July 2020 E-News
ELPC & MiCAN intervene against Line 5 tunnel to protect the Great Lakes ([link removed])
[link removed]
Last week, ELPC and the Michigan Climate Action Network filed a petition with the Michigan Public Service Commission opposing Enbridge’s application for a new Line 5 tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. ELPC Senior Attorney Margrethe Kearney warned that Enbridge’s proposed project would “expose Michiganders to a heightened risk of contaminated drinking water, endangered livelihoods and lost access to recreational activities.”

We implore Michigan to be a climate leader, not the last state to build an oil pipeline during the climate crisis. Read Howard’s op-ed ([link removed]) in Crain’s Detroit, or additional coverage in the Petoskey News ([link removed]) , Great Lakes Now ([link removed]) , MLive ([link removed]) , and the Detroit Free Press ([link removed]) .
ELPC & Allies fight to uphold sensible Mercury & Air Toxics Standards ([link removed])

[link removed]

ELPC joined a coalition of 23 civil rights, environmental, & health groups to sue the EPA for gutting the 2012 Mercury & Air Toxic Standards that have successfully reduced dangerous toxins across the Midwest and beyond. Executive Director Howard Learner explained, “the Trump EPA is skewing the regulatory benefit-cost analysis in polluters’ favor by excluding the important real-world health co-benefits of reducing mercury pollution. This distorts sound economic analysis by counting all of the costs, but only some of the benefits.” Read ELPC’s full statement here ([link removed])

ELPC Takes on “Predatory Electricity Suppliers” in Illinois ([link removed])
[link removed]
ELPC filed comments with the Illinois Commerce Commission about the deceptive marketing practices of CleanChoice Energy, an alternative retail energy supplier (ARES). Consumers often receive splashy promises in-home mailers and digital ads from groups like CleanChoice pledging cleaner energy, but the fine print tells a different story. "They're overstating the environmental benefits of their product," said ELPC Staff Attorney Rachel Granneman. ELPC fights to protect consumers from unscrupulous companies, to uphold public trust in truly beneficial clean energy opportunities.
Protecting Wisconsin’s Northwoods from rushed logging ([link removed])

[link removed]

The U.S. Forest Service recently approved 12,000 acres of logging, including more than 1,000 acres of clearcutting, for the Fourmile Project in Northern Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF). ELPC filed comments in objection to the Forest Service’s finding that the project would have “no significant impact” on the environment. The Forest Service did not conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as required by law

Scientists warn this massive project will disturb forest habitats, degrade recreation, and disrupt struggling species like the endangered American pine marten and the threatened wood turtle. In addition to legal comments, ELPC gathered over a thousand signatures telling the Forest Service to stop and study the project before rushing approval, to protect the Northwoods ecosystem and recreation economy. To add your voice, click here ([link removed]) . To learn more, read Senior Policy Advocate Andy Olsen’s blog here ([link removed]) , or Science Advisory Council chair Don Waller’s Op-Ed here ([link removed]) .

ELPC Action Fund Educates Public on Clean Water in Wisconsin ([link removed])

[link removed]

ELPC’s sister organization, ELPC Action Fund, is launching a summer ad campaign in southwest Wisconsin to educate the public on the Trump EPA’s record on clean water. The ad campaign will follow the theme of “watch what they do, not what they say.” The administration claims to have a good record on protecting clean water, but ELPC Action Fund is connecting the dots to show that is not the case. The facts are thatthis administration is dismantling clean water protections ([link removed]) and putting safe, clean drinking water at risk.

ELPC NEWS CENTER
Council of the Great Lakes Region: ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner elected to serve on the Board of Directors ([link removed])
Environmental Law Institute:
EnergyWire: End of Iowa’s wind boom? Renewable rules spark fears ([link removed])
Energy News Network: Dutch charging station company looks to plug into U.S. electric vehicle growth ([link removed])
Illinois Business Journal: Illinois challenging EPA over methane pollution standards ([link removed])
Great Lakes Now: Regulatory Rollbacks: Loss of federal water protections impacts Great Lakes region ([link removed])
Energy News Network: Murray Energy bankruptcy still casts shadow on coal’s economic viability ([link removed])
EnergyWire: Hundreds of groups grill FERC over net metering petition ([link removed])
IndyStar: IPL’s Petersburg plant is the worst water polluter in state, violates permit 120 times ([link removed])
UPCOMING EVENTS
[link removed]

ELPC Thinks Webinar:
Update on the House Select Committee's Climate Crisis Report
with Representative Sean Casten (IL-06)

Wednesday, July 15
1:00-2:00 pm CT

Register today ([link removed])

============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed] )
** LinkedIn ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Environmental Law & Policy Center, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Environmental Law & Policy Center
35 E Upper Wacker Dr
Ste 1600
Chicago, ILLINOIS 60601
USA

** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.