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This week, Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso proposed the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, the latest resurrection of the dirty deal that sacrifices our communities and planet in the interest of the fossil fuel industry.
This dirty deal “accelerates leasing and permitting decisions for all types of energy projects on federal lands,” will fast track LNG projects, and clear the way for oil, gas, coal, mining, and liquified natural gas companies to pollute our water and lands—- all in all, exacerbating the public health issues faced by our communities amidst an increasingly accelerated climate crisis.
It also strips away communities’ rights and the foundational protections afforded them under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and other bedrock protections like the Clean Water Act that ensure a pathway for community input and recourse against toxic and polluting industries.
“Rather than another handout to dirty industry, we should be advancing forward thinking legislation that jumpstarts a Just Transition through locally led, proven climate solutions such as community owned wind and solar. We need legislation like the Environmental Justice for All Act that ensures safeguards and strong protections for communities, and takes into account the cumulative impacts our neighborhoods have faced for decades.” – Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director at UPROSE and CJA Board Co-Chair
“Under the guise and language of ‘permitting reform,’ Sen. Manchin continues to sacrifice our communities for fossil fuels, while we are fighting for our lives. At a moment when we have no other choice but to build and create real community climate solutions that center environmental justice, we are forced to spend time fighting against bad policies that we’ve already organized against and won multiple times. Listen to the people, how many times do we have to say no?!? Let this zombie bill die once and for all.“– Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director of Advocacy and Organizing at Ironbound Community Corporation and CJA board member.
“Again and again, Sen. Manchin has steadfastly demonstrated his commitment to corporate giants rather than community constituents. Our position is very clear—-and grounded in the stakes of this moment in the climate crisis and in the Just Transition we desperately need to address it. We call on our policymakers to reflect this urgency, and at the least, not aim to derail climate justice work for corporate interests and financial profit.” – Juan Jhong Chung, executive director of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition
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