Harrisburg, PA - Today, the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a petition for a declaratory order urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to maintain oversight over the Fortress liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. The project includes a gas liquefaction facility in Wyalusing, PA and an LNG export facility in Gibbstown, NJ.
BURLINGTON, VT - A coalition of advocates and energy experts released a new explainer today, titled New England’s Winter Electricity Challenges Call for a Clean Energy Solution, that details how New England’s overreliance on gas creates a risk of blackouts on the electricity system in severe winters.
Tomorrow at 9am, Sierra Club’s legal team will present oral arguments at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans against the Army Corps of Engineers for reissuing a Clean Water Act section 404 “dredge and fill” permit for the Rio Grande LNG export terminal and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline proposed for the Port of Brownsville.
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Healthy Gulf and Sierra Club filed a petition to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to require a Coastal Use Permit for the fracked gas export terminal Plaquemines LNG that is under construction in Southern Louisiana. The organizations detail many issues with the plant, including the negative impacts that it will have on Black and Indigenous communities, the destruction of disappearing and vulnerable wetlands, and the fact that it is being built in an active hurricane zone prone to severe flooding.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced a six-month delay for CP2 and CP Express, a fracked gas export terminal and its associated pipeline project proposed for construction in Southwest Louisiana. FERC aimed to have the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the facility done by February of next year. It now plans to issue a final EIS by July 28, 2023.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agreed to expand the capacity of Freeport LNG, a methane gas export facility in Texas and the site of a recent explosion. The investigation into the cause of the explosion has still not been completed. The decision was made during the agency’s monthly meeting.
Today, the fossil fuel company NextDecade announced its deal to supply 1 million tons of fracked gas a year for 20 years from its proposed Rio Grande LNG export project and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline in Brownsville, Texas to Exxon Mobil. Companies like NextDecade and Exxon Mobil push greenwashed marketing campaigns that promote fracked gas as a “clean fossil fuel” and minimize its environmental justice and climate impacts.
EUROPE -- Today, the European Union announced it will decrease its bloc-wide methane gas, sometimes referred to as “natural gas,” consumption by 15 percent between now and Spring 2023 in response to Russia’s decision to decrease gas supply to Germany. Russian gas currently accounts for 40 percent of the EU’s supply. The agreement includes some narrow exceptions, including for small island nations and the Baltic States, which currently have limited energy alternatives, as well as countries that have lower consumption rates of gas.
Today, Sierra Club, along with HealthyGulf, filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers for issuing a Clean Water Act section 404 “dredge and fill” permit for the Driftwood LNG fracked gas export terminal proposed for construction in Calcasieu Parish in Southwest Louisiana.
The Sierra Club submitted motions to intervene to the United States’ Department of Energy (DOE) protesting export authorizations for three separate fracked gas “LNG” export terminals: Lake Charles LNG, New Fortress LNG, and Plaquemines LNG.
After Venture Global LLC failed to provide additional and necessary data regarding its proposed CP LNG export terminal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency announced that it is suspending the environmental review process for project and its associated pipeline,
Today, 136 organizations sent a letter to President Biden in response to the June 8 explosion at the Freeport LNG export facility, expressing continued concern with expanded gas exports and calling for immediate action to protect nearby communities.