Sierra Club, Communities Work to Oppose Massive Refinery Expansion

Citizens living near the site of Marathon Oil's Detroit refinery are already suffering from asthma, mercury poisoning and cancer. Now, Marathon has proposed a massive expansion of this facility, which would release even more toxic pollution into the already overburdened neighborhood of Fort-Schaefer. On April 30, 2008 Sierra Club staff and volunteers stood up with community members in publicly voicing their opposition to the proposed expansion. In addition, the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program has submitted extensive technical and legal objections to this dirty facility.

"Instead of making another short-sighted investment in yesterday's dirty, polluting industries, Michigan should be investing in tomorrow's clean energy economy, bringing green jobs to Detroit and clean air and water to our communities," said Rhonda Anderson, Sierra Club's Environmental Justice Regional Representative. "Extracting the tar sands harms Native communities in Alberta, and refining the oil harms disadvantaged communities in Detroit."

Marathon is the only oil refinery in the state of Michigan, and its low-income neighbors suffer from the toxic pollution spewing from the facility and nearby toxic incinerators, coal-fired power plants and assembly plants. Expanding in order to process dirty tar sands from Alberta, which are major contributors to global warming, would impose further suffering on Detroit's most vulnerable residents. The Sierra Club Environmental Justice and Environmental Law Programs will continue to work to support community members in their quest for clean energy solutions and their opposition to dirty, outdated technology.

Read more about this case and the work of EJ Organizer Rhonda Anderson!

Unique, Diverse Region Protected for Generations to Come

California’s sprawling Tejon Ranch is a place unlike any other- situated where the Sierra Nevada, the Mohave Desert, the Coastal Range and Central Valley all meet, this region is home to a wide array of native plants and animals. For years, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups have worked to ensure that this unique area will be a place that future generations can enjoy. On May 7, 2008, these groups, with the leadership of local Club staff and volunteers, achieved a monumental settlement that will protect the area forever.

As a result of this settlement, the vast majority of the Tejon Ranch will be set up as a conservancy, setting aside the largest parcel of land for conservation in the history of the state of California. This deal will preserve vital habitat for a number of species, including elk, bears, eagles and condors. Now 375 square miles of desert, woodlands, and grasslands will remain the treasured wild places they are today for years to come.

Group Moves to Secure Health Protections from New Coal-Fired Power Plants

Mercury is a known neurotoxin which poses an especially high threat to the health of women and children. Children who are born to women with high mercury levels face an increased risk of cognitive and developmental damage; according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one in six women has enough mercury in their bodies to put a baby at risk. On May 6, 2008, just days before Mother’s Day, the Sierra Club launched a massive, multi-state effort to educate the public about the dangers of mercury pollution, and ensure that all new coal-fired power plants employ modern mercury pollution controls. New coal plants in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri and Wyoming were put on notice for failing to include the necessary mercury and other toxic pollution controls in their plant plans; these notice letters are all available here.

Coal plants are the largest single man-made source of mercury in the United states. The Sierra Club’s legal efforts will hold almost 30 new coal plants across the nation accountable for skirting public health protections, including plants in Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Montana, Iowa, Louisiana and South Carolina which are currently under investigation for failing to properly control toxic pollution like mercury.

"There are affordable technologies widely available today that can substantially reduce mercury and other toxic pollution," said Pat Gallagher, Director of the Sierra Club's Environmental Law Program. "In their rush to build new coal plants, developers have turned a blind eye to these technologies, and correspondingly the health of children everywhere."

Read the full press release here!