Environmental Law & Policy

We show that environmental progress and economic development can be achieved together by putting sustainability principles into practice. We advance climate solutions effectively by accelerating clean renewable energy alternatives to conventional power plants and advancing clean transportation solutions. We protect the Great Lakes and defend the Midwest's wild and natural places, and we fight for safe, clean water and healthy clean air for all. We combine effective public interest litigation with strategic policy advocacy, sound science, and economic analysis.

About one-third of our nation's carbon pollution comes from generating electric power. How we produce that power, and how much we generate, has a profound impact on our environment and our economy. ELPC is helping the Midwest unlock the power of renewable energy, use energy more wisely, and reduce pollution. ELPC has helped to streamline interconnection standards in states across the region, making it easier to connect renewable energy to the grid safely and reliably. By reducing bureaucratic paperwork, we can make renewable development less expensive and less difficult to complete.

ELPC attorneys and advocates implement, enforce, and defend the Clean Air Act. We work to reduce pollutants like smog, mercury, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases that harm human health and wildlife. We partner with community groups, providing technical tools and training to monitor air quality. We bring legal firepower to clean up toxic hotspots and hold polluters accountable. And we work with legislators to improve clean air laws and regulatory standards. The greatest long-term impact of the settlement for the health of Central Illinois residents is that the E.D. Edwards plant will close by the end of 2022.