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This Month
Across the Midwest
October 2025 Newsletter
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Lake Michigan Shoreline Community Defeats Proposed Toxic Landfill [[link removed]]
We had a wonderful victory celebration this month on Chicago’s Southeast Side with community members and our clients, Alliance of the Southeast and Friends of the Parks. We have officially stopped the U.S. Army Corps’ proposed toxic dredged waste landfill on the Lake Michigan shoreline known as the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF).
As a result of community opposition, a lawsuit brought by ELPC, and the Illinois EPA’s denial of required state clean water permits, the Army Corps officially withdrew its flawed plans. Now, we are gearing up for the next steps: the Army Corps must cap and restore the site so the Park District can develop the long-promised lakefront park for all to use and enjoy. The lakefront is for people and parks, not for toxic waste.
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[[link removed]] Clean Water [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Fight Against Line 5 Pipeline Moves to Michigan Supreme Court [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case against Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 oil tunnel project under the Straits of Mackinac, which poses an unacceptable risk to our water, climate, and communities. ELPC and our client Michigan Climate Action Network, along with Earthjustice who represents several Tribal Nations, urged the court to review errors in the pipeline’s approval by the Michigan Public Service Commission.
[[link removed]] Clean Energy [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] ELPC Settlement Spurs Iowa's Largest Solar Development [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] The Iowa Utilities Commission approved a settlement between MidAmerican Energy and environmental groups to authorize 800 megawatts of solar in Iowa. This is the largest solar approval in state history and would quintuple the utility's existing solar resources. MidAmerican expects the project to produce enough energy to power 144,000 homes.
[link removed] [[link removed]] Powering Illinois Data Centers with Clean Energy [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] ELPC filed testimony on ComEd’s plan to power data centers. We raised concerns that the plan allows ComEd to unfairly charge customers for data center infrastructure, including for over $200M in transmission lines that serve individual data centers. We argue that requiring data centers to submit clean energy plans would reduce costs and improve reliability for customers.
[[link removed]] Climate Change [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Climate Change Puts Great Lakes at Risk, but Solutions Are in Sight [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Fall is here, but it still feels like summer across much of the Midwest and many of us are squeezing in our last warm trips to the lakes. But behind the sun and sand, all is not well. Climate change is accelerating and threatening our freshwater future. Read ELPC’s latest recommendations to protect our beaches, fisheries, and safe drinking water.
[[link removed]] Take Action [[link removed]]
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Take Action
Tell Illinois lawmakers to pass Transit Funding & Reform this October!
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ELPC Thinks: Clean Energy & the Data Center Dilemma
Join ELPC experts Brad Klein and Saad Siddique for a conversation about the Midwest data center landscape, its impact on our clean energy goals, and how to stay on track for a clean energy future. RSVP here. [[link removed]]
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DAF Day
On Thursday, October 9th, ELPC will join non-profits across the country for DAF Day, a national day of giving through donor advised funds. Make your DAF gift today to get ahead of DAF Day. [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] News Roundup [[link removed]]
* Ohio Capital Journal : Battle Over Utility Charges Headed for the Ohio Supreme Court [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : Why Protecting America’s Last Roadless Forests Matters More Than Ever [[link removed]]
* Inside Climate News : Which States Are Getting Hit Hardest by Electricity Price Increases? [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : ELPC Stands Up for Science, Fights to Protect the Endangerment Finding [[link removed]]
* NJ Spotlight News : Trump Moves to Gut US Power to Regulate Greenhouse Gases [[link removed]]
* The Detroit News : Michigan Supreme Court to Hear Lawsuits by Tribes, Environmental Groups Over Line 5 [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : Ohio Rail Plan Ignores Passenger Rail [[link removed]]
* Inside Climate News : Can the Nation’s Most Wind-Powered State Look to Solar? [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : Four Ways We’re Fighting Air and Water Pollution in Northwest Indiana [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : EPA Proposal Would Reduce States’ Role in Longstanding Partnership for Water Quality Protection [[link removed]]
* Post Tribune : ELPC, Activists Concerned About Changes to Gary Works Particulate Emissions Permit [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : Coal Ash Cleanup Cannot Wait [[link removed]]
* Cedar Rapids Gazette : President Trump Tilts at Windmills with the Help of Iowa Republicans [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : ELPC Challenges EPA’s Methane Rule Delay [[link removed]]
* Inside Climate News : House Bill Amending the Clean Water Act Could Mean Dirtier Water Nationwide – And Especially in Iowa [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog: Swimming in the Chicago River: Advocacy Helped Make This Happen [[link removed]]
* Toledo Blade: Second Request for Rehearing Filed in Precedent-Setting Case Involving Coal-Fired [[link removed]]
* Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Lawmaker Wants Utilities to Give Customers Rebates for Reducing Power Use [[link removed]]
* ELPC Blog : Coal Plants in the Midwest: What Happens After They Close? [[link removed]]
* Iowa Capital Dispatch : DNR Holds Public Hearing on Ottumwa Generating Station Permit [[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.
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ELPC
35 E Wacker Dr 1600
Chicago, IL 60601
United States
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