In October, U.S. Department of Agriculture responded to demands from WORC members and a coalition of allies to require biotech companies testing genetically engineered wheat to apply for a permit for outdoor field trials, which is more rigorous than the … Continued
As part of the Solarize South Dakota campaign, Dakota Rural Action members hosted the first annual Tour del SOL last month, a statewide bike ride event to promote alternative energy and alternative transportation. Nearly 200 people across the state participated … Continued
WORC and the member groups joined a coalition of 142 rancher, farmer, rural, consumer, manufacturer, labor, faith and environmental groups from across the United States delivered a letter urging the Senate to reject both the effort to repeal the country of … Continued
WORC member groups responded to a new report released in October by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranking some western states among the bottom on their State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Montana ranked 31st, while South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota … Continued
After six years of top secret negotiations, the Obama Administration released the text of the massive new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal Nov. 5. The initial reaction: It’s worse than we thought. If approved by Congress, the TPP trade deal among 12 nations is … Continued
Trains carrying loads of explosive frakked crude oil are traveling right through the center of small Eastern Oregon’s towns like La Grande. Few communities are prepared in the event of a fiery derailment or spill that could impact a “blast zone” … Continued
Alongside member groups Powder River Basin Resource Council, Northern Plains Resource Council, and Dakota Resource Council, WORC submitted substantive written comments today on the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s proposed Stream Protection Rule. Read WORC’s comments here. … Continued
WORC and Northern Plains Resource Council won an important victory when Federal Magistrate Carolyn Ostby supported their claims that the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement failed to consider the slow pace of reclamation at the Spring Creek Mine … Continued
On July 8, 2015, Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell followed up on her earlier call for an “honest and open conversation” on the coal leasing program by announcing five listening sessions in late July, early August. In response, WORC helped … Continued
In June, WORC released a new report covering the need for greater oversight and enforcement in order to protect large tracts of strip mined land that has been surface mined in Western states. Undermined Promise II found that reclamation bonds … Continued