This Month Across the Midwest
MAY 2025 NEWSLETTER

Trump Admin Opens Loophole for Midwest Polluters to Dodge Air Rules

The Trump administration is allowing industrial sources to request an exemption on critical clean air rules that limit emissions of hazardous air pollutants. ELPC and local partners are calling out two Indiana steel mills, U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs, to come clean and say publicly if they sought exemptions. Additionally, the Trump EPA announced exemptions for coal plants to avoid the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) that were set to become stronger in 2027, including Baldwin, Kincaid, Newton, and Powerton in Illinois.

ELPC CEO & Executive Director Howard Learner said, “the Trump administration has created an illegal special exemption by which polluters can go to the president and request a ‘get out of jail free’ card when it comes to the Clean Air Act. That’s legally irresponsible; it’s bad policy, and it will really harm people as a result of more pollution.”

Learn More: [link removed]

EARTH DAY
Action on the Environment Starts at Home: [link removed]

While D.C. may be retreating from environmental protections, ELPC isn’t backing down within the Midwest. In a new Chicago Tribune op-ed ELPC CEO & Executive Director Howard Learner outlines six actionable steps that creates a roadmap for state and local action in Illinois.

CLEAN WATER
EPA Moves to Weaken "Waters of the United States"
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The U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers recently announced plans to weaken the Clean Water Act’s definition of WOTUS, which would remove protections for many of America’s streams and wetlands. These waterways are already vulnerable after the U.S. Supreme Court’s misguided Sackett decision in 2024.

ELPC Continues to Fight Great Lakes Pipeline Tunnel
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ELPC and allies, including four Michigan Tribes, are asking the Michigan Supreme Court to consider the Line 5 tunnel project and overturn its allowance. ELPC is also pushing back on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ recent announcement of emergency fast-tracking the permitting process of their part of Enbridge’s permit needs for the tunnel project.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Proposed Cumulative Impacts Ordinance is a Big Step for a Healthier Chicago
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After decades of advocacy by ELPC and other groups, the City of Chicago introduced the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance. This ordinance would reform the industrial siting practices that have exacerbated environmental disparities along industrial corridors on the South and West Sides.


Upcoming Events
May 8th - The Current State of Great Lakes Water Levels: [link removed] [[link removed]

May 14th - EPA Enforcement [link removed]

News Roundup
* Chicago Tribune – Lake, Porter Counties Receive Failing Grades in Air Pollution Report [[link removed]]

* WAND News – IL Senators, Advocates Discuss Plan Requiring Data Centers Use Renewable Energy for Power [[link removed]]
* Bloomberg – Trump Throws the Electric School Bus Transition Into Chaos [[link removed]]

* Inside Climate News – More Than 60 Power Plants Exempted [[link removed]] from Federal Mercury Limits

* E&E News – EPA Hands Pollution Passes to Top Mercury Emitters [[link removed]]

* Chicago Tribune – Trump's Love Affair with Dirty Coal Can’t Compete with Market Realities [[link removed]]
* Chicago Tribune – ‘A Really Frightening Concept’: NWI Activists React to Potential Air Pollution Exemptions [[link removed]]

* Indiana Public Media – Indiana Industries Could Get a ‘Presidential Exemption’ from Recent Air Pollution Rules [[link removed]]

* Harvest Public Media – EPA Chief Hopes a Change to What’s Protected Under the Clean Water Act Can Win Over Farmers [[link removed]]

* Iowa Capital Dispatch – USDA Rural Energy and Ethanol Infrastructure Funding Released [[link removed]]

* Michigan Advance – Native American Tribes and Environmental Groups Ask Michigan Supreme Court to Hear Line 5 Challeng [[link removed]]
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We're all in to protect the Midwest environment
Founded in 1993, the Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest's leading environmental legal advocacy organization. We advocate, innovate, and litigate to protect the Midwest's environment from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains.


ELPC
35 E Wacker Dr 1600
Chicago, IL 60601
United States
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