Media Center

EEFA Issues Pandemic Response Guidance for Under-Resourced Communities

April 7, 2020 Press ReleaseUnited States

With under-resourced communities facing severe short- and long-term impacts from the COVID-19 crisis, the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) project today released Pandemic Response Guidance to highlight recommended actions for local and state policymakers to take for protection against utility…

Groups Petition EPA Over Reckless Non-Enforcement Policy

April 1, 2020 Press ReleaseUnited States

The Environmental Protection Agency must issue an emergency rule protecting public health following its recent non-enforcement policy that encourages industries to stop monitoring and reporting pollution in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a petition filed today by…

STATEMENT: NEPA Rollback Would Stifle Speech and Spur Pollution, Environmental Justice and National Environmental Groups Charge

March 10, 2020 Press ReleaseUnited States

The Trump administration’s move to undermine a foundational environmental protection would largely silence the public and expose low-income communities, tribal communities, and communities of color to a disproportionate amount of harmful pollution, according to a coalition of U.S. environmental justice…

State Water Board proposes plan to provide relief for Californians struggling to pay water bills

February 26, 2020 Press ReleaseCalifornia

California residents and clean water advocates commend the State Water Board for releasing its proposed plan for a statewide water affordability program on Tuesday.

Court Halts VA Pipeline Over Flawed Environmental Justice Assessment

January 7, 2020 Press ReleaseVirginia

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today vacated a permit to build a compressor station for the proposed Atlantic Coast gas pipeline, citing a Virginia state board for inadequately assessing its environmental justice impacts on the largely African American…

Cuomo Signs Robust PFAS Protections into Law

December 23, 2019 Press ReleaseNew York

Governor Andrew Cuomo today signed into law legislation to phase out the use of toxic chemicals known as PFAS in firefighting foam. PFAS have been found to contaminate a significant portion of New York’s drinking water sources. These “forever chemicals”…

Federal Judge Approves Settlement Agreement to Retire E.D. Edwards Coal Plant

November 13, 2019 Press ReleaseIllinois

Decision Launches 90 Day Period for Plaintiffs to Award $8.6 Million in Settlement Funds for Local Projects to Benefit Peoria-area Communities

Chicago Residents Hardest Hit by Pollution Call on City to Act Following Audit

September 19, 2019 Press ReleaseChicago

Environmental advocates are renewing calls for City government to address the disproportionate pollution burden for Chicago’s communities of color following a new audit from City’s Office of Inspector General. The report shows significant gaps in the City’s enforcement of air…

Environmental Justice and National Environmental Groups Advance a Historic Joint Climate Platform

July 18, 2019 Press ReleaseUnited States

To confront the widening dangers of our climate crisis, leading U.S. environmental justice and national environmental groups today are advancing for the first time an Equitable and Just National Climate Platform.

Governor Cuomo to Sign Nation-Leading Climate Bill into Law

July 18, 2019 Press ReleaseNew York

At an event with former Vice President Al Gore, Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced he will sign into law the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act – groundbreaking legislation that requires the state to achieve a 70 percent…

Fishing and Conservation Groups Sue Country’s Largest Agricultural Water District Over Illegal Plot to Raise Shasta Dam

May 14, 2019 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Yesterday, a coalition of fishing and conservation groups filed a lawsuit against Westlands Water District for unlawfully aiding efforts by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to raise Shasta Dam. The destructive project would flood critical parts of the protected McCloud…

Greater Chaco Region Wins Reprieve From Fracking

May 7, 2019 Press ReleaseNew Mexico

Federal Appeals Court Holds BLM Illegally Approved Oil and Gas Drilling in Sacred Landscape

Legal Brief: FERC’s Flaws Endanger Communities of Color in Atlantic Coast Pipeline Path

April 15, 2019 Press ReleaseVirginia, North Carolina

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission broke the law in two key ways that discounted and endangered African American and American Indian communities in Virginia and North Carolina in approving the proposed Atlantic Coast gas pipeline. That’s what environmental, civil rights…

North Carolina Hog Permit Fails to Protect Environment and Public Health

April 12, 2019 Press ReleaseNorth Carolina

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today issued the Swine General Permit, in addition to two other permits for animal operations. While the permit takes some steps in the right direction, it fails to adequately protect the environment and continues…

Northam Misses Environmental Equity Opportunity

March 27, 2019 Press ReleaseVirginia

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam outlined his environmental priorities for the state against the backdrop of his recent personal focus on racial equity.

Illinois Congressional Members Call for Action on Brain Poison Polluting Chicago’s SE Side

February 22, 2019 Press ReleaseIllinois

Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Representative Robin Kelly delivered a letter to the US EPA calling for aggressive action against the Watco facility on Chicago’s Southeast Side, a source of dangerously high levels of neurotoxic manganese. A…

New Report: Land Use Reforms Can Break Cycle of American Environmental Racism

February 21, 2019 Press ReleaseChicago

Municipal zoning laws across the country have fueled segregation and deepened environmental injustices, but grassroots organizations are now reforming zoning laws to provide protections from industrial pollution, as detailed in a new analysis released today by the Tishman Environment and…

Virginia Board Approves More Air Pollution in Minority Community

January 8, 2019 Press ReleaseVirginia

After twice delaying action to gather more demographic information, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board today voted to approve an air pollution permit that Dominion Energy needs to build a gas compressor station in the African American community of Union…

Trump Shutdown Imperils Important Protections

December 22, 2018 Press ReleaseUnited States

President Donald Trump followed through on his threat to shut down the government. Shuttering the government imperils crucial protections for our air and water, for chemical safety and for public lands -- while furloughing tens of thousands of federal workers…

Virginia Air Board Delay Shows More Troubles for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

December 19, 2018 Press ReleaseVirginia

The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board today delayed, for the second time, its decision on an air pollution permit that Dominion Energy needs to build a gas compressor station in Union Hill for its proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, raising further…