Today, the Virginia State Water Control Board allowed construction of the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), despite public opposition and evidence the pipeline would irrevocably degrade pristine streams and waterways.
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In a notice to be published to the Federal Register tomorrow, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will finalize a one-year delay of a rule designed to limit methane pollution from oil and gas operations on public lands. The rule has already withstood legal attack from industry, as well as an attempted repeal in Congress.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection again waived its opportunity to review the water quality impacts of a fracked gas pipeline, this time with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Today, the American Petroleum Institute (API) is touting its new, voluntary program for its members to cut methane emissions from oil and gas facilities. Meanwhile, API is a driving force behind the Trump administration’s push to roll back common sense regulations that would limit methane pollution and other danger emissions from new oil and gas facilities and those on public lands.
Today, the United States Forest Service issued a decision to allow the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to cross the Jefferson National Forest. In addition to its role in exacerbating climate change, the Sierra Club opposes this pipeline on the grounds that the need for it does not exist, and there is no need to send it through undisturbed portions of the Appalachian Trail and Jefferson National Forest.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Neil Chatterjee told the American Gas Association’s Natural Gas Roundtable that more focused and sophisticated resistance from environmental organizations was slowing down the approval process for gas infrastructure.
Just a few months after winning the landmark Sabal Trail case, the Sierra Club filed comments slamming the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for failing to comply with the court’s decision.
Today, the United States Forest Service issued a decision to allow the fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to proceed. The Sierra Club will challenge the decision.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected New York’s request for a rehearing and stay of FERC’s September 15, 2017 Declaratory Order, which found that New York waived its authority to issue a water quality certification for the Valley Lateral Project. Simultaneously, FERC denied New York’s Request for Stay of the Notice to Proceed.
The Sierra Club released a comprehensive map of gas pipeline projects across the United States. The interactive map allows users to see how close their homes, schools, daycare centers, nursing homes and hospitals are to gas pipelines, including whether or not they fall in the blast zone or evacuation zone.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) filed a rehearing request yesterday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to challenge the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s (ACP) guaranteed 14% return on equity. The rehearing request comes as the Sierra Club and watchdog groups have been raising concerns over the lack of necessity for these pipelines, as well as the fact that ratepayers could be on the hook to pay for them.
The Sierra Club and allied conservation groups yesterday requested a rehearing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines. Yesterday’s filings are a necessary step before filing suit in federal court.