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.
Washington, DC -- Today, every Senate Democrat and three Senate Republicans voted against a procedural 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. The three Senate Republicans voting against the bill were Senators Susan Collins, Lindsay Graham and, John McCain.
MOAB, UTAH -- Interior Secretary Zinke is visiting Utah this week, with a tour of Bears Ears National Monument arranged for today and a stop at Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument planned for later in the week. The visit follows an Executive Order from President Trump directing the Department of the Interior to review national monuments to determine where protections could be rolled back.
WASHINGTON, DC -- More than 450 organizations representing millions of members across the country today sent a letter to President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in opposition to any effort to remove or decrease protections for any national monuments.
Washington, DC -- Today, Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of the Interior to review the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Oil and Gas leasing program. According to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, the process will take two years. Trump will also order a review of marine monuments and existing offshore drilling regulations including the blowout preventer rule, put into place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
MOAB, UT. -- Today Donald Trump issued an Executive Order requiring the Department of the Interior to determine whether or not to shrink or otherwise modify existing national monuments across the country. The Order requires the Department of the Interior to review large landscape national monuments designated through use of the Antiquities Act since 1996, including Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah will receive special attention.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today Donald Trump is expected to issue an Executive Order requiring the Department of the Interior to determine whether or not to shrink or otherwise modify existing national monuments across the country. The Order is reported to require the Department of the Interior to review large landscape national monuments designated through use of the Antiquities Act since 1996. The Bears Ears National Monument in Utah will receive special attention.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate today confirmed Gov. Sonny Perdue as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition to farming, agriculture, and food programs, the U.S.D.A. is responsible for the nation’s forests, including the U.S. Forest Service.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
Deadhorse, Alaska -- A British Petroleum (BP) oil and gas well on Alaska’s Northern Slope that blew out on Friday continues to spill crude oil and gas uncontrollably. No one was injured when the well blew out.
This disaster comes on the heels of two spills in Alaska’s Cook inlet and less than a week before the seven year anniversary of BP’s Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.
ANCHORAGE – Interior Secretary Zinke today signed a Secretarial Order opening the Arctic to increased oil and gas production. The Order initiates a review of the sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas development and aims to increase drilling in the Western Arctic.
In response Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America campaign issued the following statement.