Thirty six climate and environmental justice organizations sent a letter urging Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to oppose H.R.1130 – Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2023. This bill would strip away the federal government’s responsibility to examine the full impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on consumer energy prices, national security, the environment, and local communities.
Republicans in the House of Representatives will put forward a bill to fast-track permitting of facilities that export methane gas overseas. The House Rules Committee noticed last night that H.R. 1130 could be brought to the floor next week. This move comes as Congress is tasked with passing a bill to fund the government by September 30th.
WASHINGTON DC — Today, in a win for safety and the climate, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced the suspension of a Trump-era rule that allowed the transport of liquified methane gas, referred to as LNG, by rail.
HARRISBURG, PA — Today, PennFuture, the Sierra Club, Clean Air Council, Protect Penn-Trafford, and Earthworks filed a joint lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including Governor Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly, challenging the constitutionality of a law that prevents the Commonwealth from protecting communities from the harm caused by abandoned methane wells.
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.
TX/LA Coast - Today, Department of Energy’s (DOE) officials convened a listening session in Lake Charles, Louisiana, closing out the DOE’s second stop on its “Energy Justice to the People Roadshow” that included Lake Charles and Port Arthur. Yesterday, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm joined a listening session in Port Arthur, Texas. The DOE describes this Roadshow as a series of stakeholder dialogues aimed at engaging local residents, municipal governments, and fossil fuel industry representatives in conversations rang
As insurers abandon communities facing rising climate threats from the Gulf Coast to California, fears of an uninsurability crisis in the US are growing.
President Biden’s senior advisor for clean energy innovation and implementation John Podesta signaled that the president is supportive of a bill reintroduced by Senator Manchin yesterday. Under the guise of “permitting” reform, the bill would undermine bedrock environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), force dirty infrastructure projects on vulnerable communities, and jeopardize the clean air and water of communities across the country.
8:30am CT Wed 4/26: Climate advocates to hold rally, press conference for environmental justice
Today, Congressional Republicans passed H.R. 1, the “Polluters Over People Act, which would exacerbate the climate crisis, perpetuate environmental injustices, and jeopardize U.S. economic and national security by extending our country’s reliance on risky and volatile energy sources. The legislation would also undermine bedrock environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, by short-circuiting permitting processes and limiting valuable public input.
Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is hosting an environmental justice and equity roundtable. In a series of panels, FERC Commissioners will explore ways to better uphold these important values in their decisions, which include pipeline permitting, interstate transmission line siting, and liquefied methane gas export facility approvals. The impact of these decisions have historically had an outsized impact on low-income communities and communities of color who bear the burden of pollution and often experience the worst impacts of climate change. Sierra Club’s Executive Director Ben Jealous will participate in the first panel.