Lambert here: Good news! Leave the stuff in the ground. Oh, and thanks, Obama!
By Sharon Kelly, an attorney and freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She has reported for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Nation, National Wildlife, Earth Island Journal, and a variety of other publications. Originally published at DeSmogBlog.
Five environmental groups have filed a lawsuit in a Montana federal court alleging that the way that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues permits for oil and gas pipelines nationwide violates some of the country’s cornerstone environmental laws.
This new lawsuit, filed May 3, is the most recent round in a nearly decade-long battle, sparked under the Obama administration, over how regulators approach the environmental impacts from oil and gas pipelines and the extent to which the public gets a say in the permitting process.
For Immediate Release, May 10, 2021
Contact:
Jeremy Drucker, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness, (612) 670-9650, jeremy@savetheboundarywaters.org
Jen Parravani, The Wilderness Society, (202) 601-1931, jparravani@tws.org
Agreement Reached on Mining Exploration Permits Near Boundary Waters Wilderness in Minnesota
DULUTH,
Minn. Conservation groups and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management reached an agreement today that requires the agency to revisit its decision to renew 13 prospecting permits. The permits could have allowed Antofagasta’s Twin Metals Minnesota to significantly expand its proposed sulfide-ore copper mine at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.
The groups filed suit in 2020 to challenge the four-year extension of the prospecting permits. To settle the lawsuit, the BLM has agreed to provide for public comment, conduct an analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act, consult with the
9 SAN DIEGO – Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) signed a lease with Bright Canyon Energy (BCE) on April 15 to provide a full-base energy resilience solution for Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego.
“The project will leverage the private sector to provide full-base resilience to meet our energy security objectives,” said Brig. Gen. Ryan Heritage, MCRD San Diego commanding general. “The installation is an essential training facility on the West Coast where the next generation of Marines is made each day. This is another example of our enduring and long-standing relationship with the San Diego community that has developed over the last 100 years.”
For Immediate Release, May 10, 2021
Contact:
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org
Grant Stevens, Wilderness Workshop, (319) 427-0260, grant@wildernessworkshop.org Brett Henderson, High Country Conservation Advocates, (866) 349-7104, brett@hccacb.org
Natasha Léger, Citizens for a Healthy Community, (970) 399-9700, natasha@chc4you.org
Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians, (303) 437-7663, jnichols@wildearthguardians.org
Climate Lawsuit Challenges Fracking Plan That Threatens Three National Forests in Colorado
WASHINGTON Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service s 2020 approval of a plan that allows fracking across 35,000 acres of Colorado’s Western Slope. The North Fork Mancos Master Development Plan allows 35 new fracking wells in the North Fork Valley and Thompson Divide areas of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison
Wyoming officials are asking a federal court to force the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to resume oil and gas lease sales on federal land pending the outcome of the state’s lawsuit against the Interior Department.
Gov. Mark Gordon announced Tuesday that the state has asked the U.S. District Court in Wyoming to issue an injunction allowing oil and gas lease sales to continue while the federal government conducts its review of the federal leasing program.
“This litigation does not challenge the (Interior) secretary’s authority to review the federal oil and gas leasing program,” the motion said. “Instead, Wyoming challenges the secretary’s suspension of federal oil and gas leasing before complying with applicable federal law.”