Washington, D.C. March 18, 2020 – Today, Earthjustice and the Environmental Defense Fund released a joint investigation showing how Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency on a regular basis violates the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, which governs the manufacture, use, and distribution of chemicals. From August of 2016 through April of 2019, Earthjustice and EDF […]
Earthjustice
Posted inEnviro
Federal Court Rules Against Massive Old-Growth Rainforest Logging Plan in Alaska
JUNEAU, AK March 11, 2020 – A federal judge today rejected an enormous commercial timber harvest and road-building plan for Prince of Wales Island in the Tongass National Forest of Southeast Alaska. The judge ruled that project approval violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which sets standards for public engagement on federal projects that […]
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Department of Defense illegally burning stockpiles of toxic “forever chemicals”
Washington, D.C. February 20, 2020 – Today, environmental and community groups sued the Department of Defense (DOD) over its contracts to burn millions of gallons of unused firefighting foam containing PFAS in incinerators across the country. The DOD is the nation’s largest user of firefighting foam containing PFAS, a class of highly persistent and toxic […]
Posted inEnviro
Largest chlorpyrifos producer to stop selling the brain-damaging pesticide
SEATTLE, WA February 6, 2020 – Today, Corteva Inc – formerly Dow Chemical – announced it will stop selling the nerve agent pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is linked to brain damage in children. Earthjustice and its clients have lead the fight against this pesticide and sued the Trump administration to get a ban. The lawsuit is […]
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Hundreds of Documents Released Detailing Plans to Build Migrant Detention Facilities at Contaminated Fort Bliss Site
Washington, D.C. November 21, 2019 – Today, Earthjustice, along with its partners Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, GreenLatinos, Hispanic Federation, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, National Hispanic Medical Association, and Southwest Environmental Center, is releasing hundreds of internal federal documents on the proposed construction plans for a migrant detention facility at Fort Bliss in Texas. These […]
Posted inEnviro
Trump EPA Proposes Rollback to Health Protections from Toxic Power Plant Pollution
WASHINGTON, D.C. November 4, 2019 – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that would drastically weaken public health and safety protections from water pollution produced by coal-fired power plants. Part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to roll back environmental protections, the proposed rule would would allow utilities to continue to […]
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National Monuments Case Moves Forward as Court Rules Against Trump
Washington, D.C. Oct. 1, 2019 — Yesterday evening, the coalition fighting to protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments cleared a milestone in the legal battle for the future of these public lands when the court denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the case. While the legal fight has played out, the Trump […]
Posted inEnviro
Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Halting Old-Growth Timber Sale in Tongass National Forest
JUNEAU, AK, Sept. 23, 2019 – Today a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that halts, for now, the initial phase of the largest timber sale approved by the U.S. Forest Service in 30 years. The USFS has targeted Prince of Wales Island, a part of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, with a 15-year plan to […]
Posted inEnviro
New Analysis Builds Economic Case For Removing Snake River Dams
Seattle, WA, Sept. 16, 2019 — Sightline Institute, an independent, nonprofit research center, today launched “The Case for Removing the Snake River Dams,” a weeklong series highlighting the economic benefits of removing four dams on the lower Snake River. The series considers the significant opportunities — fish recovery, power generation, agriculture and jobs, as well […]
Posted inEnviro
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Attack on Endangered Species Act
Washington, D.C. Aug. 21, 2019 – Environmental and animal protection groups today sued the Trump administration over its new regulations that dramatically weaken the Endangered Species Act. Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, WildEarth Guardians, and the […]
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In the 11th Hour Court, Halts Copper Mine from Desecrating Native American Tribes’ Ancestral Grounds
Tucson, AZ August 1, 2019 – Last night a judge ruled in favor of three Native American Tribes’ challenge to the U.S. Forest Service’s approval of Hudbay Minerals’ plan to raze the Tribes’ ancestral lands to construct a mile-wide open-pit copper mine in Arizona’s Santa Rita Mountains. These public lands hold thousands of years of […]
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The Trump Administration Releases New Plan for What’s Left of Bears Ears
Washington, D.C. July 26, 2019 – The Trump Administration released its final management plan today for the 15% of Bears Ears National Monument it didn’t strip of monument status. It allows the “chaining” of thousands of acres of forest, and rights of way for new roads and utility lines through the iconic Indian Creek landscape […]
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Court Allows Trump EPA to Abandon Financial Requirements for Disaster-Prone Mining Industry
Washington, D.C.July 19, 2019 — The D.C. Circuit Court today confirmed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not require hard-rock mine operators to obtain financial assurances to ensure they can foot the bill for cleanup costs in the event of toxic disasters or hazardous spills. Under the hard-rock mining financial assurances rule proposed […]
Posted inEnviro
1.8 Million Americans Speak Out Against Stripping Federal Protections from Wolves
WASHINGTON, D.C. July 15, 2019 – Almost two million Americans stated their opposition to the Trump administration’s proposal to strip endangered species protections from gray wolves in a comment period that closed today. This is one of the largest numbers of comments ever submitted on a federal decision involving endangered species and reflects broad dissatisfaction […]
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U.S. Tribes Decry Trans Mountain Tar Sands Pipeline Expansion Approval
Seattle, WA, June 18, 2019 —Today, the Canadian government formally approved the construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion. This is the latest move since February, when a Canadian federal agency recommended approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion, a move strongly condemned by Coast Salish Tribes and conservation groups on both sides of the U.S.-Canada […]
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Tribes Seek Injunction against Hudbay Minerals’ Colossal Copper Mine Set to Desecrate Burial Grounds and Sacred Sites
Tucson, AZ, May 16, 2019 — Three Native American Tribes have filed a preliminary injunction against Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals to stop its plans to raze lands which encompass the Tribes’ burial grounds, ancient village sites, and sacred sites. The Tribes’ ancestral sites stand to be obliterated to pave the way for what would be […]
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Earthjustice Responds to Trump Executive Order, Urges EPA to Ensure Transparency and Public Input in Clean Water Protections
Washington, DC April 23, 2019 – Earthjustice, leading a group of 16 conservation and community groups, sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today objecting to the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken clean water protections without public input. The letter comes in response to an executive order signed by President Trump on April […]
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Groups Sue Trump’s EPA for Coke Oven Cancer Pollution
WASHINGTON, D.C. April 15, 2019 – Today Earthjustice on behalf of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Gasp, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and Sierra Club, sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for improperly regulating coke ovens – producers of known carcinogens – thus failing to protect communities throughout the country. Over a decade ago, EPA found that carcinogenic emissions […]
Posted inEnviro
Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA to Strengthen Rule on Toxic Power Plant Wastewater
NEW ORLEANS April 15, 2019 – Siding with environmentalists, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday issued a decision directing the EPA to strengthen limits on toxic wastewater from power plants. The Court’s ruling requires EPA to reevaluate modern wastewater treatment technology to greatly reduce the amount of toxic pollution that […]
Posted inCalifornia
Federal Judge Upholds National Monument Expansion in Oregon/California
MEDFORD, OR. April 2, 2019 – In a win for a national monument stretching from Southwest Oregon into Northern California, a federal judge rejected a logging company’s challenge to President Obama’s expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in 2017. The monument was first protected in 2000 under the Antiquities Act as an ecological wonder, known for […]