Washington, DC -- Today, Donald Trump reversed President Barack Obama’s decision rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, granting TransCanada the federal cross-border permit required to construct the tar sands project into the U.S. The announcement is merely one step in the process required for construction to begin; additional state-level approvals are still required in Nebraska, where the pipeline would cross, and from other federal agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Environmental Protection Agency has made available on its website the plan for the first tranche of Volkswagen’s National Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Investment sp
Washington, DC -- Today, the Sierra Club, Lancaster Against Pipelines, Lebanon Pipeline Awareness, Allegheny Defense Project, Clean Air Council, Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County, and Heartwood filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. The pipeline would clear cut its way through ten Pennsylvania counties, impacting hundreds of acres of forested land and crossing dozens of wetlands and water bodies.
Oklahoma City, OK -- Today, the Western Oklahoma District Court announced, after the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the state agency tasked with regulating oil and gas operations, took several steps towards tackling the earthquake epidemic, that it planned to dismiss without prejudice a landmark lawsuit against three of the largest fossil fuel companies in Oklahoma. The week after the notice of intent to sue was filed, the OCC announced a volume reduction plan for several dozen disposal wells in western Oklahoma.
Harrisburg, PA -- Today, a report prepared by Key-Log Economics for the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Advocates was released, detailing what it calls the true costs of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. The proposed fracked gas pipeline was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on its former chair’s final day -- just before the commission lost its quorum.
Anchorage, AK -- Over the weekend, Hilcorp, the company responsible for an ongoing three-month long methane leak, announced that it had spilled oil in the Cook Inlet. The cause of the spill continues to be investigated, and the layer of ice over the Inlet makes it difficult to investigate and impossible to fully clean up.
This spill comes as Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans are looking at ways to circumvent President Barack Obama’s designation to permanently protect the Arctic Ocean from offshore drilling.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Eight leading environmental, energy, and science organizations urged Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, on Friday to uphold auto emissions standards that would deliver a new-car fleet averaging better than 50 m.p.g. in 2025.
Mead, Colorado -- Late yesterday, an oil tanker in Mead, CO exploded, killing one and injuring three. Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the explosion.
Minneapolis, MN -- Today, the Minnesota Department of Commerce released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Enbridge’s Line 3 Pipeline. The proposed tar sands pipeline has faced widespread backlash from communities for the proposed reroute and expansion of a section of the pipeline through the Mississippi headwaters and treaty protected wild rice waters and issues with abandonment of the aging current-Line 3 section.
Washington, DC -- Today, the U.S. Senate defeated a vote that would have paved the way for revoking the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule, a standard which would prevent the leaking and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands. Senator Michael Bennet voted against the bill while Senator Cory Gardner voted in favor of nullifying the rule.
Washington, DC -- Today, the U.S. Senate defeated a vote that would have paved the way for revoking the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule, a standard which would prevent the leaking and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands. Senator John McCain voted against the bill while Senator Jeff Flake voted in favor of nullifying the rule.
In response, Sierra Club Arizona Chapter Director Sandy Bahr released the following statement:
Washington, DC -- Today, the U.S. Senate voted down a vote that would have paved the way for revoking the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule, a standard which would prevent the leaking and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto voted against the bill while Senator Dean Heller voted in favor of nullifying the rule.