By John Buchser, Chapter Water chair
An unplanned release of 3 million gallons of water from the Gold King Mine over its mine tailings in August 2015 caused a pulse of pollutants that turned the Animas River yellow.
After mining in the last of the 5,500 mines in the Silverton area ceased in 1991, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency compiled a full-time team of scientists to evaluate the situation. A federal $3 million fund helped fund researchers from major universities in the area. In 2012, the Sierra Club used $8 million from a successful coal-ash lawsuit to reduce coal ash in the San Juan River and study pollution in the San Juan.
Last summer and again this summer, researchers presented their results ...
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Contact: Lauren Lantry, lauren.lantry@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today in the midst of a national emergency along the Gulf Coast, Donald Trump’s Attorney General, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, is set to announce the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, leaving it up to congress to protect the more than 800,000 young undocumented immigrants in the program. DACA, put in place by the Obama administration, provided protections from deportations and the ability to work and attend school for young undocumented immigrants, or Dreamers, brought to the U.S. as children. Houston is home to 56,800 dreamers.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
Trump’s mean-spirited decision to terminate DACA endangers the safety of hundreds ...
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday, Aug. 25, issued a report to President Trump containing recommendations on possibly shrinking recently designated national monuments. The contents of the report have not been released, though a Zinke statement indicates some protections will be removed, in opposition to the lion’s share of public input.
Below is a statement from Howie Dash, Sierra Club Southern New Mexico Group’s outings leader, in reaction to the news:
“A whopping 99% of the 2.7 million public comments asked the Interior Department to keep these special places intact. It’s clear what the communities surrounding Organ Mountains Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte want. His vague statement makes clear that Secretary Zinke doesn’t care.
“Why won’t Secretary ...
Should Northwest Sandoval County families have weaker oil and gas safeguards than Rio Rancho residents? That’s what is proposed in a draft ordinance being considered by the county.
Several drafts were never made public, but in mid-June a draft oil and gas ordinance was posted on the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission website. The draft divides the county into a “Northwest Energy Development Area” and a “Southeast Development Area.” The ordinance describes the Northwest area as including Counselor, La Jara, Regina, Torreon, Cabezon, La Cueva, San Luis, Gillman and Ponderosa, and different decision-making rules would apply to the two areas.
According to the draft, applications for oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Northwest area would go through only an administrative review ...
