Monday’s report in the Washington Post further proves that the Trump administration’s national monument review has been a predetermined exercise from the very beginning, designed to prioritize extractive uses of protected public lands and waters. It is clear that the Department of the Interior repeatedly ignored science, public opinion, local economic benefits, cultural resources and all other available evidence to arrive at recommendations to eliminate protections for national monuments.
Horsham, PA – People from across the region attended and testified at a meeting and “Listening Session” hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today to call for action by government agencies to address the PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances - PFAS) drinking water crisis.
Last week, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh submitted his questionnaire to Senators as a part of the confirmation process. In his answers, Kavanaugh said that he regards his 2014 dissent on EPA’s mercury standard in the White Stallion Energy Ctr., LLC v. EPA case as one of his top 10 most significant opinions. He said, "In my view, it was unreasonable — and therefore unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act — for EPA not to consider the costs imposed by regulations in determining whether such regulations were 'appropriate and necessary.'"
Washington, DC -- Today, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who is facing numerous investigations, announced that his Department will no longer require fossil fuel companies to pay into environmental restoration funds which offset development on public lands.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
After deferring a lease sale for fracking in the Greater Chaco area scheduled for March 2018 due to a need for more cultural study and consultation, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to hold another sale this December in the same region, and in expanded drilling areas, despite the fact that no additional study has occurred.
Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved construction on the North Carolina section of the controversial fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).
Salt Lake City -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is scheduled to visit Salt Lake City tonight where he’ll be participating in Pioneer Day celebrations. His visit comes just a day after news broke that the Interior Department ignored the benefits of public lands in their review of national monuments-- a review that ultimately led to the illegal elimination of Bears Ears National Monument and significant reductions in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. In advance of Zinke’s visit, Utahns are taking to social media to oppose Zinke’s efforts to sell out public lands using #StandwithBearsEars, #SaveGrandStaircase and #zinkesoldout.
Avon, NY. -- Concerned citizens and local organizations gathered on Tuesday to urge Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to quickly finalize a proposed plan that would fully retire New York’s remaining coal plants by 2020. Advocates delivered thousands of petitions requesting the framework of the plan establish a glidepath for communities and workers affected by this transition and ensure the final rule barred these plants from converting to other dirty energy sources like fracked gas, waste, or biomass.
Washington, DC -- The Trump administration is now officially considering a proposal to allow an oilfield services company to conduct destructive seismic exploration across nearly the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Beginning as soon as December of this year, the testing would occur ahead of a planned lease sale for drilling in the coastal plain.
Richmond, VIRGINIA– The Sierra Club hosted the 100th national screening of its new documentary Reinventing Power: America’s Renewable Energy Boom yesterday at the historic Byrd Theatre, an event attended by about 300 people.