Plus: Big Win in Wisconsin 

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This Month Across the Midwest


** ► DECEMBER 2022 NEWSLETTER
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** Seizing Environmental Opportunities After 2022 Midterm Elections
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The public’s overall message in the 2022 midterm elections is clear: people mostly voted for competence, stability, and problem-solving instead of chaos and disruption. People didn’t vote for change. They voted for calm nationally and in the Midwest states. The re-elected Midwest governors can advance effective bipartisan regional coordination for EV charging infrastructure, Great Lakes restoration, a higher-speed passenger rail network, and energy efficiency, which are key climate change solutions.
ELPC’s Executive Director Howard Learner identified environmental opportunities for the Midwest moving forward.
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** News & Updates
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** CLEAN ENERGY
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** Big Win in Wisconsin Third-Party Ownership Case ([link removed])
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The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin on Thursday sided with ELPC, Keyes & Fox LLP, and our client Vote Solar in finding that a family of four in Stevens Point can use third-party ownership to install rooftop solar panels. This clarifies for Wisconsinites looking to add renewables to their homes and businesses that this financing method is and always has been legal in the state, despite utility protestations. “You can finance a car. You can finance a refrigerator. It’s just common sense that you should be able to finance home solar,” said ELPC Staff Attorney Erica McConnell. “But unlike cars or refrigerators, home renewables have climate benefits that extend far beyond the families that invest in them. Third-party financing helps get more renewable power on the grid quickly, reliably, and safely.”
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** Columbia Gas of Ohio Plans to Hike Rates ([link removed])
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ELPC has joined a coalition of environmental and consumer groups urging regulators to reject plans that would skyrocket fixed customer charges and gut energy efficiency programs. “There is no good time for a needless rate hike, but with high gas prices this comes at a particularly devastating time for Ohio families,” said ELPC Senior Attorney Rob Kelter.

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** Michigan Rate Case Win for Energy Equity & Clean Transportation ([link removed])
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ELPC and coalition partners were glad to see the Michigan Public Service Commission release its final order on utility giant DTE Energy’s 2022 rate case. Commissioners approved a more modest rate increase, rejected an unprecedented demand charge fee for solar customers, and approved new opportunities for electric vehicles, school buses, and charging stations.

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** CLEAN WATER
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** Consent Decree Requires Ohio to Cap Lake Erie Pollution ([link removed])
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After ELPC’s groundbreaking 2018 lawsuit forced Ohio EPA to acknowledge that Lake Erie is “impaired” by harmful algal blooms, the state was reluctant to take the next step toward cleanup. In 2019, we filed a second lawsuit, which also proved successful. In a new U.S. EPA consent decree, Ohio must develop a mandatory cap on algae-fueling nutrient pollution, known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). ELPC will continue to push for the strongest standards possible to protect clean water.

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** CONSIDER ELPC THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
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As you consider your end-of-year giving, please add a donation to ELPC to your list ([link removed]) . Because of your support, we have attorneys holding polluters accountable, advocates expanding clean energy, and a team of people protecting the Great Lakes and other special places across the Midwest.
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** NEWS & CONVERSATIONS WE'RE FOLLOWING
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* Circle of Blue: ([link removed]) Opposition to CAFOs Mounts Across the Nation
* KNIA-KRLS ([link removed]) : In Depth: Electric School Buses
* Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) : Columbia Gas Poised to Get Big Rate Increase
* Energy News Network ([link removed]) : Solar Coalition Wants to Put Equity Front and Center in Xcel’s Minnesota Rate Case
* Union of Concerned Scientists Blog ([link removed]) : How Will DTE’s Long-Term Plan Impact Michigan’s Clean Energy Future?
* Toledo Blade ([link removed]) : Ohio’s Proposed Transfer for Manure Oversight is Denied After 20-Year Debate
* New York Times ([link removed]) : With Federal Aid on the Table, Utilities Shift to Embrace Climate Goals
* NBC 15 ([link removed]) : Madison Amtrak Project Chugs Along, City Seeks Public Input
* News 5 Cleveland ([link removed]) : Northeast Ohio Consumers Share Concerns Over Proposed Columbia Gas Increase
* Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) : Farm Under County Scrutiny for Runoff Involved in State Program for Reducing Pollution
* WBEZ ([link removed]) : Biden Tightens Methane Emissions Rules, Even as the U.S. Pushes for More Oil Drilling
* Inside Climate News ([link removed]) : Four States Just Got a ‘Trifecta’ of Democratic Control, Paving the Way for Climate and Clean Energy Legislation

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** We're all in to protect the Midwest's environment.
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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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