For the past month, the Center for Coalfield Justice (“CCJ”) and other environmental justice organizations have been fighting against a deal made between Senator Joe Manchin and the Democratic Leadership. The deal was made to sway Manchin’s deciding vote in passing the Inflation Reduction Act and required his bill, The Energy Independence and Security Act, to be attached to a Continuing Resolution that needs to pass by this Friday, September 30th, 2022, to keep the Federal Government funded. Manchin’s bill includes dangerous environmental permitting changes that would silence our communities and forces the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Many of CCJ’s members joined us in the fight to keep the Energy Independence and Security Act out of the Continuing Resolution. Some traveled with us to Washington, D.C. to rally with environmental justice communities across the country against the deal. Other members sent letters to and called Senator Schumer and Senator Casey to tell them to oppose the dirty deal.
I am happy to report that we won the battle. On September 27, 2022 at 4:57 PM, the dirty deal died. Senator Manchin tweeted that he asked Senator Schumer to remove the permitting language from the Continuing Resolution in order to avoid a government shutdown. In other words, senators will not vote on Manchin’s permitting changes when they vote on the funding to keep the government open. This is exactly what we were fighting for.
“The failure of this dirty side deal should serve as a message to decision-makers: environmental justice communities will not allow our needs to be swept aside in the interest of the fossil fuel industry. Any environmental policy changes must be community-driven and address the historic and ongoing harms being perpetuated by the extraction industry,” said Veronica Coptis, CCJ Executive Director.
We would not have this win if environmental justice communities did not use their collective power to stand against the dirty deal. Every voice made a huge impact, and we thank all of our members for your continued support. CCJ celebrates all of you and our success in stopping Senator Manchin’s dirty deal. We will remain vigilant and keep you informed about any further attempts to force this legislation through Congress.
Read our previous blog about the rally against the dirty deal here.
