Press Releases

Sierra Club Endorses Karen Carter Peterson for Congress

New Orleans, LA -- Last week, the Sierra Club announced its endorsement of Karen Carter Peterson in the special election for Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District.

Trump-Era Federal Rule to Increase NJ Consumers' Energy Costs by Hundreds of Millions without an Intervention

Trenton, New Jersey - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) released an analysis of potential massive cost impacts to New Jersey consumers as a result of the Trump-era federal meddling in the PJM capacity market. The federal rule, known as the Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR), essentially bails out uneconomic fossil fuel companies at the consumer’s expense by forcing them to needlessly pay twice for generation capacity.

Plans for Annova LNG Fracked Gas Export Terminal Ditched

Brownsville, TX -- Today, news broke that Annova LNG has abandoned its plans for its LNG fracked gas export terminal when it filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to withdraw its certificate.

Annova LNG, backed by Exelon, Black and Veatch, Enbridge, and Kiewit Energy group, was one of three fracked gas export terminals proposed for the Rio Grande Valley. If built, Annova LNG would have destroyed wetlands, blocked a wildlife corridor threatening the survival of endangered wildlife, and put communities needlessly at risk.

Blackjewel gets approval to drop millions in cleanup costs at dozens of coal mines on taxpayers; millions more likely within the year

This afternoon, a bankruptcy court issued a ruling that allows the Blackjewel coal company to immediately abandon cleanup obligations at 33 coal mines in Kentucky. An additional 171 Blackjewel permits in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia will be placed into a legal limbo to potentially make them available to new ownership. Any of those permits that do not transfer to new owners in the next six months will also be abandoned. Since Blackjewel failed to complete reclamation at these mines, and the regulators failed to require adequate reclamation bonds, these abandonments mean millions of dollars in outstanding costs may fall on taxpayers and local communities. This is a potentially precedent-setting ruling at a time when several coal mining companies are nearing bankruptcy amid declining demand for thermal coal.

Air and Hazardous Waste Stringency Passes House, On to the Governor

Environmental, grassroots groups praise Oakland County Executive Coulter’s Climate Announcement

Pontiac, Michigan -- Today, a coalition of environmental, conservation and community groups known collectively as the Oakland County Climate Campaign (also known by the slogan ‘turn Oakland County green’) applauded Oakland County Executive David Coulter and the Oakland County Commission for taking the first step toward fighting climate change by pledging to hire a chief sustainability officer, committing to develop a community-wide sustainability plan and a plan to conduct an energy audit of its own facilities and operations.

Sierra Club Statement on the Racially Targeted Murders in Georgia

Atlanta, GA -- Yesterday, eight people were murdered and one injured at three spas in the greater Atlanta area. Six of those killed were Asian women. Last night’s mass shooting follows a disturbing increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans: Since the beginning of this pandemic, there have been nearly 3,800 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate across the United States.

Toyota Remains Stuck in Reverse on Electric Vehicles, Slowing Down Transition to Clean Transportation

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, a Toyota representative testified before Congress that the automaker was skeptical of battery electric vehicles and touted its commitment to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the latest in a long string of actions the automaker has taken to spread misinformation and slow down the transition to electric vehicles in the United States.

Indiana regulators force Hoosiers to bail out Duke's coal plants

State regulators charged with looking out for the best interests of Indiana’s utility customers failed today in that duty by allowing Duke Energy Indiana to keep forcing Hoosiers to pay millions of dollars every month to run their coal-burning power plants, Edwardsport and Gibson, even when cheaper energy is available.

Alabama Power Must Safely Move Its Coal Ash at Plant Barry

Mobile County, AL -- This month, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) is accepting public comments about Alabama Power’s plans to “cap-in-place” 21 million tons of coal ash at Plant Barry near Mobile. The deadline for public comment submissions is April 6 at 5 p.m. CST.