PIERRE, S.D. -- Shortly after taking office Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed several orders, including one that revokes the presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The project goes through South Dakota, and while tribal leaders applaud Biden's move, they hope he doesn't stop there.

Construction work on Keystone has been suspended in light of Biden's action.

The plan first surfaced in 2008 and eventually was rejected by the Obama administration, before being revived by outgoing President Donald Trump.

Chase Iron Eyes, lead counsel for the Lakota People's Law Project, said seeing Keystone blocked again is encouraging, but the group feels there's another project in need of Biden's intervention.

"To uphold federal law, which requires a proper environmental impact statement in the Dakota Access Pipeline," Iron Eyes explained.

That separate project, which runs along the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, also has drawn heavy opposition from Indigenous communities.

Activity on Dakota Access paused last year after a judge ordered a more extensive environmental review. But various tribes have sent Biden a letter demanding quick and decisive action on Dakota Access.

Oil industry groups said shutting down these projects results in thousands of lost jobs.

Iron Eyes countered protecting tribal areas from environmentally questionable projects ties in with a movement to reclaim lands.

"To us, this is all related to Indigenous sovereignty," Iron Eyes concluded.

In various parts of the country, there are efforts to work out agreements with tribal governments over land that was taken from them decades ago, despite federal treaties.

In South Dakota, a land-exchange project advanced within the Rapid City Council last fall.

As for Keystone XL, some Republican senators are joining the oil industry in urging Biden to reconsider his move.


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IXONIA, Wis. -- The public comment period has ended, but opponents of proposed natural gas storage facilities in southeastern Wisconsin still hope to convince state regulators to thwart the project, arguing residents all over the state could end up paying the price.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has been gathering feedback as it decides whether to grant WEC Energy Group a permit to build the facilities. The sites would hold liquefied natural gas in large tanks.

The company insists the extra supplies would be beneficial during peak demand in the colder months.

Cassie Steiner-Bouxa, senior campaign coordinator for the Sierra Club of Wisconsin, countered adding fossil-fuel infrastructure for only a handful of days each year is not a good idea.

"WEC customers will be on the hook to pay for this," Steiner-Bouxa asserted. "Anyone in Wisconsin who's concerned about climate impacts will be concerned about this."

Groups such as the Sierra Club contended costs would reach upwards of $460 million and would be passed on to customers. However, utility officials reported the project would save customers $200 million over 30 years.

Even though the PSC is no longer accepting comments, opponents urged residents to appeal to the commission as well as WEC Energy while deliberations continue.

One facility would be built north of the Illinois border in Bluff Creek, with the other planned for Ixonia, just west of Milwaukee.

Mary Rupnow, an activist who has led community-level opposition efforts there, worried about safety for nearby residents.

"There's asphyxiation vapors that could get released from the facility," Rupnow alleged. "There's jetting and flashing releases that could result in fires."

Environmental advocates also noted the proposed site is near a wetland, and pointed out the project runs counter to carbon emission reduction goals laid out by Gov. Tony Evers and President Joe Biden.

The company said their approach is not as expensive as connecting with interstate pipelines, but Steiner-Bouxa emphasized to meet customer demand year-round, Wisconsin should keep pursuing a robust network of renewable energy and stronger weatherization programs.

"When we have this distributed electric system of clean energy, we're seeing a lot more resiliency from the system, from the grid," Steiner-Bouxa remarked.

As for heating purposes, she added investing in demand-management programs for large-scale customers could help ease the burden when it comes to supplies in the winter.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvanians are growing worried about the environmental consequences of natural-gas drilling in the state, according to a new poll released by the Ohio River Valley Institute.

It showed the majority surveyed support Attorney General Josh Shapiro's recommendations to tighten regulations on fracking, including 77% who support assessing sources of air pollution and 82% in favor of requiring safer modes of transporting waste.

The poll, conducted by Data For Progress, surveyed nearly 650 voters from across the state.

Ralph Kisberg, co-founder of the Responsible Drilling Alliance, said the results of the poll show it is time for the state Legislature to make efforts to better transition to clean energy.

"We need to move faster," Kisberg asserted. "The people understand this, they understand that it's all tied in with the climate situation and that will get extremely expensive for the country unless we deal with it. And the country is beginning to deal with it, but if Pennsylvania wants to hold onto its position, it's going to jeopardize its economy, frankly."

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. Gas giant Shell is building a $6 billion dollar ethane cracker plant northwest of Pittsburgh. A majority of voters polled were against tax breaks for the plant.

In contrast, the Pennsylvanians polled approved of public spending on clean-energy projects, with 77% saying they believed it would have a positive impact on the state.

Kisberg noted there are ways the state could move forward with its clean-energy transition, including a severance fee on the natural-gas industry.

"We can take that revenue and use it for subsidies for lower-income people to make the transition in their homes with energy efficiency," Kisberg suggested. "And get everybody involved in this transition based on the fact that we have some low-hanging fruit in the tax world that we don't take advantage of in the state."

Kisberg added interested individuals should contact Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township, who chairs the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Earlier this year, Yaw introduced a municipal "energy choice" bill, which some environmental advocates argued could protect polluting forms of energy such as coal and gas.

DETROIT -- As U.S. Secretary of Energy and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm visits the Great Lakes State today, community advocates are highlighting the importance of investments in the clean-energy and transportation sectors.

Roshaun Harris, Michigan economic justice organizer for the Detroit Action and Main Street Alliance, said a clean-energy economy would directly benefit communities on the front lines of the climate crisis, especially low-income and Black, brown and Indigenous communities.

"We see the high incidence of asthma, and a lot of the infirmities that come along with being in a very toxic and polluted environment," Harris observed. "We've had issues with lead in the water in the schools. We've had a lot of contamination issues."

Harris pointed out the stresses of being in a polluted environment also can cause mental-health issues.

Michigan employs nearly 115,000 workers in clean vehicles, renewable energy, efficiency and more, and President Joe Biden proposed billions of dollars in investments to boost states' clean-energy sectors even further.

Harris noted roads, bridges and buildings in Detroit and across the state need serious work, and communities need access to capital. He argued the more that can be done in an environmentally conscious way to transition the U.S. away from fossil fuels, the better.

"We've been under a very old model that needs a transition, but that transition needs a kick-start," Harris contended. "And those federal resources coming here will really be a great kick-start to provide a new layer of economic infrastructure, environmental infrastructure, sustainable infrastructure."

Granholm will visit manufacturing facility Magna Electronics in Holly, host a roundtable with business and labor leaders and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., of Rochester Hills, and go to General Motors' Factory Zero at the company's hub for their electric vehicles.