June 2020 E News
The Trump Administration weakened the sensible 2012 Clean car standards, under the guise of saving consumers money. The reality is that this rule, if it stands, will cost consumers $200 billion in extra gasoline costs, slash auto industry jobs in the Midwest, and result in billions of tons of additional climate change emissions. So, on May 27, twenty-three states filed a lawsuit, including four Midwestern states: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In parallel, ELPC joined with 11 organizations to sue the Trump administration for its disastrous decision. ELPC will continue to stand up for clean, sensible, and affordable transportation innovation.
After the wettest May in over 100 years, many Midwest communities are reeling from swollen rivers, evacuated flood zones, and washed out walkways. The June Army Corp of Engineer’s forecast predicts even higher water levels. This is both a climate change story and an economic one. We need to prepare now, understand our risks, and develop solutions for the shoreline’s built environment. ELPC is working with partners and public officials who bring other solution tools to the table.   
Particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is a serious threat to the residents of Chicago and other Midwestern cities, caused by various sources including diesel machinery, industrial facilities, and fires. Early research shows a strong correlation between PM2.5 rates and coronavirus as well. After years of decline, American rates of PM2.5 are on the rise again since 2016, contributing to thousands of premature deaths and billions in damages. Scientists have called for stronger PM pollution standards to fight this invisible threat, but the EPA just rejected its own experts and declined the stronger standards. ELPC’s air team is fighting to protect clean air and healthy communities.
ELPC Files Open Records Lawsuit in Case to
Protect the Driftless Area
ELPC has been fighting the unnecessary, expensive, and destructive Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line on behalf of the Driftless Area Land Conservancy and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. In May, our public interest attorneys filed a public records lawsuit demanding the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) release documents in its possession related to concerns that then-Commissioner Michael Huebsch last year engaged in extensive communications with one of the active parties in the contested case proceeding before the PSC. “The ongoing months-long delay is impermissible and contradicts the Open Records Law’s purpose of ensuring the public has prompt access to information about government operations,” said Rachel Granneman, ELPC Staff Attorney.
The impact of low oil prices calls into question whether it makes economic sense for Enbridge to invest in the expensive proposed new tunnel for its Line 5 oil pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac. Oil prices have fallen so much that Exxon reported its first quarterly loss since 1988 and announced that it will shut down 75% of its oil rigs in the Permian Basin (Texas). Likewise, oil drillers are shutting down in the Bakken shale region (North Dakota) and Suncor is shutting down some of its oil sands production in northern Alberta because of very low market prices for bitumen. COVID-19 and the related economic downturn have clobbered demand. Will the financiers for these pipeline companies continue to support the expensive capital investments? That’s risky.
ELPC NEWS CENTER
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