Search Climate Insights Directory

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) argue that the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit must use accurate, granular, and verified methane emission data rather than a national average to ensure the incentive drives truly clean hydrogen production and incentivizes upstream methane reductions.

A coalition of environmental groups argues that the BLM should deny rights-of-way for Enefit's oil shale project in Utah, citing severe risks to air and water quality, climate change, and endangered species, while alleging the project's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is legally deficient.

A coalition of environmental organizations argues that the EPA's proposed rules for the oil and gas industry are insufficient. They demand the direct regulation of methane, the inclusion of existing sources, the elimination of exemptions for certain wells, and the regulation of hydrogen sulfide and particulate matter. The coalition also calls for more stringent toxic air pollutant limits and a more comprehensive health risk assessment for vulnerable populations.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) successfully influenced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to withdraw a 2006 proposal to list Graham's penstemon, a rare wildflower found in Utah and Colorado, as a threatened species. Internal documents reveal the BLM formed a "strike team" specifically to prevent this listing to facilitate oil and gas and oil shale development. The BLM provided misleading data regarding the plant's habitat slopes and falsely claimed no overlap between the species' habitat and potential oil shale development zones. Despite these assurances, a 2008 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) opened over 90 percent of the proposed critical habitat for commercial oil shale leasing. Conservation groups subsequently sued the FWS in 2008, alleging the agency ignored scientific evidence and relied on unproven BLM conservation measures.

The report finds that Native American communities are more likely to live within a half-mile of oil and gas facilities than the general population of their encompassing states, leading to disproportionate exposure to methane, volatile organic compounds, and toxic air pollutants. This impact is exacerbated by high poverty rates and lack of health insurance, which limit housing options and access to medical care for conditions like asthma. Specifically, the analysis highlights the Navajo Nation, the Northern Ute (Uintah-Ouray), and the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation as areas of significant risk.