Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it will require utilities in several Midwestern states to clean up their coal ash waste. Coal ash is toxic waste produced by coal-burning power plants. For decades, coal ash has been dumped into giant pits or ponds, where toxic chemicals have leaked into the water, contaminated soil, and poisoned air. Coal ash continues to be a serious health and safety hazard even after a coal plant is decommissioned unless the waste left behind is removed and safely disposed of.
St. Louis, MO – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Ameren Missouri failed to provide enough information to demonstrate its ability to safely operate coal waste facilities at its Meramec and Sioux coal-burning power plants.
In a filing late Friday, the Biden administration's U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) defended two Trump-era resource management plans (RMPs) that failed to comply with a court order to account for impacts from burning publicly-owned coal, including on public health, and to consider alternatives that limit coal leasing on public lands in the Powder River Basin – the largest coal-producing region in the country.
La administración Biden publicó hoy una actualización del progreso del plan “America the Beautiful”, también conocido como 30x30, un marco para conservar al menos el 30% de los terrenos, vías acuáticas y áreas oceanográficas para 2030 y asegurarse de que todas las personas tengan acceso a la naturaleza.
Harrisburg, PA — Today, the Pennsylvania House passed SCRRR1 disapproving of a regulation enabling Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The bill now heads to Governor Wolf, who has pledged to veto it to ensure the state joins the carbon emissions reduction initiative in 2022. Based on today’s vote, neither the House nor the Senate would have enough votes to override that veto.
Little Rock, AR – SWEPCO finalized its intent to burn coal at the Flint Creek power plant until 2038, today when it filed its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC). SWEPCO failed to study the economics of retiring Flint Creek and simply assumed, without any analysis in its IRP, to keep running the high-cost plant on coal. The utility also plans to convert the Welsh coal plant to run on gas in 2028 and operate on gas until 2037, while removing its plan to build a new gas power plant detailed in the original draft.
New York — Earlier this month, Danskammer Energy, LLC filed a request for an adjudicatory hearing on the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)’s denial of their Title V Air Permit. Despite Governor Hochul’s Department of Environmental Conservation's firm stance against the construction of fracked gas plants in both Newburgh and Astoria this past October, Danskammer and their lawyers feel that their profit is paramount to the standards promulgated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA).
St. Louis, MO - In a federal court filing today, Ameren Missouri announced its intent to retire its Rush Island coal plant no later than March 2024 following Clean Air Act violations and a court order to add modern pollution controls. Ameren Missouri previously planned to retire Rush Island in 2039 according to the Integrated Resource Plan it filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission in 2020.
Today, a coalition representing thousands of members who live in communities directly impacted by coal mining sent a letter to the White House asking the Biden Administration to prioritize the appointment of a permanent director for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). The groups highlight three specific, unprecedented challenges facing the coal mining industry and coal mining communities.
The Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified conservation groups that it will defend the Trump administration’s decision to let Utah’s massive coal plants pollute 11 national parks and 14 wilderness areas in violation of the Regional Haze Rule, established by the Clean Air Act.
Today, the Sierra Club released a report of independent modeling and analysis of decarbonization pathways for the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD). The report, titled Coal-Free at OPPD [LINK HERE] and co-authored by Rachel Wilson and Iain Addleton of Synapse Energy Economics (Synapse), focuses on near-term actions available to OPPD that will enable the power district’s long term decarbonization.
In today’s order, N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) members approved Duke’s five-year short-term action plan, which includes the full retirement of Duke’s 62-year-old Allen coal plant in the Belmont community, as well as no additional gas infrastructure.