Along the shores of Lake Michigan sits a menace, nestled between the town of Ogden Dunes and the new Indiana Dunes National Park. ELPC has found that the ArcelorMittal steel mill in Burns Harbor, IN violated its Clean Water Act permit over one hundred times in the past four years, discharging water pollution into the East Arm of the Little Calumet River, which flows directly into Lake Michigan. A cyanide and ammonia spill just this summer killed 3,000 fish and closed beaches all along the shore, but ArcelorMittal didn’t report the incident for days. The U.S. EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have not taken any formal enforcement action. So, this month, ELPC and the Hoosier Environmental Council served a 60-day notice of intent to sue. ArcelorMittal needs to be held accountable, and IDEM and EPA need to do a better job protecting Lake Michigan, Indiana Dunes National Park, and the people who enjoy them. Read more: Michigan City News Dispatch, Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times Editorial , Indy Star, Indiana Public Radio, MLive, Howard’s op-ed in Indy Star

Illinois has made great strides this year in the shift to renewable energy, but the statewide solar boom has not benefitted all communities equally. ELPC and Vote Solar researchers performed a geospatial analysis to prove that the state’s Community Solar Program left urban communities behind. The team recommended that a portion of future capacity be reserved for urban projects and provided other suggestions to ensure development reaches our densest geographies. The Illinois Power Agency agreed, adopting large portions of the recommendations into the state’s long-term renewable energy plans (see p. 117). This was an important step to ensure the Illinois Community Solar program benefits urban communities across the state. According to ELPC’s Senior Policy Advocate MeLena Hessel, the recommendations were “intended to bring the program into compliance with statutory requirements for geographic diversity within the community solar program.”

Alliant Energy agreed to a settlement with environmental and consumer groups that would reduce its proposed rate increase by 40% and participate in a comprehensive planning process for its power plants. This analysis will require Alliant to assess the economic feasibility of its coal plants compared to cleaner energy options like solar and wind. Expert analysis has already found the retirement of the coal plants could save consumers more than $600 million. Alliant Energy also agreed to an improved collaborative stakeholder engagement process with environmental and consumer groups on future grid investments and renewable energy projects.
 

This summer, toxic algal blooms covered almost 700 square miles of Lake Erie with green scum and microcystin toxins. A key to solving these toxic algal blooms: curbing runoff from large concentrated animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs. Governor DeWine must keep Ohio’s commitment to reduce phosphorus pollution in Lake Erie by 40% by 2025 by acting to reduce manure runoff pollution from CAFOs, which cause the outbreaks of toxic algae blooms. Lake Erie provides drinking water for approximately 11 million people, and protecting the lake from toxic algal blooms will benefit the economy and protect public health. Read ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner’s recent op-ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and see more coverage in Trade Only Today and the Toledo Blade.