Monday the Illinois Legislature passed SB9, the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act, which now heads to the Governor’s desk. The groundbreaking bill addresses the many waste pits filled with coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal, located all over the state. Illinois is now the third state in the country to pass legislation providing significant coal ash protections above and beyond federal requirements.
Rockville, MD -- A Maryland Circuit Court ruled in favor of local community members and environmentalists on a power plant owner’s efforts to block safeguards protecting clean water in the state at the Chalk Point power plant in Prince George’s County.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- At noon on Tuesday, May 28, 2019, the Sierra Club will hold a rally opposing OG&E’s proposed rate hike. OG&E is requesting to force ratepayers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for excessively costly work on OG&E’s Sooner coal-burning power plant. The rally will take place prior to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's (OCC) hearing on the rate increase, the afternoon of Tuesday, May 28, and there will be space for media.
Ohio Clean Air Program” anything but clean
esterday, media outlets reported that former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler sent a memo to several EPA offices, directing them to change how they calculate cost and benefits for environmental protection in an effort to undercut the agency’s use of peer reviewed science in the development of new rules.
Albany, N.Y.— Eleven various organization submitted comments today supporting the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) efforts to decrease dangerous smog pollution downstate. Last week, DEC hosted three public hearings in Albany, New York City and Long Island on new nitrous oxide (NOx) pollution limits for over 40“peaker” gas plants, located across Long Island and New York City. “Peakers” only run during times of peak energy demand a handful of days a year, but they emit enormous amounts of toxic pollutants into our air -- harming New Yorkers health and leaving downstate New York with some of the worst air quality in the country.
Clean air experts sounded the alarm today as the New York Times reported that former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler plans to abandon peer-reviewed science in order to sell the Trump Administration’s Dirty Power Plan, its attempt to roll back the Clean Power Plan.
Today, Sierra Club, Fresh Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Energy and Environment, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Clean Grid Alliance, LIUNA (Laborers’ International Union of North America) Minnesota and North Dakota, and Xcel Energy filed an agreement with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MNPUC) that proposes retirement dates for Xcel’s remaining coal units and includes historic investments in solar energy and energy efficiency.
Albany, N.Y.— The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) signed a finalized regulation today that will fully eliminate coal in New York by 2020. This regulation, years in the making and overwhelmingly supported by the public, is the first of its kind in the nation. The removal of coal-fired power is a critical step for the state to reach its goal of a 100 percent greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the electric sector by 2040.
The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign reached two major milestones this week with the announced retirements of the CD McIntosh coal plant in Lakeland, Florida and the Utah Power Plant in Magna, Utah.
SEATTLE, WA—Today, Senate Bill 5116 was signed into law in Washington by Governor Jay Inslee after passing the state legislature earlier this month. This bill cuts out coal power by 2025 and requires an equitable transition to 100 percent clean electricity for the entire state by 2045.
Today, Colorado lawmakers approved legislation that would reauthorize and modernize the way the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) oversees our utilities.