By John Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper One year ago, I stood in solidarity with thousands of Water Protectors at Standing Rock, North Dakota to stop the flow of dirty and dangerous Bakken crude oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. We were there in peaceful protest with tribal members of the ...
As early as this week, the United States House of Representatives may vote on H.R. 4239, deceptively called the “SECURE American Energy Act.” This bill contains massive giveaways to the fossil fuel industry. It would make it easier for companies to use our public lands and offshore areas for fossil fuel extraction while eliminating provisions ...
Today, the House Natural Resources Committee will vote on the Strengthening the Economy with Critical Untapped Resources to Expand American Energy (SECURE) Act. This Act would transfer management authority for the permitting of federal oil and gas resources to states, encourage offshore oil drilling while limiting commonplace safeguards, and gravely weaken protections for marine mammals. ...
Co-written by Waterkeeper Alliance Staff Attorney Larissa Liebmann and Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Staff Attorney Misha Mitchell In 2017, Sunoco Logistics Partners (Sunoco) merged with, and changed its name to, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. Through this merger, ETP combined two companies with dubious incident and compliance histories. The Pipeline and ...
Yesterday, President Trump held a press conference to announce his issuance of an executive order to fast track dangerous fossil fuel and energy projects and eliminate environmental regulations that protect Americans from flooding. Instead of addressing the critical importance of updating America’s water infrastructure, so that children in cities like Flint, Michigan don’t have to ...
Back in May, we warned that the Trump Administration had plans to vastly expand the areas open to offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the already embattled Gulf of Mexico. Now, the Interior Department is beginning the process of implementing this plan. Within the Interior Department, the Bureau of Ocean Energy ...
A month ago, we discussed how oil and gas pipeline construction can be devastating to the environment and communities and can lead to long-lasting damage and the continued risk of spills. We also explained how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency in charge of approving interstate natural gas pipelines, unfairly prioritizes fossil ...
Increased oil and gas production in the United States and Canada over recent years has lead to demand for new pipelines. Pipeline construction can be devastating to the environment and communities. Companies often use questionable eminent domain practices to seize land from property owners, and building pipelines can involve cutting down extensive areas of forest ...
Our coasts are under grave threat from the Trump administration catering to fossil fuel companies. The land under the ocean off of our coasts is considered public lands, which means the federal government is in charge of deciding how they are used. Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the federal government decides what offshore ...
Daniel E. Estrin is General Counsel and Legal Director for Waterkeeper Alliance. Like many concerned citizens, I initially felt great relief on December 4th when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will not grant Energy Transfer Partners an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to cross the Missouri River at Lake ...