Press Releases

August 25, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC -- Yesterday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Whip Clyburn, and the entire Democratic leadership team in the House delivered victory by securing full Democratic support for a historic $3.5 trillion budget resolution. Passage of the resolution was a crucial first step toward delivering bold investments at the scale of the crises our communities face.

25 de agosto de 2021

La Cámara de Representantes, liderada por el Representante Sewell y su liderazgo parlamentario, aprobó ayer la Ley John Lewis de Mejora de los Derechos del Votante (VRAA) tras ser reintroducida la semana pasada.

August 24, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC - Today and tomorrow, over a dozen Sierra Club activists will join hundreds of other advocates in testifying during a two-day public hearing hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Advocates will stress the importance of finalizing an ambitious rule to strengthen federal greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for light-duty cars and trucks, also informally known as “clean car standards.” 

24 de agosto de 2021

La Cámara de Representantes aprobó hoy una resolución presupuestaria de $3,5 billones (trillions), un paso crucial para proveer audaces inversiones que necesitan las comunidades del país.

August 24, 2021

WASHINGTON D.C.-- Today, the House, led by Representative Sewell and House Leadership, passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) after it was reintroduced last week. The passing of the VRAA will restore and strengthen the full power of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and will restore and expand Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted by the Supreme Court for the second time earlier this summer.

August 24, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC -- This afternoon, the House passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution, a crucial step toward delivering bold investments at the scale of the crises our communities face. Sierra Club emphasizes that any vote on the bipartisan infrastructure proposal must be preceded by passage of the reconciliation bill.

August 24, 2021

Responding to continuing pressure from community groups, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced its formal determination that West Virginia is violating the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) by failing to ensure that funds will be available to reclaim coal mines in the state.

August 23, 2021

The State Corporation Commission of Virginia released its final order in the Appalachian Power Company (APCo) rate case. The Commission denied Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) costs for both the John E. Amos and Mountaineer coal plants, both are West Virginia power plants that provide power to Virginia.

August 20, 2021

St. Louis, MO -- Ameren Missouri’s appeal of a lower court ruling that required the utility to add pollution controls to its Rush Island and Labadie coal plants was partially successful. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed that Ameren violated the Clean Air Act, but overturned a lower court order that would have required Ameren to fully remedy the effects of its unlawful pollution.

August 19, 2021

On August 11, the Sierra Club filed a petition for reconsideration of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to omit Ottawa County from the agency’s list of areas across the country that are out of attainment with health-based federal ozone (smog pollution) standards. Sierra Club won a court order in 2020 requiring EPA to revisit the agency’s 2018 decision to designate Ottawa County as an attainment area. EPA announced its decision to maintain that designation in June. A nonattainment designation triggers stricter rules for permitting new sources of pollution in the area, and requires that the state come up with a plan to bring the area back into attainment. The Clean Air Act makes clear that any county with pollution that has monitored violations of an air standard, or is contributing to monitored violations of an air standard, should be designated nonattainment. Local concern about health risks is especially high because of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased outdoor time due to social distancing.