environmental-law

January 20, 2021

Washington, DC -- Today, President Joe Biden will begin taking immediate action on the climate crisis, including rescinding the “presidential permit” for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, killing the controversial proposed project once and for all. 

January 19, 2021

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the ‘Affordable Clean Energy’ rule and remanded it to the EPA.

January 7, 2021

CHICAGO, IL -- Save Our Illinois Land (SOIL), the Sierra Club, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and area landowner William Klingele filed an appeal this week of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) decision to approve the expansion of the pump stations for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline (ETCOP), which will enable the pipelines to nearly double the amount of crude oil they transport.

January 5, 2021

DEQ Refused To Evaluate Full Scope Of Project And Admits Failure To Meaningfully Review Public Comments

December 1, 2020

Richmond, VA --  Last week, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) rejected Appalachian Power’s proposal to increase the basic service charge and pre-charge then stockpile consumers money to subsidize the retirement of its uneconomic coal plant’s even though Appalachian Power has not locked in retirement dates. The Sierra Club actively fought against the proposed coal amortization rider, providing key witnesses arguing that the increase would result in consumers pre-paying for undetermined early coal retirements.

December 1, 2020

A new lawsuit filed yesterday evening challenges the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s approval of a key water quality permit for Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline.

November 30, 2020

Natrium, WV -- Today, the Sierra Club and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition entered into a proposed consent decree settlement agreement with Eagle Natrium, LLC that would resolve the groups’ claims that the company violated its permit limits for discharges of mercury into the Ohio River from its chlor-alkali facility located in Natrium, West Virginia.

October 19, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court today stated it will hear arguments in a challenge to the Trump administration’s diversion of $2.5 billion from military pay and pension funds for border wall construction that Congress explicitly denied. The order came in Sierra Club v. Trump, a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition.

October 16, 2020

Today, ignoring evidence about the serious threat Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline would pose to Minnesota’s clean water, an administrative law judge issued a determination downplaying the impact of the pipeline on waterways along its route. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner Laura Bishop is expected to make a decision on a water crossing permit for the pipeline by November 14.

October 14, 2020

OUC announced today that they would stop burning coal for power by 2027 and would get 92% of their energy from renewable sources by 2050

October 10, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last night ruled that President Trump’s use of emergency powers to divert $3.6 billion in military construction funds for the border wall is unlawful. The ruling came in a lawsuit, Sierra Club v. Trump, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition challenging President Trump’s abuse of emergency powers to build a border wall using funds Congress explicitly denied.

October 8, 2020

Advocates and concerned residents testified today before the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) to raise serious objections to the proposed rate increases filed by Madison Gas and Electric (MGE). MGE’s request proposes to perpetuate and expand regressive utility rates the Walker administration approved that undermine conservation, charge lower use customers higher bills, and pose a specific harm to low income customers. The Walker-era rates are among the worst of the worst nationally in setting the amount of every bill that is “fixed”--meaning customers cannot control their bill or reduce their charges by using less energy.