A group of WEC Energy Group shareholders, customers, and climate advocates will gather prior to the holding company’s annual meeting to demonstrate and make statements about their concerns over the financial liabilities of burning coal and other fossil fuels. The WEC Energy Group annual shareholders’ meeting is Thursday, May 2, from 10:00-11:00 am in the R. John Buuck Field House at the Concordia University-Mequon campus. Those going to the annual meeting have been instructed to park at nearby Marcus North Shore Cinema and take a shuttle provided by WEC. Participants in this public demonstration event will gather on the sidewalk in front of the northwest corner of the parking lot at 8:30 am and then demonstrate along the shuttle route.
Former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler delivered his draft plan today to the federal register to reopen the Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction (SSM) loopholes in Texas, which would allow dirty industrial facilities to release massive amounts of dangerous pollution generally not allowed under the Clean Air Act onto vulnerable communities. The SSM loopholes have been decried by public health and environmental justice organizations as an irresponsible and dangerous giveaway to polluters that threatens the health of low income and communities of color.
On Thursday, the Milwaukee County Board voted unanimously in support of a resolution opposing We Energies’ request to the DNR for a mercury variance in their discharge water from the Oak Creek-Elm Road coal plants. The proposed variance in the DNR’s draft permit would allow We Energies to discharge water tainted with mercury at up to three times the state standard into Lake Michigan.
This week, the Sierra Club filed three expert reports with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), opposing an attempt by Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E) to hike its customers’ electricity bills.
On Thursday, the Sierra Club will be hosting a press conference in support of a Milwaukee County Board resolution calling on the DNR to reject We Energies’ request for a mercury variance in their discharge water. The proposed variance in the DNR’s draft permit would currently allow We Energies to discharge water tainted with mercury at three times the state standard into Lake Michigan. Mercury is a well-known neurotoxin that has harmful effects on nervous systems, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and other parts of the body. The resolution is sponsored by Supervisors Steven Shea, Patti Logsdon, Willie Johnson Jr., Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, and Deanna Alexander. The Intergovernmental Relations Committee unanimously recommended that the full County Board adopt the resolution.
OLYMPIA, WA—Today, the Washington State legislature officially passed Senate Bill 5116, a bill that mandates an equitable transition to 100 percent clean electricity generation for the entire state by 2045.
Montana — Late Friday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration’s Interior Department illegally lifted the moratorium placed on new coal mining leases on public lands. Sierra Club challenged the Interior Department’s 2017 action along with Center for Biological Diversity, Citizens for Clean Energy, Defenders of Wildlife, EcoCheyene, Montana Environmental Information Center, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and WildEarth Guardians -- all represented by Earthjustice.
CARSON CITY, NV—Today, with a unanimous Assembly vote, the Nevada state legislature passed Senate Bill 358, a bill that ensures electricity providers meet of 50 percent of customer needs with renewable electricity statewide by 2030 and 100 percent clean energy by 2050.
The bill, first introduced in March, unanimously passed the state Senate earlier this week. It now heads to the desk of Governor Steve Sisolak to be signed into law.
RICHMOND, Virginia – Today, the State Air Pollution Control Board voted to approve a limit on carbon pollution from dirty power plants across Virginia which will take effect on January 1, 2020. The standard will cut carbon pollution in Virginia 30% by 2030, and allow the state to link with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This is the first state-level carbon pollution limit under the current federal administration. However, the rule doesn’t include biomass which can produce as much or more carbon dioxide as electricity generated by coal-fired power.
Sierra Club will submit approximately 70,000 comments from around the United States to the EPA today demanding former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler not move forward with his proposal to roll back the legal foundation for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)
RICHMOND, Virginia – The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced today they will be seeking a “qualified external consultant” to conduct an environmental justice study. The goal of the study is to identify recommendations the department can implement to create a strategic approach that focuses on environmental justice throughout the state.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – A lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s approval of Alton Coal’s mine expansion near Bryce Canyon National Park was filed today by Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Grand Canyon Trust, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and WildEarth Guardians.