(Pittsburgh, PA) January 11, 2018 –Sierra Club and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, represented by PennFuture and the Law Office of Howard Crystal, filed a settlement Wednesday with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that will reduce toxic pollution in waterways from 10 coal-fired power plants that had been operating in the state with expired water permits.
Oakland, Calif., --- Today, Judge Vince Chhabria heard arguments for summary judgment on Oakland’s ordinance that bans the storage and handling of dirty coal. He did not indicate a ruling on motions for summary judgment based on preemption or commerce clause arguments, but did order that trial begin on Tuesday, January 16th to address whether the City’s decision to adopt the Ordinance is consistent with the contract between the City of Oakland and developers of the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal.
Washington, DC -- Today, the EPA’s Inspector General’s office announced that it was expanding the scope of its review of Scott Pruitt’s travel for a third time. Pruitt was one of Donald Trump’s cabinet officials who was caught using public dollars for private air travel, though he did not face the same punishment as former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price who lost his job.
Conservation groups filed an amended complaint today to sue the US Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ensure that Illinois’ Clean Air Act state implementation plan includes measures to prohibit conflicts of interest on state boards and agency leadership overseeing regulatory matters on air pollution. The groups sued EPA this fall for failing to ensure the same protective measures are in place in Mississippi and Alabama.
Washington, DC -- Today, in a press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Donald Trump repeated his unsubstantiated claim that the Paris Climate Agreement was “very unfair” to the United States, and said, "It treated the United States very unfairly and frankly it's an agreement that I had no problem with but I had an agreement with what they signed.” He added
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Supreme Court will hear opening arguments in the Husted v. APRI case, which is seeking to illegally purge Ohio voting rolls. This case stands to set a nationwide precedent for illegal voter roll purging and voter suppression.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to divest the city’s $189 billion pension fund from fossil fuels within the next five years, making New York City the first major US pension plan to do so.
Washington, DC -- This evening, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced that less than one week after unveiling his draft plan for offshore drilling, he is removing Florida’s waters from the plan. Zinke’s plan has been universally condemned by coastal communities and politicians on both sides of the aisle.
In response, Sierra Club Florida Director Frank Jackalone released the following statement:
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge John Michael Vazquez ruled that the 1982 consent decree limiting the Republican National Committee’s ability to challenge voters inside polling locations has been terminated as of Dec. 1, 2017. The decree was originally enacted due to the RNC attempting to suppress African American voters.
Today, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) announced that they will continue to push through a decision on Enbridge’s controversial Line 3 tar sands pipeline, in spite of recent developments that require additional analysis.