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