Yesterday, Sierra Club, Shrimpers and Fishermen of the RGV, and Save RGV from LNG filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers for reissuing a Clean Water Act section 404 “dredge and fill” permit for the Rio Grande LNG export terminal and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline proposed for the Port of Brownsville. The groups argue that the permit falls short of legal requirements to avoid and compensate for impacts to wetlands, as required under section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—After months of negotiations, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed a social spending and climate plan, which includes the Build Back Better Act’s historic climate investments to make our homes and buildings safer, healthier, and more affordable. As the package heads to the Senate, a group of climate, building decarbonization and affordable housing advocates issued the following joint statement:
Commissioner Phillips must push the agency to address climate and environmental justice impacts of fracked gas pipelines and export terminals, and accelerate the transition to clean, affordable electricity.
This morning, Sierra Club released a report detailing how the two gas-fired power plants that Xcel Energy operates in Denver – Arapahoe and Cherokee – contribute to environmental injustice in the metro region. Both plants are located in low-income communities of color with higher-than-average health burdens, and they’re adding to the already disproportionately high amount of other industrial sources of pollution in those communities.
Today, EPA Administrator Michael Regan kicked off a week-long tour through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas to meet with marginalized communities and discuss environmental justice issues facing the region. During the tour, Gulf communities threatened by oil and gas exports, joined by environmental advocates, are calling on the EPA to protect frontline communities by stepping in and doing everything in its power to stop the expansion of fossil fuel exports.
Hartford, CT -- Yesterday, ISO-NE sent a letter to FERC requesting to terminate its contract with NTE Connecticut, LLC the developer of the proposed 650 megawatt fossil fuel power plant in Killingly, citing the developer’s inability to deliver capacity within the tariff’s mandatory deadline. ISO-NE requested approval from FERC within 60 days.
Local residents and community advocates of Southwest Louisiana led an outdoor press conference near the Golden Nugget Casino and Resort, calling for federal, state, and local officials attending the “World LNG & Gas Series: Americas Summit & Exhibition” to seek community input and involvement and place people over profits. The press conference also included a media tour to where new facilities are proposed for construction and expansion, including Magnolia, Cameron, Lake Charles and Driftwood LNG.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency released critical new draft rules to curb methane emissions and other pollution from the oil and gas industry. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Methane emissions are also emitted alongside other harmful pollution that puts communities at risk of serious negative health effects.
New York -- Today, Governor Hochul’s Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC) denied the Danskammer fracked gas power plant required permits, shutting down the proposed project. The decision will protect clean air and water in the Hudson Valley and town of Newburgh, and help New York achieve its emissions reductions targets under the landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Coupled with the agency’s simultaneous denial of the Astoria NRG fracked gas permits, the decision is a major victory for the Stop Danskammer coalition and climate advocates across the state, who have organized for years against fracked gas in New York.
New York -- Today, Governor Hochul’s Department of Environmental Conservation rejected permits for the Astoria NRG fracked gas plant, shutting the project down and keeping polluting fossil fuels out of Astoria, Queens. The decision is a victory for the No Astoria NRG Plant Coalition and broader state grassroots climate movement, who have been relentlessly organizing against the project for years. Today’s decision tees up similar outcomes in the ongoing permitting processes of other polluting projects currently moving forward including the Gowanus repowering in Brooklyn. The members of the No Astoria NRG Plant Coalition applaud the decision.
A coalition of environmental groups and clean water advocates filed a lawsuit late yesterday challenging permits for the Mountaineer Storage Hub, a proposed fracked gas liquids storage facility that would support a broader petrochemical buildout in the Ohio River Valley.
Thousands of people are in Washington, DC this week demanding that President Biden declare a climate emergency and stop fossil fuel projects. The People vs.