Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org, 914-261-4626
Midland, TX -- Tomorrow, Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at an oil rig in Midland, Texas. Trump is expected to tout his administration’s attacks on key environmental protections, with the goal of propping up the oil and gas industry at the expense of local communities that will be subjected to increased air and water pollution.
“Texas communities are already suffering the effects of pollution from the oil and gas industry, and the Trump administration’s pandering to oil and gas executives and shameless rollbacks of environmental protections will only put Texans at greater risk,” said Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Director Cyrus Reed.
“Odessa communities -- particularly the most marginalized Black and Brown communities -- have borne the brunt of pollution from the oil and gas industry for years, and this administration is moving in the wrong direction by allowing more pollution,” noted Gene Collins, a local minister and the Chair of the Environmental Justice Committee for the Texas NAACP. “We invite the President to listen to and meet with the communities impacted by this pollution, and not just the industry representatives.”
- Earlier this month, the Trump administration released final new regulations gutting requirements for environmental reviews of fossil fuel infrastructure like oil and gas pipelines under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Texans are already all too aware of the consequences of fast-tracked environmental reviews for pipelines. Just this week, Kinder Morgan had yet another spill of drilling fluid during construction of its Permian Highway fracked gas pipeline. The incident is the latest in a series of spills and violations over the course of construction of the controversial pipeline, including multiple complaints about erosion and wastewater runoff and a major incident in March that spilled drilling fluid into local water wells. Impacted landowners still do not have clean water in their homes.
- Under the guise of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency suspended enforcement of environmental protections for polluting industries, despite the fact that air pollution is known to result in high rates of asthma and exacerbate the impact of COVID-19. The administration and Congressional Republicans also prioritized handouts to fossil fuel companies as part of coronavirus relief efforts, including to companies that were failing long before the current crisis.
- The Trump administration is also preparing to finalize rules eliminating Clean Air Act safeguards against methane and other harmful pollution from the oil and gas industry. Already, the Permian Basin is a hotbed for dangerous emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide during the time it remains in the atmosphere. According to a recent analysis, 1 in 10 flares in the Permian does not work properly, leaving them spewing methane and other cancer-causing pollutants, putting our climate and the health of local communities at risk. Many organizations, communities, and even some company representatives have been calling on the Texas Railroad Commission and other state agencies to do more to reduce flaring, venting, and methane emissions as the federal government moves in the wrong direction.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.