Press Releases
NC DEQ permit for Chemours allows avoidable GenX and other PFAS pollution in Cape Fear River
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Conservation groups called on the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to impose stronger limits than proposed in a draft permit that would authorize Chemours’ discharge of toxic PFAS pollution into the Cape...
SELC statement on proposed gas tax suspension
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) released the following statement in response to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposed gas tax suspension. The statement is from Trip Pollard, senior attorney and leader of SELC’s...
SELC statement on FERC’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline restoration order
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a restoration plan yesterday for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a gas pipeline that was canceled in 2020 after years of work by SELC and numerous allies...
Conservation groups object to Forest Service’s Revised Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan
ASHEVILLE, NC — This week, conservation groups formally objected to the US Forest Service’s revised Nantahala and Pisgah Forest Plan, arguing that it falls short of what is needed to ensure these popular, beloved, and...
Bill to Establish Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area Introduced in the U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON D.C. — On Wednesday, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the Shenandoah Mountain Act of 2022, which would designate more than 92,000 acres of the George Washington National Forest as the Shenandoah...
SELC statement on Chickahominy Power’s canceled gas plant
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Today Chickahominy Power, LLC announced the cancelation of its as-yet-unbuilt Chickahominy Power Station, a 1,600-megawatt power plant that the company planned to service with an unregulated gas pipeline cutting through five counties...
Settlement Better Protects Duck River from Impacts of Middle Tennessee’s Booming Growth
Nashville, Tenn. — Represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, The Nature Conservancy and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation reached a settlement agreement with state officials and a local water utility that upholds Tennessee’s ability to...
SELC responds to contradictory RGGI report from Governor Glenn Youngkin
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Governor Glenn Youngkin released a report this week prepared by Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality concerning the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The report stands in stark contrast to previous DEQ reports...
Tennessee legislature’s reckless pipeline amendment takes power from local governments
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An amendment proposed by Tennessee lawmakers would prevent all local governments – rural and urban – from having a say in where crude oil, petroleum, and methane gas pipelines and tanks are...
Alabama Supreme Court rules in favor of groups seeking protections for Birmingham Water Works Board land
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of Cahaba Riverkeeper, Cahaba River Society, and the Southern Environmental Law Center in their efforts to permanently protect land held by the Birmingham...