Top Accomplishments
Protecting Public Lands
Thanks to more than 20,000 letters from Earthworks activists, the Interior Secretary established a 20-year ban on mining, protecting 100,000 acres of public lands in southwest Oregon’s Siskiyou Kalmiopsis region. The Siskiyou Kalmiopsis region boasts world-class fisheries and outstanding water quality. It is recognized as a hotspot of biodiversity in North America.
Holding Corporations Accountable
Earthworks won a landmark case spurring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop new rules under the Superfund Program, the federal law on hazardous waste. The court ordered the EPA to issue rules requiring hardrock mining companies to demonstrate that they have the funds available to clean up their toxic waste and stop passing cleanup costs onto taxpayers. New rules, due December 2017, are a critical step in protecting public health and the environment from the nation’s leading source of toxic pollution, mining.
Reducing Oil and Gas Pollution
Earthworks and our supporters helped push the Obama administration to finalize the first federal regulations on methane pollution. Earthworks made this pollution visible as part of our Community Empowerment Project and submitted the evidence to the EPA and the Department of Interior, which both finalized new standards to protect our health and the climate from methane pollution.
Your Support Makes Our Work Possible
Earthworks helps families on the front lines of mining, drilling, and fracking. We use sound science to expose health, environmental, economic, social, and cultural impacts of mining and energy extraction. To support our efforts, please consider a tax-deductible donation today that will go toward our work reforming government policies, improving corporate practices, influencing investment decisions, and encouraging responsible materials sourcing and consumption.
