News Releases
Legal Internship positions – Summer 2022
The Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) is a leading nonprofit public interest environmental law firm with a 28-year legacy of success using the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the Western U.S. in the face of a changing...
Groups urge Biden administration to rein in Forest Service undermining of U.S. bedrock environmental law
Conservation groups from across the nation today called on the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) to end an emerging practice by the Forest Service that upends the bedrock environmental law requiring agencies to “look before they leap” when making decisions that...
Legal petition calls on Biden to phase out federal oil, gas by 2035
More than 360 climate, Tribal, religious and conservation groups petitioned the Biden administration today to use its executive authority to phase out oil and gas production on public lands and oceans. The petition provides a framework to manage a decline of oil and...
Biden administration defends Trump-era decision that fails to account for the costs of pollution from leasing publicly owned coal
In a filing late Friday, the Biden administration's U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) defended two Trump-era resource management plans (RMPs) that failed to comply with a court order to account for impacts from burning publicly-owned coal, including on public...
Lawsuit launched to protect Washington’s endangered salmon, orcas, trout from cyanide pollution
Conservation organizations filed a formal notice today of their intent to sue multiple federal agencies and Washington’s Department of Ecology for their failure to protect multiple populations of chinook and coho salmon, southern resident killer whales, steelhead...
New Mexico groups sound alarm on governor’s hydrogen proposal
Advocates label hydrogen production as a false climate solution, citing its threats to environment, public health and equity In response to New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s solicitation of comments on her proposal to make the state a “hub” for hydrogen...
Law requires Biden to cancel February oil lease sale to prevent climate harm
Conservation groups submitted formal comments today urging cancelation of February’s federal oil and gas lease auctions, saying the Biden administration is legally required to prevent harm from the leasing program’s greenhouse gas emissions, not just disclose it. “The...
Lawsuit targets EPA failure to clean up pollution in Puget Sound
Citing agency “foot-dragging” in cleaning up Puget Sound, an environmental organization sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court today. The lawsuit challenges EPA’s failure to take a key step towards cleaning up nitrogen pollution in Puget...
Conservation groups seek records on climate failure of Biden oil, gas review
Climate and conservation groups filed a Freedom of Information Act request today seeking public records from the Interior Department relating to its recent report reviewing the federal oil and gas leasing programs that presumes expanded leasing. “This flimsy report...
After Years of legal advocacy, community organizing, Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and pipeline is dead
Pembina, the Canadian company that tried to impose a fracked gas pipeline and export terminal on communities across Southern Oregon, today filed a formal request asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to cancel its permit for the project. The company’s...
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