environmental-law

Lawsuit calls out Biden administration for allowing oil operators to harm Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears

Groups sued the Biden administration today for issuing a regulation that allows oil and gas companies to harass Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears despite the likelihood of causing injury and death.

After Years of Grassroots Efforts, Illinois Passes Nation-Leading Climate & Equity Bill

Today, Governor Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (SB2408) into law, marking one of the nation’s most groundbreaking advancements in climate justice and workforce transition.

Georgia Power’s Closure Plan for Plant Hammond Coal Ash Pond-3 Leaves Public Water Supply At Risk

ROME, GA -- Sierra Club’s analysis of Georgia Power’s preferred closure method for Plant Hammond Ash Pond-3 (AP-3) shows it does not adequately protect against groundwater contamination, risking the water supplies near the plant and downstream. 

Groups Sue EPA for Stronger Clean Air Protections

WASHINGTON — NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council), together with Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project, sued the Environmental Protection Agency today to force it to fulfill its Clean Air Act obligations and require states to close polluter loopholes in state plans under the Act. Decades-old gaps in the law allow industry to evade responsibility for preventable harms that disproportionately affect communities of color and low income communities, and the agency has failed to act to close these loopholes.

Biden Administration nominates new FERC commissioner

Washington, D.C. -- Today President Joe Biden nominated Willie Phillips to fill a vacant position on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the nation’s independent energy regulator. FERC will play a key role in helping transform our power system and lead the equitable transition away from fossil fuels and toward the clean electricity system needed to address climate change.

Phillips is currently Chairman of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission and former Assistant General Counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Environmental Groups Sue Dominion Subsidiary over Stony River Fishery Concerns

Sierra Club and Potomac Riverkeeper Network, in accordance with the Clean Water Act, filed suit against VEPCO, a subsidiary of Dominion for violating and continuing to violate “an effluent standard or limitation” and continuing to violate its temperature discharge limits at its Mount Storm Power Station.

Sierra Club Statement on MGE Rate Case Filing

Today, a settlement agreement was filed between Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE), Sierra Club, Clean Wisconsin, Citizens Utility Board, RENEW Wisconsin, the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, and Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group in the utility’s rate case.

PacifiCorp’s Plan to Burn Fossil Fuels Into 2040s Contradicts Scientific Consensus on Slowing Climate Change

A regional coalition of conservation groups commented on PacifiCorp’s 2021 Integrated Resource Plan that was filed today in the six states the utility serves, highlighting the plan’s failure to meet the recommendations of global scientists to transition away from all fossil fuels, as the utility intends to keep coal and gas generation in its resource mix well into the 2040s.

Sierra Club Statement on the Supreme Court Gutting Roe v. Wade

WASHINGTON, DC -- Late last night, a narrowly divided Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ignored its precedent and undermined the Constitutional rights of millions of people by declining to block Texas’ abortion ban (S.B. 8). S.B. 8, which took effect Tuesday, bans abortion care after six weeks of pregnancy, making it all but impossible for millions of Texans to receive essential healthcare. S.B. 8 is the most restrictive abortion law in the nation and it also incentivizes private individuals to file lawsuits against anyone they believe is either providing abortion care or assisting someone in accessing an abortion.

Virginia Regulators Issue Draft Water Permit for Fracked Gas Mountain Valley Pipeline

Richmond, VA -- Today, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) issued a draft water quality certification for the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline under section 401 of the Clean Water Act. In March, the VADEQ asked the Army Corps of Engineers for a year to review and issue the draft water permit, and in June the Corps granted VADEQ only six months.

West Virginia’s Grossly Underfunded Mine Reclamation Program Violates Law, Biden Administration Determines

Responding to continuing pressure from community groups, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced its formal determination that West Virginia is violating the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) by failing to ensure that funds will be available to reclaim coal mines in the state.

Virginia State Corporation Commission Denies ApCo ELG Cost Request for Uneconomic Coal Generation

The State Corporation Commission of Virginia released its final order in the Appalachian Power Company (APCo) rate case. The Commission denied Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) costs for both the John E. Amos and Mountaineer coal plants, both are West Virginia power plants that provide power to Virginia.