner congressional support on stopping this legislation.

In response, Sierra Club Deputy Legislative Director Mahyar Sorour released the following statement:

“Democrats in Congress have seen this play out once before – Senator Manchin’s so-called ‘permitting reform’ bill didn’t garner major support, and this time around was no different. Its dangerous ideas have no place in must-pass legislation today or in any future bill. For these communities in places like Appalachia and the Gulf South that have already been treated as fossil fuel sacrifice zones for far too long, we will continue to fight back against any proposed legislation that would rubber-stamp the disastrous Mountain Valley Pipeline and other fossil fuel proposals.”