Oakland, Calif. — Today, over two years after Judge Vince Chhabria struck down the City of Oakland’s prohibition on handling and storage of coal at the former Oakland Army Base, the case was decided on appeal by three Ninth Circuit judges. The judges heard oral arguments on the appeal by the City of Oakland, Sierra Club, and San Francisco Baykeeper in November 2019. The judges decided to uphold the previous decision, overturning the City of Oakland’s prohibition on handling and storage of coal.
Concord, N.H.--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the water pollution permit for the Merrimack Station coal-fired power plant today, but failed to include critical water pollution protections that the agency had previously proposed. Unlike EPA’s prior proposal, the updated permit does not require the plant to install modern cooling-water upgrades.
In a new paper released this morning, analysis by Sierra Club demonstrates that Alliant Energy would save customers millions by retiring both Edgewater and Columbia coal plants and replacing that power with a clean energy portfolio that includes wind, solar, storage, energy efficiency, and demand response technologies.
Sierra Club filed in federal court a settlement agreement today, committing DTE Energy to enforceable retirement dates for three coal-fired power plants in southeast Michigan, and to fund electric buses and community based environmental projects in River Rouge, Ecorse, and the 48217 zip code. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice submitted to the same federal court a consent decree that, if approved by the court, would settle a Clean Air Act enforcement action initially filed in 2010 that alleged violations at a number of DTE coal plants. Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, is a party to that enforcement action and a signatory to that consent decree.
This morning Alliant Energy announced that by the end of 2022 the utility plans to retire the last 380MW power generating unit at its Edgewater coal plant in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and transition to renewable energy. In addition to providing advance notice about retirement, Alliant pledged to provide career assistance and coaching to help prepare workers to transition into other jobs.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] -- Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that it would deny all requests for rehearing for the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal. The State of Oregon, multiple Tribal governments, landowners impacted by eminent domain, fishers and crabbers, and environmental groups had all requested FERC revisit its ruling on the widely-opposed project. FERC Commissioner Richard Glick was the lone dissent, pointing to climate, private property concerns, and the low chance that this project will ever be built.
Trenton, New Jersey - Today, the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council will submit public comments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, highlighting the burdensome costs and devastating climate consequences of the recent federal intervention in the PJM capacity market to prop up uneconomic fossil fuel generation and undercut clean energy in the region.
Sierra Club members and supporters overwhelmed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) on its first day of “virtual” hearings on the Trump Administration’s insufficient national soot standard proposal today, demanding stronger protections against deadly particulate matter.
A coalition of environmental, landowner, and Indigenous groups filed an amicus brief today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes and other affected Tribes, asking the court to invalidate an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Washington, DC -- Yesterday, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to further waive, suspend, and eliminate public health and environmental safeguards. The Order enables federal agencies with the power to make hundreds of permanent cuts to safeguards and standards, including bedrock clean air and water standards. Trump is encouraging his Administration to eliminate as many environmental safeguards as possible while rejecting additional aid to support American families and businesses, claiming they have a “luxury to watch and see” before acting.