September 2019 E News
ELPC joined a coalition of public interest environmental groups calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn the Trump Administration’s disastrous Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. This rule replaced the Obama-era Clean Power Plan standards to reduce climate pollution from coal plants with a plan that fails to comply with the Clean Air Act or reduce carbon pollution from coal plants. Read our statement here, or for more on ACE, check out Howard’s op-ed in The Hill from earlier this summer.

In Michigan, the utility DTE is required to submit an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), to promote better long-term utility planning. DTE’s recently submitted plan would unnecessarily increase costs, rely too heavily on fossil fuels that should be retired much earlier, increase racial and economic inequity, and not invest enough in the clean energy resources that customers are increasingly demanding. ELPC and our allies are urging the Public Service Commission to reject this plan. Read ELPC Senior Attorney Margrethe Kearney’s statement here.
Update on Illinois Environmental and Energy Legislation Signed by Governor Pritzker
This past legislative session in Illinois, ELPC and our allies helped pass sensible, bipartisan environmental solutions. While there’s more to be done to accelerate solar energy and storage and boosting cleaner cars in Illinois, let’s recognize the serious progress achieved in this legislative session. Here are four laws Governor Pritzker signed this summer that we should all commend:
  • Coal Ash: The Coal Ash Pollution Protection Act (SB 9) requires that coal ash pits at power generating plants be put on a cleanup path. 
  • Expanding Solar Energy: Public institutions’ plans to purchase more renewable energy were constrained by laws limiting contracts to ten years. SB 211 now allows state universities and state facilities to purchase clean energy contracts up to 25 years. 
  • Clean Energy Financing: Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs improve financing opportunities for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects on commercial buildings and multifamily housing. HB 3501 streamlines the program and allows PACE financing to be used to replace lead service pipes.
  • Advancing Wind Development: Historically, the power to zone for wind project siting has rested with county and municipal governments, not townships. HB 2988 clarified those zoning responsibilities creating statewide consistency to advance wind development in Illinois.
Every few years, the EPA is required to issue “designations” for every county in the U.S., using scientific data to determine whether emissions in that area contribute to a violation of EPA’s ozone pollution limit. However, the most recent designations were made without a sound technical basis and involved some serious improprieties. If the new designations remain in place, parts of the Chicago area could see dangerous air pollution continue or increase. ELPC sued the EPA in 2018 on behalf of the Respiratory Health Association, and our lawsuit, consolidated with several others from around the country, will be argued before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on November 6. Read ELPC Associate Attorney Ann Jaworski’s blog on this issue here. 
ELPC NEWS CENTER
Associated Press: Opponents of refinery location take case to Supreme Court (ND)
Great Lakes Now: Spills and Sewage: Southern Lake Michigan grapples with legacy pollutants as climate change threatens progress on sewer discharges
Energy News Network: Analysis: Iowa customers could save $16 million if utility pulls out of coal plants
ELPC Blog: It’s a Sunny Day for Illinois: Solar Energy Across the State
Chicago Tribune: Does the Chicago Area need another airport? Plans for a Peotone airport at back, this time with an e-commerce spin
E&E News: Vistra plant closures set stage for Ill. energy debate
NBC15: Opponents concern over open access line in Cardinal-Hickory Creek Project
Herald-News: Residents hear plans to remedy coal ash pollution at old Lincoln Stone Quarry
UPCOMING EVENTS

Air Quality Monitoring Event on Sept 7th: Join ELPC and our community partners in Chicago at the National Latino Education Institute on Saturday, September 7th at 9:30am to learn about the importance of local air quality monitoring, get trained on operating handheld particulate matter monitors, and walk around McKinley to help us collect block by block air quality readings. Register here.
NEW STAFF

Nikhil Vijaykar is an ELPC Staff Attorney working on ELPC’s clean energy and natural resources protection litigation and policy issues. Mr. Vijaykar previously worked at the Whitt Sturtevant law firm where his practice focused on energy and utilities law, including litigation and counseling on behalf of natural gas, electric, and water utility clients in regulatory proceedings.  Before then, he worked as a Senior Policy Associate at the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) and as an associate attorney in the energy and environmental law practice group at the Paul Hastings law firm. J.D., M.A., Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley, 2013, B.S., University of California, Los Angeles, 2008
WE'RE HIRING
Website
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Donate
Copyright © 2019 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

Add us to your address book


update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.