Office

Fossil Fuels Program

Alejandro Dávila Fragoso / Earthjustice

50 California St., Ste. 500
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 217-2000
eajus@earthjustice.org

Media Inquiries

Alexandria Trimble
Media Relations and Communications Strategist
atrimble@earthjustice.org

Legal Assistance Inquiries

Contacto de Prensa

Robert Valencia
Estratega de Comunicaciones y Asuntos Públicos Hispanos/Latinos
rvalencia@earthjustice.org
(212) 845-7376

Who We Are

Earthjustice’s Fossil Fuels Program is taking on the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to pursue new paths to profit that not only accelerate the climate crisis, but also continue to cause harm to marginalized communities.

Our Fossil Fuels Program staff are based in San Francisco, Chicago, and New Orleans. See bar admissions for our attorneys.

Adrienne BlochManaging Attorney

Michael BrownSenior Attorney

Michelle CarlosSupervising Litigation Paralegal

Zora DjenohanAssociate Attorney

Erin GainesSupervising Senior Attorney

Claire HueblerSenior Litigation Assistant / Senior Legal Practice Administrator

Megan HunterSupervising Senior Attorney

Bridgett McCoyAssociate Attorney

Claire TaigmanAssociate Attorney

Corinne Van DalenSenior Attorney

James YskampSenior Attorney

Our Impact

Stopping Oil and Gas Infrastructure — Before It’s Built

We’re fighting the industry’s aggressive plans to lock in new oil and gas infrastructure in the form of pipelines, petrochemical facilities, and crude oil and gas export terminals. We’re using the power of the law to keep this infrastructure — which would dramatically increase fossil fuel consumption and increase damage to our climate — from ever being built.

Partnering with Gulf Coast and Appalachian Communities

The industry plans to build much of this new infrastructure in Gulf Coast and Appalachian communities already bearing the burden of high levels of pollution. We’re partnering with those communities to chart a path forward toward a healthy, sustainable climate — while working to advance equity and justice.

Building a Climate Justice Movement

Together, we’re building a movement that fights for climate justice by ensuring fossil fuels become our past, and clean energy becomes our future.

Highlights of Our Work:

  • Right now, the fossil fuel industry is launching a massive shift from fossil energy to petrochemicals, with a significant number of petrochemical facilities planned to be built or expanded — primarily in Gulf Coast and Appalachian communities already threatened by high levels of pollution. We’re going to court to stop the industry from breaking ground on these toxic facilities.
  • We’re currently representing residents of St. James Parish, Louisiana — part of an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River dubbed “Cancer Alley” — to stop the proposed $9.4 billion Formosa FG/LA Petrochemical Complex. We’re also working on petrochemical infrastructure fights in the Appalachian Ohio River Valley.
  • We’re fighting the industry’s attempts to significantly increase crude oil exports with the proposed construction of 11 new offshore deepwater ports in the Gulf Coast region, which would cause significant greenhouse gas emissions and pose significant health and environmental risks. We’re currently involved in administrative challenges of the Sea Port Oil Terminal near Freeport, Texas, as well as the proposed Plaquemines Liquids Terminal, located near Ironton, Louisiana.
  • We’re working to block oil pipelines that cut through communities and lands, contaminate our waters, and lock in fossil fuels long into the future.
  • We’re joining the fight against fracking by partnering with Appalachian communities impacted by fracking wastewater practices that spread radioactive materials on roads or in landfills.

Recent News
Sharon Lavigne of RISE St. James is an Earthjustice client and partner in a case against the “Sunshine Project” — a plant proposed by the Formosa Petrochemical Corporation.
March 18, 2024 Press Release

Louisiana Groups Push for State Supreme Court to Review Formosa Plastics’ Air Permits Case

LDEQ air permits would exacerbate environmental racism and harm the health of St. James’ predominantly Black residents

March 18, 2024 document

RISE St. James Application to Louisiana Supreme Court

Community and environmental groups filed an application asking the Louisiana Supreme Court to grant review and overturn legal errors in an appeals court decision that upheld the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s decision to issue air permits for Formosa Plastics’ massive petrochemical complex in St. James Parish.

March 4, 2024 In the News: New Orleans Public Radio

Secrecy around gas export terminals leaves public in the dark on dangers

Elizabeth Livingston de Calderon, Attorney, Fossil Fuels Program: “There’s not sufficient information to know what the full risks are, and the repercussions of no one understanding are huge.”

Features