Conservation groups sued the U.S. Forest Service today to stop exploratory drilling in California’s eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains that threatens an endangered fish and a dwindling population of bi-state sage grouse. “This drilling project will cause exactly the kind of noise and commotion that make bi-state sage grouse abandon their habitat. The Forest Service should absolutely know better,” said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s appalling that the Forest Service is willing to push these beautiful dancing birds closer to extinction for a toxic mine. We’ll do everything possible to prevent another species from being lost forever, but we urgently need the court’s help.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Six Texas-based U.S. House Democrats — Rep. Henry Cuellar, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, Rep. Marc Veasey, and Rep. Filemon Vela — are threatening to halt progress on the most important climate legislation in U.S. history, and derail vital investments in clean energy, clean transportation, and environmental justice in Texas communities.
WASHINGTON, DC -- In the wake of President Biden’s announcement of a framework for the Build Back Better Act, the Sierra Club, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform are renewing the call for Congress to move the Build Back Better Act in tandem with the inadequate bipartisan deal. No climate, no deal.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This morning, President Biden unveiled the framework for his Build Back Better Act. The framework presents a vision for a bill that would advance historic levels of investment in climate, jobs, and justice.
Harrisburg, PA — Today, the Pennsylvania Senate passed SCRRR1 disapproving of a regulation enabling Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Under the Regulatory Review Act, today is the deadline for each chamber to approve a concurrent resolution to block the regulation and stop Pennsylvania from joining RGGI. However, Governor Wolf has pledged to veto it to ensure the state joins the emissions reduction initiative in 2022.
New York -- Today, Governor Hochul’s Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC) denied the Danskammer fracked gas power plant required permits, shutting down the proposed project. The decision will protect clean air and water in the Hudson Valley and town of Newburgh, and help New York achieve its emissions reductions targets under the landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Coupled with the agency’s simultaneous denial of the Astoria NRG fracked gas permits, the decision is a major victory for the Stop Danskammer coalition and climate advocates across the state, who have organized for years against fracked gas in New York.
New York -- Today, Governor Hochul’s Department of Environmental Conservation rejected permits for the Astoria NRG fracked gas plant, shutting the project down and keeping polluting fossil fuels out of Astoria, Queens. The decision is a victory for the No Astoria NRG Plant Coalition and broader state grassroots climate movement, who have been relentlessly organizing against the project for years. Today’s decision tees up similar outcomes in the ongoing permitting processes of other polluting projects currently moving forward including the Gowanus repowering in Brooklyn. The members of the No Astoria NRG Plant Coalition applaud the decision.
A coalition of environmental groups and clean water advocates filed a lawsuit late yesterday challenging permits for the Mountaineer Storage Hub, a proposed fracked gas liquids storage facility that would support a broader petrochemical buildout in the Ohio River Valley.
Today, the Biden Administration moved to restore essential protections for critical habitats of threatened and endangered species. The move reverses Trump-era rules that unlawfully defined “habitat” to exclude certain locations from Endangered Species Act protections even if they will become habitat in the future, or could be restored to become suitable habitat for wildlife.
ATLANTA, GA -- Yesterday, the Georgia Court of Appeals rejected Sierra Club’s appeal over coal ash cleanup costs and who should be responsible to foot the bill.