Programs

ENVIRONMENTAL CAUCUSES PLANNED ACROSS IOWA

Environmental caucuses took place across Iowa in December to bring a grassroots voice on environmental and public health concerns to state and national leaders. In the run-up to the presidential caucuses and the start of the 2008 legislative session, Iowa is ripe for a serious dialogue about how to organize on the local level to achieve big goals on clean air and water as well as tackling local concerns like lead paint and contaminated industrial sites. Many people who don’t consider themselves environmentalists have concerns about everything from their drinking water to global warming. This is an opportunity for people of diverse backgrounds to come together around the environmental issues that affect our daily lives. This a non-partisan event organized by Plains Justice, Iowa’s only public interest environmental law center, and many community volunteers.

For more information, or if transportation is needed, contact Plains Justice at 319-362-2120 or jiduax at plainsjustice dot org Caucuses currently scheduled are:

February 27, 2008: Des Moines, 6:30 pm, Polk County Senior Center

Energy Policy Advocacy

Plains Justice President Carrie La Seur is a gubernatorial appointee to the newly created Iowa Power Fund Board, a state entity charged with investing $100 million over the next four years to develop a clean energy economy in Iowa. In this capacity she helped draft the state’s Energy Independence Plan and will continue to work with state officials to shape Iowa’s investment in a truly clean and healthy energy economy.
Plains Justice recently produced a report for partner organizations identifying the key leverage points in Iowa state government for progress on renewable energy and energy efficiency policy and action to curtail global warming. Iowa advocates, including Plains Justice, will rely on this report in the coming year to build consensus around a new sustainable energy future for Iowa. Plains Justice also provides counsel to several state organizations that pursue clean energy policy before utility regulatory bodies.

Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System

Plains Justice has provided counsel to a task force of five states and one Canadian province on a system to track renewable energy credits in the service area covered generally by the Midwest Independent System Operator. This system, now fully operational, makes renewable energy more profitable by creating verified credits for every megawatt of renewable electricity produced by a user.

Coal Plant Challenge Advocacy

A massive wave of new coal plant development is sweeping the U.S. because of the high cost of natural gas - the power plant fuel of choice up until around 2002 - and because of the looming prospect of carbon regulation. Across the Northern Plains, thousands of megawatts of new coal electrical generation are under construction or proposed. Although the Clean Air Act requires new plants to employ “Best Available Control Technology” to minimize pollutants, these plants will still be major sources of mercury and other toxic heavy metals, airborne soot, and other harmful pollutants. Studies show that African Americans and other minorities are far more likely than white Americans to live within a distance of coal-fired power plants at which health impacts are the worst. Coal combustion is also one of the biggest drivers of global warming, which also impacts indigenous, minority, and impoverished communities disproportionately.
Plains Justice is working actively with several regional and national organizations to challenge coal plant siting in Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota. We comment on draft permits, provide counsel and training to local residents and advocates involved in the agency public participation process, and advise landowners on how to organize against strong-arm tactics by coal developers. For plant proposals that go forward, Plains Justice pushes for the most protective air emission permits possible and monitors compliance with existing permits. Plains Justice currently represents five Iowa nonprofit organizations opposed to Alliant Energy’s proposed Marshalltown 660MW coal plant, in a proceeding before the Iowa Utilities Board. The hearing is scheduled to begin January 14, 2008.

Coal Combustion Waste/Landfills

In 1980, Congress directed EPA to report on what regulations would be appropriate for coal combustion waste, the heavy-metal laden by-product of coal-fired power plants. Twenty-seven years later, EPA has concluded that regulation is needed, but has failed to create regulations and is seriously considering an industry proposal for unenforceable voluntary management practices. A 5-year-old study by Hoosier Environmental Council shows that many midwestern coal combustion waste disposal sites lack basic groundwater protections, putting drinking water at risk for arsenic and other contamination. On January 31, 2007, a coalition of over 20 organizations, including Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and Clean Air Task Force, submitted a proposal to EPA for improved coal combustion waste regulation. Plains Justice recently published its own study evaluating the quality of Iowa’s coal combustion waste disposal monitoring and enforcement in anticipation of a call for improved state regulation.

Water Quality

Plains Justice was recently retained by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) and the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) to represent them in their petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for removal of Iowa’s delegated authority to enforce the Clean Water Act. The petition alleges inadequate Clean Water Act regulation and enforcement at the state level and asks EPA to take over permitting and enforcement in place of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Plains Justice is now meeting with EPA and DNR representatives to push for a package of statutory and regulatory reform in 2008, to bring Iowa into full compliance with the Clean Water Act.

Wind Development

Plains Justice is about solutions that bring the greatest good to the whole community. To promote the development of renewable energy resources as an alternative to coal-fired, greenhouse-gas intensive electrical generation, we provide cost-effective legal services for private and public wind development.