Responding to continuing pressure from community groups, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced its formal determination that West Virginia is violating the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) by failing to ensure that funds will be available to reclaim coal mines in the state.
The State Corporation Commission of Virginia released its final order in the Appalachian Power Company (APCo) rate case. The Commission denied Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) costs for both the John E. Amos and Mountaineer coal plants, both are West Virginia power plants that provide power to Virginia.
St. Louis, MO -- Ameren Missouri’s appeal of a lower court ruling that required the utility to add pollution controls to its Rush Island and Labadie coal plants was partially successful. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed that Ameren violated the Clean Air Act, but overturned a lower court order that would have required Ameren to fully remedy the effects of its unlawful pollution.
On August 11, the Sierra Club filed a petition for reconsideration of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to omit Ottawa County from the agency’s list of areas across the country that are out of attainment with health-based federal ozone (smog pollution) standards. Sierra Club won a court order in 2020 requiring EPA to revisit the agency’s 2018 decision to designate Ottawa County as an attainment area. EPA announced its decision to maintain that designation in June. A nonattainment designation triggers stricter rules for permitting new sources of pollution in the area, and requires that the state come up with a plan to bring the area back into attainment. The Clean Air Act makes clear that any county with pollution that has monitored violations of an air standard, or is contributing to monitored violations of an air standard, should be designated nonattainment. Local concern about health risks is especially high because of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased outdoor time due to social distancing.
EL PASO, TX -- Today, the Chaparral Coalition for Community Health and the Environment, the Sierra Club, and Earthworks (the Community Groups) reached an agreement with El Paso Electric (EPE) that will substantially reduce air pollution in El Paso and southern New Mexico. The agreement will temporarily block new fossil fuel power plant construction while pushing EPE toward a clean energy future.
Washington, DC -- In a victory for Gulf Coast communities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled today that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) failed to conduct an adequate analysis of the climate and environmental justice impacts of two fracked gas export terminals proposed for the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Consumers Energy filed its electric and gas energy efficiency (referred to in Michigan as “energy waste reduction”) plans to reduce energy waste in the service territory with the Michigan Public Service Commission on August 2.
Poland’s national oil and gas company has terminated a 20-year deal to import fracked gas from Sempra’s proposed export facility in Port Arthur, Texas.
BOISE, ID — Citing risk to federally protected species, today ten groups filed a notice of intent to sue the state of Idaho in response to the state’s newest wolf hunting laws.
The Biden administration announced a plan today to fully restore environmental protections to Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The plan will not only reverse a Trump-era attack on the Tongass that would have put Alaska’s last vestiges of old-growth forest at risk of destructive logging and road-building, it will extend new safeguards for the forest as well as dedicating $25 million in federal spending on local sustainable development in Alaska.
Saint Paul, MN -- Groups filed a legal challenge with the Minnesota Supreme Court today appealing a lower court’s decision to uphold the Public Utilities Commission’s 2020 approval of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline.
Hartford, CT - Today, Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) approved a landmark electric vehicle charging program, with an emphasis on making charging more accessible to underserved communities, including at workplaces and apartment buildings.