WASHINGTON, D.C. - The EPA announced today that it will reconsider the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter, a key clean air safeguard. Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), or soot, is an extremely dangerous pollutant that is responsible for over 100,000 premature deaths each year in the United States. In December 2020, despite robust scientific evidence and the recommendations of public health experts, the Trump administration declined to strengthen the standard, leaving the outdated and insufficient standard in place and putting hundreds of thousands of Americans at risk for serious health problems including asthma, heart attacks, stroke, and infant mortality.
HARTFORD -- Today marks the end of session for the Connecticut General Assembly. Sierra Club members and supporters have taken over 2,700 actions to advocate for climate and environment bills since January. Several priority bills are now law, which promise cleaner air, water, and a brighter climate future for all residents of Connecticut.
A brief overview of top Sierra Club issues and bills passed in the 2021 legislative session include the following:
Avon Lake Coal Plant slated to burn its last coal on Sept. 15th, as First Solar announces massive solar panel factory expansion near Toledo.
PITTSBURGH – For 51 years, the coal-fired Cheswick Generating Station has polluted the air and water northeast of Pittsburgh. Last night GenOn Holdings, Inc. announced that the plant will retire in September of this year.
On May 31, negotiations on a groundbreaking climate bill for Illinois broke down after Illinois’ largest climate polluter, the Prairie State Energy Campus (PSEC) coal plant, demanded a total exemption from pollution limits that would apply to Illinois fossil fuel power plants. PSEC is the single largest carbon polluter in Illinois, and the seventh largest carbon emitting power plant in the United States.
WEC Energy Group is proposing to charge customers $370 million plus interest, totaling more than $460 million, to build storage tanks to store extra fossil gas, in case they need it on cold days in the winter. WEC’s proposal assumes increasing use of fossil gas, year over year, infinitely.
Today, Alliant Energy announced a settlement with Sierra Club, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, Citizens Utility Board, Clean Wisconsin, RENEW Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Paper Council, regarding the utility’s 2021 rate case. Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin supported the utility’s proposed revenue requirement, but did not support its proposed rate design, as a result of which they are only signaling its support of the proposed revenue requirement. Sierra Club continues to advocate for improvements to Alliant Energy’s rate design.
A group of people from the Tampa Bay area, supported by allies in Nova Scotia, tried to attended the annual meeting of the shareholders of Emera, Inc. to demand that its subsidiaries, Tampa Electric Company (TECO) and Nova Scotia Power, abandon their plans to continue burning coal at its power plants. Tampa area shareholders attempted to get signed up for the meeting or get a proxy assigned but were given excuses in the final hour as to why they could not attend and vote.
HUNTINGTON, WV -- Today, the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, filed a lawsuit against the U.S.
DULUTH, MN -- Environmental groups and clean energy advocates have released a scorecard evaluating Minnesota Power’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to educate the public on how the utility intends to provide energy to the Northland for the next 15 years.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted notice of its intent to file an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the retirement of the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee. Through the upcoming EIS process, TVA will identify the timeline to retire the plant’s two coal units and if any replacement generation is needed.