Media Center

Lightfoot Administration Announces Denial of General Iron Permit

February 18, 2022 Press ReleaseChicago

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced today that it has denied RMG/General Iron’s operating permit bringing an end to a years-long struggle between Southeast Side residents and the massive metal shredding operation that sought to relocate from Lincoln…

Congressional Leaders Introduce Bill to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale

February 16, 2022 Press ReleaseEast

Washington – Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) today introduced the “Right Whale Coexistence Act,” formerly known as the SAVE right whales act. This important legislation aims…

U.S. Launches Trade Complaint Over Mexico’s Failure to Protect Vaquita

February 10, 2022 Press ReleaseMexico

WASHINGTON— U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Tai formally requested environmental consultations with Mexico today over its illegal fishing. Aimed at protecting the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the request is the first step under the enforcement and dispute mechanism of the United…

NRDC’s Hawkins Named AAAS Fellow

January 31, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

NEW YORK – In recognition of his scientifically and socially distinguished achievements, NRDC’s David Hawkins has been named a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

EPA Restores Commitment to Cutting Toxic Air Pollution from Coal Plants

January 31, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON – In a move to reverse a Trump-era rollback, the Environmental Protection Agency today proposed to restore its previous finding under the Clean Air Act that it is “appropriate and necessary” to regulate mercury, lead and scores of other…

Public Health Experts, Electric Utilities, Major Corporations, Legal Scholars, Scientists, and Current and Former Government Officials Ask Supreme Court to Reject Radical Attack on Clean Air Act

January 26, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

Washington– In new briefs filed with the Supreme Court yesterday, a diverse array of public health experts, electric utilities, major corporations, legal scholars, scientists, mayors and cities, and current and former government officials urge the Court to reject the coal…

Leading Environmental Groups and Trade Associations Ask Supreme Court to Reject Attack on the Clean Air Act

January 18, 2022 Press ReleaseUnited States

Sweeping Attack on EPA Authority is Based on a Policy That Was Never Enforced and Will Never Go into Effect

Restore Essential Ocean Protections in Build Back Better Act

December 16, 2021 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON - Senate negotiators have scrubbed language from the Build Back Better Act that would protect ocean waters, marine life and coastal communities from the risk of offshore oil and gas drilling. The language that was taken out would have…

Deadline Today: Will Nations Lose Access to U.S. Seafood Market?

November 30, 2021 Press ReleaseInternational, United States

WASHINGTON — By today’s deadline, seafood-exporting nations worldwide must have adopted regulations to reduce entanglements of whales, dolphins and seals in fishing gear or face a U.S. import ban.

Southern California Air Board Approves Much-Needed Refinery Rule

November 5, 2021 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES – The Governing Board of the Southern California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District today unanimously voted for the refinery rule. The rule will require refineries and related facilities to finally install pollution control equipment that reduces harmful air pollutants, such as nitrogen…

On Ocean Day at COP26, Blue Leaders Call for Major Ocean Protections

November 5, 2021 Press ReleaseInternational

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – During ocean day at COP26, a broad coalition of government leaders and ocean advocates known as Blue Leaders today called for immediate action by heads of state to protect the world’s vast ocean and its precious biodiversity…

EPA’s New Methane Limits Will Protect Public Health, Climate

November 2, 2021 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency today proposed the first national limits on methane emissions from existing oil and gas operations. The protections, which also include stronger requirements for new wells and equipment, will significantly cut an array of other harmful air…

Chefs Call on Congress to End Illegal Fishing, Seafood Fraud, and Human Rights Abuses

October 20, 2021 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON —Today, more than 200 chefs and restaurant owners sent a letter to Congress calling for immediate action to address illegal fishing, seafood fraud, and human rights abuses in the seafood industry. Specifically, the chefs are demanding increased traceability of…

Huntington Beach Disaster is Ugly, Sad Reminder: Offshore Drilling Risks are Real

October 4, 2021 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES – The massive oil spill off Huntington Beach this weekend tarred and killed birds, fish and other marine life, inundating sensitive wetlands and threatening ecosystems, the community and the local economy. Officials have closed local beaches indefinitely in…

Groups Sue EPA for Stronger Clean Air Protections

September 8, 2021 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON — NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council), together with Sierra Club and the Environmental Integrity Project, sued the Environmental Protection Agency today to force it to fulfill its Clean Air Act obligations and require states to close polluter loopholes…

New York State Proposes Clean Truck Rule to Reduce Air Pollution, Improve Public Health

September 8, 2021 Press ReleaseNew York

ALBANY, NY -- New York State announced the process to adopt the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) rule began today. The rule--which requires truck makers to produce an increasing number of clean, zero-emission trucks--will cut dangerous, polluting fossil fuel emissions throughout…

CDOT Releases Draft Transportation Pollution Standard

August 16, 2021 Press ReleaseUnited States

DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) released its draft Greenhouse Gas Pollution Standard today to determine how to spend more than $2.5 billion in annual state transportation funding. With this rule in place, CDOT and local transportation planning organizations across the…

California Passes Nation’s First Building Code that Establishes Pollution-free Electric Heat Pumps as Baseline Technology; Leads Transition Off of Fossil Fuels in New Homes

August 11, 2021 Press ReleaseCalifornia

A majority of the state’s new homes and buildings estimated to be gas-free starting in 2023, cutting climate pollution and delivering significant air quality gains

NRDC Statement on Introduction of MSA Reauthorization Bill

July 26, 2021 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, and U.S. Representative Ed Case (Hawaii's 1st District) introduced a bill today to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Groups Challenge Seismic Oil and Gas Testing in the Gulf of Mexico

July 22, 2021 Press ReleaseEast

GREENBELT, MD – NRDC and partner groups Healthy Gulf, Center for Biological Diversity, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the Surfrider Foundation sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today over a Trump administration decision to allow extensive seismic…