Sierra Club Archives

Aug 7, 2019

Environmental Groups Challenge EPA’s New Lead Standard Rule

On July 9, the U.S. EPA issued its “review of the dust lead hazard standards and the definition of lead-based paint” under which the EPA left largely intact, the existing standards and definitions. The Sierra Club has petitioned the 9th Circuit to review the new standards for “dust lead,” which include a decision by the EPA not to change the definition of lead-based paint. The standards are used to determine whether lead hazards exist in homes, childcare facilities and surrounding soil. In the case, A Community Voice v. EPA, the petitioner’s allege that the new standard does not take into… Read more

Sep 26, 2018

Federal Appellate Court Rules That Coal Ash Ponds Not Subject to CWA

On September 12, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (which covers federal courts in South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) issued a decision concluding that the migration of arsenic from coal ash stored in settling ponds and a landfill was not subject to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) because the ponds and landfill were not “point sources” under the CWA. In Sierra Club v. Virginia Electric & Power Company, the defendant operated a coal-fired power plant in Chesapeake, Virginia for over 60 years and stored the coal ash waste on site in… Read more

Oct 29, 2015

Environmental Groups and Local Entities File Comments on Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Including the Sabal Trail Pipeline

Kiokee‐Flint Group, Sierra Club, Flint Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Nonami Oglethorpe, LLC, Country, GA, LLC, and Graham Properties filed comments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding the Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline, as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis for Natural Gas Pipeline Act FERC authorization. To read the comments click HERE.

Apr 11, 2014

EPA Environmental Appeals Board Rejects Challenge to GHG Permit Limits

Sierra Club challenged as insufficient the permit limits for greenhouse gases (GHGs) imposed by EPA in a permit for a new natural gas-fired power plant issued for the La Paloma Energy Center. In re: La Paloma Energy Center. On March 14, EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) rejected Sierra Club’s challenge and affirmed EPA’s use of a menu of GHG permit limits for the permittee to choose from, depending on the turbine model selected by the permittee. Rather than set a single permit limit based upon the best available control technology (BACT), EPA allowed the permittee to choose its GHG limit… Read more

Apr 8, 2013

Georgia and Florida Among 36 States Required to Revise Air Quality Implementation Plans

The States of Georgia and Florida are among 36 states that will be required to revise their State Implementation Plans to eliminate provisions allowing excess emissions during startup, shutdown and malfunction (SSM) events. EPA has granted a petition filed by Sierra Club and WildEarth Guardians seeking an end to the SSM emission allowances. Once finalized, the proposed rule will require that revised State Implementation Plans be submitted by the 36 States affected. EPA plans to publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register, after which it will accept comments on the rule. Once finalized, States will have 18 months to… Read more

Apr 16, 2012

Environmental Groups Sue Federal Government Over Two Wind Projects

On April 13, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club filed suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) alleging it shirked its duties under federal law in connection with permitting a California wind farm development. The environmental groups argue BLM violated the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to adequately consider the impact of the 100-turbine project to at-risk bird species. The groups ask the court to issue an injunction halting construction until the project is redesigned in a way that… Read more