Wildlife

April 30, 2025

California pipeline that burst in 2015 is now being rebuilt against state orders

The California Coastal Commission recently issued an $18.2 million fine against a Texas-based company for unpermitted construction on a pipeline network that has been dormant since a major spill in 2015. The network of pipelines connects to three offshore oil platforms called the Santa Ynez Unit and was the source of the Refugio Oil Spill, which released more than 100,000 gallons, caused significant environmental damage to about 150 miles of coastline, shut down beaches for two months, and killed over 550 seabirds.

Brendan Gibbons

March 6, 2025

Trump’s move to shortcut bedrock environmental law will lead to more delays, experts say

Over the past few weeks, the Trump Administration has taken aim at the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws. Trump and Republicans have said they want to cut bureaucratic red tape and speed up permitting for big projects, such as pipelines, fuel export terminals, and electricity transmission lines. But legal experts say the move will likely only sow confusion and slow the process down.

Tom Pelton

February 20, 2025

Wetlands and waterways at risk in Trump Administration’s ‘energy emergency’ permit reviews

Wetlands are critical for filtering drinking water, protecting people from flooding and storm surges, and serving as a breeding ground for valuable fish, shrimp, and crabs. President Trump undermined protections for wetlands earlier this month when – as part of his “energy emergency” executive order – his administration directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform fast-track “emergency” reviews of 688 applications for permits to destroy wetlands or impact waterways across the country. Some of the projects have nothing to do with energy.

Brendan Gibbons

February 13, 2025

Trump’s proposal to expand offshore drilling is unpopular in key Republican states

President Donald Trump is pushing for an expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling across the U.S., a proposal with a history of opposition even among leaders of the Republican party. Among the 42 executive orders Trump signed on his first day was an attempt to repeal Biden’s Jan. 6 order to protect most U.S. offshore waters from leasing for oil and gas. Biden’s order applied to federal waters in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Alaska and the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, though Biden allowed oil and gas production to continue in the western and central Gulf.

Brendan Gibbons

December 5, 2024

The huge new oil project in Alaska that is escaping national attention

Last year, environmentalists criticized the Biden Administration for approving a large oil drilling project on public land in the Alaskan Arctic called the Willow project. However, a similar petroleum project has drawn little attention. About 30 miles east of Willow, Australian energy company Santos, Spanish company Repsol, and ASRC Energy, a subsidiary of the Alaska Native-owned Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), has received approvals and is currently building the first phase of the Pikka Project, an effort to produce hundreds of millions of barrels of oil over the next three decades. The project is located entirely on land owned by the State of Alaska and the ASRC.

Brendan Gibbons

November 7, 2024

After securing $135 million in tax breaks, pipeline company plans massive ethane “cracker” in Southeast Texas

In Nederland, Texas, pipeline company Energy Transfer is proposing to build a massive new facility that would turn the components of natural gas into the basic chemicals used to make single-use plastics and other petrochemicals. The facility has garnered $134.6 million in tax breaks over 10 years from the local school district, despite being capable of emitting more than 8,500 tons per year of harmful air pollutants and more greenhouse gas emissions than a coal-fired power plant.

Brendan Gibbons

August 29, 2024

New research revealing high levels of mercury in Texas bay raises alarms about dredging for oil tankers

Lavaca Bay is contaminated by decades of mercury pollution by Alcoa, which owns a former aluminum refinery on the bay’s northeastern side. In response, EPA mandated cleanup work in the bay under the agency’s Superfund program in the 2000s, but even after the cleanup efforts, the heavy metal remains in the sediment. Local fishermen and environmental advocates are worried that a dredging project planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local port authority will stir up mercury and allow it to be released into the bay, threatening wildlife and humans who eat fish and shellfish from the bay. The dredging project would allow larger and more heavily laden oil tankers to access the Seahawk oil terminal, whose owner is planning a major expansion.

Brendan Gibbons

August 1, 2024

Environmental Integrity Project launches updated Oil & Gas Watch database and news site

The Oil & Gas Watch database and news site are being re-launched today (Aug. 1) with new features to make it easier for users to track oil and gas developments in local areas and gather national data on the growing industry. The database features a new “alerts” function to highlight new projects, updates, and public hearings. It also has new search tools; the projected greenhouse gas and related health impacts of projects; new maps; and sharable summary pages for industries. We also redesigned the Oil & Gas Watch News site and email newsletter. We are hosting a free virtual webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 21 to explain how to use the new database.

Brendan Gibbons

February 28, 2024

New York is suing Pepsi over oil- and gas-based plastic pollution

When staff from the environmental protection bureau of the New York Attorney General’s office decided to use their authority to address oil- and gas-based-based plastic waste on the Buffalo River, they never intended to go after Pepsi, specifically. But after scientists with the office inventoried piles of trash that volunteers had pulled from the river in western New York, they found that Pepsi’s products made up 17 percent of the plastic waste they found. The lawsuit is the first in the U.S. involving a state suing a company over plastic pollution.

Ari Phillips

November 14, 2023

Biologist encounters oil-spewing pipe while researching biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s not an isolated incident.

A group of researchers was on a boat returning from a biodiversity monitoring outing in the Mississippi Delta’s Barataria Bay just south of New Orleans on Saturday, Oct. 21, when they noticed a unplugged well spewing oil into the bay. They reported the spill. Unfortunately, unplugged or abandoned wells like this are common in the Gulf of Mexico, where the number of abandoned or broken wells exceeds 14,000.

Brendan Gibbons

September 21, 2023

Biden Administration offers drillers 67 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico – but industry sues over protections for whales

On Wednesday, the Biden Administration plans to offer leases for sale to oil and gas companies allowing drilling on 67 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. But the oil and gas industry is suing because the Biden Administration plans to block drilling on a small portion of the underwater acres to protect a threatened species of whale: the Rice's whale.