Environment

January 5, 2018 - The Trump administration announced an aggressive proposal to bring offshore drilling to Southern states where governors oppose it, despite a federal law that says their wishes should be considered. Governors, both Democrat and Republican, say they plan to fight it.

December 15, 2017 - The project's developers are airing TV commercials claiming that the fracked-gas pipeline would be an economic boon for North Carolina. But a new economic analysis adds to a growing body of evidence that calls those claims into question.

November 17, 2017 - Opponents are petitioning FERC to reconsider the controversial project after lead developers Dominion and Duke Energy submitted thousands of pages of technical documents after the public comment period ended and failed to consider the disproportionate impacts on African-American and Native American communities.  

September 29, 2017 - Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company behind several controversial projects including the Dakota Access Pipeline, is accused of using unconstitutional tactics against landowners and protesters with help from law enforcement and TigerSwan, its North Carolina-based private security provider.

September 22, 2017 - A new report by Oil Change International shows how federal regulators' failure to adequately consider companies' justification for new fracked gas pipelines means utility ratepayers could end up footing the bill for costly and environmentally harmful projects that aren't needed.

September 8, 2017 - Organizers across the U.S. South — the epicenter of the national pipeline-building push — are holding events across the region to voice opposition to the environmentally and economically risky projects as key permits are pending.

August 28, 2017 - Though their states' governors and coastal communities oppose offshore oil and gas development, U.S. Reps. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina and David Rouzer of North Carolina are co-sponsoring a bill that would make it easier for companies to conduct seismic tests for offshore deposits by weakening marine life protections.

August 17, 2017 - Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has joined with the other governors of Southeastern states targeted for offshore oil and gas development and said he opposes those plans — a critical move since federal law gives special consideration to a governor's position.

June 29, 2017 - President Trump wants to open an area from Delaware to Florida to seismic airgun blasting for offshore oil and gas reserves, a plan that carries risks for coastal communities while benefiting mostly foreign firms. Federal officials are accepting public comments on the proposal through July 6.

June 2, 2017 - Science watchdogs are warning of serious flaws in the plan for storing spent nuclear fuel in pools at individual power plants — flaws that could ultimately lead to the long-term relocation of millions of people. North Carolina and Alabama are among the states with the largest amount of spent fuel stored in pools.