This week, the U.S. government fined Enbridge $1.8 million over the Canadian pipeline company’s failure to meet inspection deadlines for a number of its oil pipelines running through the Midwest. The inspections were required as part of a settlement following Enbridge’s disastrous 2010 tar sands pipeline spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which spilled more than 1 million gallons of oil and cost more than $1 billion to clean up.
AQMD Votes To Regulate Pollution Sources From Warehouses, Railyards Today the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) board proved that Southern California does not have to choose between our health and economy by supporting a rule to regulate the air quality in communities that are plagued by indirect sources of pollution like warehouses and railyards.
Washington, DC -- Today, it was reported that federal prosecutors have charged former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn for conspiring to mislead regulators over its emissions cheating scandal. It is estimated that the 11 million cars worldwide that were equipped with so-called “defeat devices” could be causing as much air pollution as 20 coal plants every year.
Volkswagen is also one of the automakers that has worked behind the scenes with companies such as Ford to roll back the clean car standards.
San Diego, CA -- Today, the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club announced its endorsement of Mike Levin for California’s 49th Congressional district.
"Mike Levin's past efforts and plans for Congress prove he's the environmental champion we need," said Sierra Club Vice President Susana Reyes. "The Sierra Club is proud to endorse Mike for Congress, and we will mobilize our members to make sure he's elected."
Today, as more and more of Scott Pruitt’s corruption scandals pile up and more and more high-level EPA staff flee Pruitt’s sinking ship, the Atlantic reports that Pruitt’s press staff actually tried to plant stories about Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s own ethical issues, “trying to take the heat off” Pruitt.
Today, Ameren shareholders voted and passed a resolution introduced by Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment that will require Ameren to disclose the impacts of coal ash on the communities it serves. Area residents and Ameren shareholders convened outside of the annual Ameren shareholders meeting to call for clean water and cleaning up of toxic coal ash waste sites around the region.
International coalition draws attention to global consequences of the fracked gas cycle to oppose proposed liquefied natural gas terminal Rio Grande LNG near South Padre Island
Little Rock, AR. -- Late last week the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality released their 2017 State of the Air report. Although the report states that most pollutants have decreased over time and Arkansas is in compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards, it also leaves out important data. Arkansas’s coal-burning power plants, most notably Entergy’s White Bluff and Independence plants, significantly contribute to ozone impacts across state lines in St. Louis and Memphis.
California Public Utilities Commission Rejects Fracked Gas Pipeline in San Diego The pipeline would have cost customers $2 billion over 45 years at a time when clean energy is significantly reducing the need for gas in California. Today the California Public Utilities Commission released a proposed decision denying San Diego Gas & Electric Company and Southern California Gas Company’s planned $2 billion fracked gas pipeline.
Yesterday, news broke by the Washington Post and New York Times shows that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt isn’t just friendly with lobbyists like his landlord - in fact, his expensive trips to Morocco and Italy were planned and accompanied by lobbyists Richard Smotkin and Leonard Leo. Here’s what we know so far: