environmental-law

Environmental Organizations Move to Protect EPA’s Clean Car Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, several environmental organizations moved to intervene to defend the Biden administration’s new clean car standards.

Climate Action Supporters Call on the Supreme Court to Protect the Clean Air Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today climate action supporters, including parents, youth advocates, public health experts, and others representing the broad coalition in support of the Clean Air Act gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court to speak out against coal companies and far-right politicians’ attempt to roll back decades of progress in fighting the climate crisis. Showcasing wide-ranging support for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards to reduce carbon pollution, the event coincided with oral arguments before the Supreme Court in West Virginia v.

El Paso Community Groups Intervene in DC Appeals Court

EL PASO, TEXAS / LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO – On Friday, a coalition of environmental and community groups filed a motion to intervene in Texas’s challenge to the EPA's designation of El Paso County as being in nonattainment under the 2015 ozone standard for air quality.

Sierra Club Applauds Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Nomination To The Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, President Biden announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Once confirmed, Judge Jackson will fill Justice Breyer’s seat when he retires at the end of this term.

EPA Fails to Take Action to Address Ozone Pollution Across Texas

DALLAS, TX - Late yesterday, Sierra Club and Downwinders at Risk Education Fund (Downwinders at Risk), represented by Earthjustice, announced their intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failure to appropriately classify two regions of Texas as moderate ozone nonattainment areas, as is required by the Clean Air Act.  

Environmental Groups Urge FERC to Deny Lake Charles LNG Extension After Nearly a Decade of Failed Construction Plans

Today, Sierra Club, Healthy Gulf, and Louisiana Bucket Brigade motioned to intervene in Lake Charles LNG’s request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend their time to 2028 to build their fracked gas export facility. Lake Charles LNG was initially granted a construction permit in 2015, but has failed to actually move forward with their project for nearly a decade.

Mountain Valley Investor Says “Very Low Probability of Pipeline Completion”

Today, NextEra Energy Inc. announced it is reevaluating its investment in the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline after the 4th Circuit rejected two necessary approvals.

Sierra Club: Dark Money Organizations and Extremists Push Outlandish Agenda and Bizarre Claims in West Virginia v. EPA Amicus Briefs

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Yesterday, a host of extremist groups and dark money-backed organizations submitted amicus briefs in support of the right-wing politicians and coal companies who are petitioning the United States Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA. The case before the Supreme Court focuses on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to curb climate-disrupting greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s current fleet of coal- and gas-burning power plants, but these new briefs present arguments that go far beyond what is necessary to clarify the Clean Air Act. Instead, they make outlandish claims in a push to not just strip the EPA of its authority to reduce carbon pollution to address the climate crisis, but to drastically redefine federal authority and decimate the government’s ability to look out for public health and safety – and they make no attempt to disguise this agenda.

Lawsuit calls out Biden administration for allowing oil operators to harm Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears

Groups sued the Biden administration today for issuing a regulation that allows oil and gas companies to harass Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears despite the likelihood of causing injury and death.

After Years of Grassroots Efforts, Illinois Passes Nation-Leading Climate & Equity Bill

Today, Governor Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (SB2408) into law, marking one of the nation’s most groundbreaking advancements in climate justice and workforce transition.

Georgia Power’s Closure Plan for Plant Hammond Coal Ash Pond-3 Leaves Public Water Supply At Risk

ROME, GA -- Sierra Club’s analysis of Georgia Power’s preferred closure method for Plant Hammond Ash Pond-3 (AP-3) shows it does not adequately protect against groundwater contamination, risking the water supplies near the plant and downstream. 

Groups Sue EPA for Stronger Clean Air Protections

WASHINGTON — NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council), together with Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project, sued the Environmental Protection Agency today to force it to fulfill its Clean Air Act obligations and require states to close polluter loopholes in state plans under the Act. Decades-old gaps in the law allow industry to evade responsibility for preventable harms that disproportionately affect communities of color and low income communities, and the agency has failed to act to close these loopholes.