Press Releases

July 25, 2023

Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) closed the comment period for the docket following the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request for a three-year extension to complete the Southgate project that would extend the mainline into North Carolina.

July 24, 2023

A new poll released today by EDF Action, Earthworks Action Fund, Sierra Club, and CATF Action finds that voters in battleground and key oil and gas producing states, like Pennsylvania, support the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) taking strong, swift action to limit methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.

July 24, 2023

Maple Grove, MN – A new report shows that a federal program could cover more than 75 percent of the cost for Great River Energy (GRE) to switch to renewable energy and energy storage. The utility provides electricity to approximately 1.7 million people through its 27 member-owner cooperatives and customers in rural and suburban Minnesota.

July 20, 2023

PORTLAND, ME – After Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Sierra Club, and others filed petitions with the state, Maine officials have begun the process of considering new rules designed to spur purchases of electric cars and trucks in the state. The draft standards call for 82 percent of vehicles sold in the state by 2032 to be electric.

July 20, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Department of the Interior unveiled a proposed rule to reform the federal onshore oil and gas leasing program. The proposed rule includes significant changes to bonding and royalties, which have long-favored the fossil fuel industry.

July 24, 2023

NEW YORK — A new report by the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign on the role of big US banks in capital markets reveals a hidden pipeline for fossil fuel financing through the banks’ underwriting of bonds and equities for polluting companies.

July 19, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 460,000 people have submitted public comments to the U.S. Forest Service calling for the agency to adopt a rule that protects mature and old-growth trees and forests on federal land as a cornerstone of U.S. climate policy. Environment America Research & Policy Center and Sierra Club on Thursday delivered some of those public comments to the U.S. Forest Service office in Washington, D.C.

July 19, 2023

After a ten-year delay, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday denied a petition for rulemaking calling on the agency to issue regulations defining whether proposed gas exports are consistent with the public interest. In response to a March lawsuit for unreasonable delay filed, the agency claimed to have “rigorous standards” for approving gas exports, but failed to lay out what those supposed standards are. DOE has never rejected a project on the grounds of harm to the public interest.

July 18, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, EPA removed the emergency affirmative defense provisions from operating permit regulations in Title V of the Clean Air Act, closing a loophole that allowed fossil fuel power plants and industrial facilities to release unlimited amounts of dangerous air pollution during startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) events with impunity. 

July 18, 2023

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman John Sarbanes and Senator Amy Klobuchar reintroduced the Freedom to Vote Act. This bill seeks to increase safe, secure, and equitable voting access for all, especially those who have historically dealt with the highest barriers to voting, including communities of color, people with disabilities, and students.