Current Actions

• Congressman censors fracking filmmaker

  On Wednesday, Capitol Police handcuffed, arrested, and booked Josh Fox, the award-winning filmmaker for trying to film a Congressional hearing. Josh exposed the dangers of fracking in his film Gasland. It appears that some members of the sub-committee tried to use the public hearing to support the natural gas industry, its Congressional cronies, and Wyoming state officials in their attempt to derail an Environmental Protection Agency  investigation. The investigation draft report links gas drilling and fracking to contaminated drinking water and aquifers in the Pavillion area of Wyoming.
  
  Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) could have let Fox film the hearing. He refused.
  
  He could have invited people from the impacted area to tell the subcommittee about their contaminated water. He didn't.
  
  But, here's what Chairman Harris would have heard -- and Josh Fox could have filmed -- if rancher John Fenton had been asked to testify.
  
  "When we turn on the tap, the water reeks of hydrocarbons and chemicals. Our drinking water now comes from five-gallon jugs. We wonder how we’re going to support our families and pay our bills if the contamination affects our livestock and farming operations. Selling out is no longer an option because property values in the Pavillion area have declined to nothing. Homes and farms can't even be used as collateral. It is clear that if EPA had not stepped in, impacted residents would be no closer to having our concerns addressed than we were over the previous ten years."
  
  Speak out today.
  
  Stand up to Chairman Harris and support the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
  
  Let Chairman Harris know that you want EPA to finish the Pavillion area investigation free of political pressure.
  
  Support the people in the Pavillion area.
  
  Go to the sub-committee's website http://science.house.gov/contact-us/email-us
  and send a message. You can copy and paste the message below, or create your own.
  
  Chairman Harris,
  
  The public deserves to know the truth about fracking. I am appalled that you denied Josh Fox the right to film a public hearing in your Subcommittee. I am equally appalled that the affected residents in the Pavillion area of Wyoming were not invited to testify.
  
  I urge you to welcome journalists into all future meetings, and not to stand in the way of the Environmental Protection Agency’s investigation of water contamination in the Pavillion area.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Science, Space, and Technology comm
  
  http://www.worc.org/Hydraulic-fracturing/
  
  

• Don’t undermine coal mine reclamation

  A plan by Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar would undermine coal mine reclamation by moving the Office of Surface Mining into the much larger Bureau of Land Management. The proposal would combine two distinctly separate programs -- creating a big conflict of interest.

  Secretary Salazar should keep the agency charged with leasing coal separate - the Bureau of Land Management - from the agency charged with regulating coal mining and reclamation - the Office of Surface Mining.
  
  People living near coal mines oppose this plan, and one Montana state agency said there was no indication that a merger was necessary.
  
  The Bureau of Land Management sells coal leases for development. The Office of Surface Mining is responsible to make sure coal mining is done right. Let's keep it that way. In this time of tight budgets and federal debt, the Department of Interior should focus more on getting a fair return to the taxpayer for the sale of publicly-owned coal rather than confusing the role of these two agencies. .
  
  Let Secretary Salazar know you oppose this merger and that he should withhdraw it from consideration. Even if you don’t live near a coal mine, it’s important for Secretary Salazar to hear from you.

  You can send the message below or change it as you see fit.
  

• South Dakota's Congressional Delegation Needs to Hear from You

  Dear Dakota Rural Action Member,

  President Obama stood up to politics this week when he denied the permit application for the proposed Keystone XL. However, the rejection of the permit was for it’s current route and TransCanada will more than likely reapply with a reroute around the Nebraska Sandhills.
  
  There are more outstanding safety issues that need to be addressed though.
  

  •     The lack of a Emergency Response Plan, developed with public input, and filed with all affected counties, municipalities, and emergency responders before construction begins
  •     Treating all areas of the route as “High Consequence Areas,” and use thicker, safer pipe along the entire route.
  •     Prepare a complete plan for abandonment of the pipeline, including removing pipeline infrastructure when the pipeline is abandoned.

  
  
  
  Tell your Congressional representatives not to support any legislation that may be introduced to force the pipeline through. That these safety concerns need to be addressed in the next permit application process in order to protect South Dakota’s land, water and resources!
  
  TransCanada currently has filed eminent domain charges against landowners in South Dakota without all their necessary permits or determination if the pipeline is necessary.
  
  Tell Thune, Noem, and Johnson to stand up for the people of South Dakota and demand all eminent domain legal proceedings be stopped immediately!
  
  While a construction project will bring short term jobs, long term growth for SD depends upon the health of our soil and water and the families who have spent their lives as stewards of these resources.
  
  Contact your representatives today!

• Let’s thank President Obama

  On January 18,  President Obama rejected the permit for TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. He said he could not give the pipeline an adequate review to insure that it was built safely, and on the right route, because of an arbitrary deadline set by his opponents in Congress.
  
  President Obama deserves our thanks for rejecting this pipeline.
  
  Join the hundreds of thousands who have spoken out about the potential dangers of this pipeline and the tar sands it would carry, and who are thanking President Obama for the decision he made yesterday.
  
  Send the President a message today. You can use the message below or change it as you wish.
  

• Support jobs & renewable tax credits

  In the first quarter of 2011, for the first time, U.S. clean renewable energy sources produced more power than nuclear plants.

  This is great news, but this renewable energy rise could go bust if Congress allows a critical tax credit to expire on December 31.

  One major driver of the rise in renewable energy production has been the federal production tax credit. It provides a 2.2 cent per kilowatt-hour credit for the first ten years of electricity production from utility-scale wind turbines.

  In addition to clean power, the renewables industry has brought a new manufacturing sector and jobs to America. This country is now home to more than 400 wind turbine plants in 43 states, according to the America Wind Energy Association. A study by Navigant Consulting predicts that a four-year extension of the production tax credit will create 17,000 new jobs.

  But, a lapse in the renewable energy production tax credit will slow down in the expansion of this vital industry and could mean the loss of 37,000 existing jobs.

  Contact your Representative and Senators and encourage them to support a long-term extension of this credit today. You can use the message below or send your own comments.
  

• Don’t cram Keystone XL pipeline through

  Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) has introduced a bill, S. 1932, to force the Obama Administration to approve or deny the Keystone XL pipeline permit within 60 days. Representative Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) and Representative Lee Terry (R-NE) have introduced similar bills, H.R. 3537 and H.R. 3548 respectively, in the House of Representatives.

  If the Administration doesn’t meet that arbitrary deadline, TransCanada, the Canadian oil company that wants to build the pipeline, would get its permit by default. Either way, these bills would stop studies and plans needed to protect community safety, property rights, and our environment.

  Tell your Senators and Representative today: Don’t cram this pipeline through. The rights of landowners, the safety of our communities, and protection of our environment are too important for playing political games.

  You can use the message below or change it to your own words.
  

• Don’t bury coal watch dogs in bureaucracy!

  Tell Interior Secretary Salazar not to stash coal surface mining regulation inside the BLM
  
  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wants to move the independent Office of Surface Mining into the huge federal bureaucracy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

  When Congress reformed coal strip mine laws back in the 1970’s, it set up a strong and independent agency that reports directly to the Secretary, with an important statutory role for citizens to play in monitoring and enforcement. 
  
  BLM’s purpose is to lease coal. The agency has just leased or is in the process of leasing more than 5 billion tons of coal in Montana and Wyoming. BLM is 20 times the size of the current Office of Surface Mining. 

  See below for more information.

• Stop air pollution from oil & gas companies

  You can help clear the air of pollution from oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
  
  In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed new landmark clean air rules for oil and gas drilling all across the country.

  Tell EPA to make the final rules as strong as possible – there is no such thing as “too safe” for controls on pollution from fracking.

  Public health in and near oil and gas fields across the country will get a major boost if EPA adopts a strong final version of the proposed rules. The rules are comprehensive updates to federal limits on air pollution from oil and gas drilling.

  Every year, oil and gas companies frack, or re-frack, 25,000 oil and gas wells, spewing millions of tons of toxic air pollution into the air. EPA estimates that its proposed rule would reduce three kinds of pollution from oil and gas development across the country by 25% or more:
  

  • 25% cut industry wide of smog-forming Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. VOCs are a large group of carbon-based chemicals, some of which have short- and long-term harmful health effects.
    
    
  • About a 26% cut in methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
    

  • Nearly 30% cut in air toxics known to, or suspected of, causing cancer and other serious health effects.
    

  Send your message to the EPA today to help make these clean air rules as strong as possible. You can use the message below or put your comments in your own words. Comments due October 23.
  

• Not in our interest

  The Keystone XL pipeline is not in the national interest. Its purpose is to provide multinational oil companies that produce tar sands oil in Canada with access to Gulf Coast refineries owned by more multinational oil companies, which will export gasoline and diesel overseas.
  

  It furthers the business interests of those oil companies and of TransCanada, not the national interest. It will generate few, if any, local jobs. It is a safety and environmental risk.
  

  Importing dirty and dangerous tar sands oil and exporting refined gasoline and diesel fuel to Europe and Asia is not in the national interest.
  

  Comments are due October 9.

  You can send the message below to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is not in the national interest.
  

  • Personalize the message with your own words, if you wish. There’s more information in the Background section below.
    
  • Fill in the form below with your information.
    
  • Click "Send Your Message" to send your message to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton.
    

  
  

• Stop air pollution from oil & gas companies

  You can help clear the air of pollution from oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
  
  In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed new landmark clean air rules for oil and gas drilling all across the country.

  Tell EPA to make the final rules as strong as possible – there is no such thing as “too safe” for controls on pollution from fracking.

  Public health in and near oil and gas fields across the country will get a major boost if EPA adopts a strong final version of the proposed rules. The rules are comprehensive updates to federal limits on air pollution from oil and gas drilling.

  Every year, oil and gas companies frack, or re-frack, 25,000 oil and gas wells, spewing millions of tons of toxic air pollution into the air. EPA estimates that its proposed rule would reduce three kinds of pollution from oil and gas development across the country by 25% or more:
  

  • 25% cut industry wide of smog-forming Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs. VOCs are a large group of carbon-based chemicals, some of which have short- and long-term harmful health effects.
    
    
  • About a 26% cut in methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
    

  • Nearly 30% cut in air toxics known to, or suspected of, causing cancer and other serious health effects.
    

  Send your message to the EPA today to help make these clean air rules as strong as possible. You can use the message below or put your comments in your own words.
  

• President Obama, say NO to the Keystone XL Pipeline

  

  Photo by Ben Powless

  TransCanada, a Canadian company, wants to build a 36-inch pipeline to carry up to 37.8 million gallons daily of dirty tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and on to the Texas Gulf Coast. It would connect with the Keystone I pipeline, which has had 14 leaks since it went into operation just over a year ago.

  Landowners along the proposed route face condemnation by TransCanada if they don’t agree to the company’s terms. They’ve been asking for protections to insure the safety of their land, their water, and their families.

  Last week, the U.S. State Department released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed pipeline, which said it expects the impacts of the pipeline to be “limited.”
  

  But the State Department refused to look at the most important safety issues, such as how to avoid spills like we’ve had in the Gulf, the Kalamazoo River, the Yellowstone River, and from TransCanada’s Keystone I pipeline.

  And, Gulf Coast refineries plan to turn some of the tar sands oil from the pipeline into gasoline and diesel to export overseas.

  Send a message to the White House. Tell President Obama that the State Department hasn’t done enough to protect farmers and ranchers, public lands, wildlife, or rivers and groundwater from spills and other problems from building and operating this high-pressure, dirty fuel pipeline.
  

• Reconsider the Uranium Mill!

  Time is running out, so contact the Guv!
  
  The Piñon Ridge Uranium Mill is heading into the homestretch of its permit process, but western Colorado residents remain very concerned about the proposal in Montrose County.
  
  Contact Gov. Hickenlooper today to let him know there are a few key steps necessary to ensure healthy communities and strong economies.
  
  Don't forget to sign our online petition online!
  
  Check out our webpage , facebook and twitter profiles.

  Support WCC through GivingFirst

• Speak up for Dominguez-Escalante NCA

  Here are some issues you can include in your letter.  Remember, the BLM especially appreciates thoughtful comments about specific landscapes or managment issues.  For more information visit the BLM's planning webpage.

  * Conduct a wilderness inventory and protection plan for all NCA lands, including Dominguez North Citizens’ Wilderness Proposal and the roadless lands southwest of the current wilderness on the benches above Escalante Creek.

  * Keep the Dominquez Canyon Wilderness area as wild as possible and re-wild other areas where needed.  Keep parking facilities, roads, trailheads, and trail networks to the absolute minimum necessary to protect the Wilderness.

  * Inventory and protect all the cultural, archaeological, natural, scientific, recreational, wilderness, and wildlife values that Congress listed as important resources within the NCA.

  * Study streams  for Wild and Scenic Rivers Act suitability and establish strong management provisions for stream flow and stream corridors.