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Hoosier Environmental Council Moves to Prevent Sewage Treatment Delays in Hammond

Environmental organization says further delays to the Hammond Sanitary District project threaten the health of Little Calumet River and fail to comply with the Clean Water Act.

Indiana Senate Resolution to Recognize the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape Partnership

We thank Senator Greg Goode for introducing Senate Resolution 34: “A Senate Resolution recognizing the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape Partnership.” This resolution serves to increase awareness of the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape by acknowledging our partners, recognizing the economic impact of the military and agriculture, clarifying the need to protect open spaces, and commending the success of Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife Area. We look forward to working with Senator Goode and all of Indiana’s legislators to promote military protections through conservation.

Gary council blocks soil recycling facility

A company's bid to open a soil recycling facility on the corner of Clay Street and15th Avenue in Gary was blocked after it failed to secure majority support at the Gary Common Council's Tuesday meeting.

Gary council to vote on go-ahead for soil recycling plant

An industrial firm is seeking to bring a new soil recycling facility to the corner of Clay Street and 15th Avenue in Gary.

Town of Ogden Dunes Abandons Plan to Build a Stone Revetment Along Lake Michigan’s Shoreline

After nearly two years of hard-fought litigation brought by Save the Dunes, the Town of Ogden Dunes announced it has “abandoned [its] project” to build a massive stone revetment along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Save the Dunes’ lawsuit challenged a permit issued by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (“DNR”) to allow this project.

Advocates continue pushing back on AES discharges into White River near Martinsville

Hoosier Environmental Council is asking the Morgan County Circuit Court to overturn an administrative law judge’s order they say allows the utility to violate federal rules at Eagle Valley.

Legislation to Promote Prescribed Burning Signed by Governor Braun on May 2

A new law to expand Indiana’s prescribed fire capacity was signed by Gov. Mike Braun on April 30. The bill expands a prescribed fire training program administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The bill also defines the liability for those certified through the training program.

Evaluation of Existing Regulations Pursuant to Executive Order 25-38

Drawing a line in the sand: Ogden Dunes, state and federal agencies and preservation group differ

Indiana Environmental Group Sues the State for Allowing Powerplant to Keep Discharging its Coal Ash Laden Wastewater to the White River

Green Steel Committee hopes to clean up Region steelmaking

Local advocates are pressuring Northwest Indiana’s steel mills to adopt cleaner technologies and curb toxic emissions. They warn the mills are among the nation’s top sources of greenhouse gases and harmful air pollution.

New CAFO analysis tells us what we know and fear

A recent International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health report on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in the United States highlights a disturbing truth: large-scale industrial farming is poisoning our air, water and communities.

Gary officials, environmental group react to Fulcrum Bioenergy bankruptcy filing

Gary resident sues Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission over alleged statutory violations

A Gary resident is suing the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission over alleged violations of transparency rules, the eligibility of two of the body's members, and the commission's ongoing relationship with the company behind a controversial planned waste recycling facility in Gary.

Company behind planned trash-to fuel plant in Gary reportedly facing bankruptcy

California-based Fulcrum Bioenergy, the company behind controversial plans for a jet fuel making facility in Gary, is facing bankruptcy, according to a report by Bloomberg published on Tuesday. The outlet reported that nearly all of the company's roughly 100 employees had been laid off in mid-May and that most of the company's operations had been halted. Fulcrum's website is no longer functioning.

GARD seeks judicial review after judge dismisses Fulcrum Bioenergy complaint

The grassroots environmental group Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) is seeking judicial review of a complaint against the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) that was dismissed last month. In 2022, GARD filed a petition with the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication (OEA) in which it claimed that IDEM acted improperly when it granted a federally enforceable state operating permit (FESOP) to Fulcrum Bioenergy for a planned trash-to-fuel facility at Buffington Harbor earlier that year.

CLC Launches New Region-Focused Environmental Legal Aid Program

Interpreting the complex system of permits and standards that regulate the Region's many industries can be a daunting task. “You’ve got to be an environmental scientist or an engineer to respond to these permits," Gary resident Doreen Carey said during an October panel held at Indiana University Northwest.

Conservation Law Center Launches New Legal Aid Program To Advance Environmental Health And Equity In Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, And Whiting

CLC announces the launch of the organization’s Environmental Legal Aid Program to serve the environmental legal needs of local residents, advocates and community groups in Gary, Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago (“the Region”). The new program builds on CLC’s mission of providing free representation to environmental non-profits tackling critical environmental health and justice issues, as well conservation organizations engaged in protecting natural resources, water quality, and wildlife habitat.

Biodiversity Interview with Christian Freitag

Question: I know you have a background in land protection. Could you please share your insights on how the preservation of land, habitat, and species intersect?

Freitag: I’m a systems guy. The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone, as they say. You care about critters? Then save the places they need to live and eat and mate. You worry about how the critters will adapt to climate change? Connect the protected landscapes so they can move. And for heaven’s sake, take care of the water. Every life depends on it. But most importantly, understand that human beings are not separate from nature but instead a participant. As Jane Goodall says, you cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you, so decide what kind of impact that will be. What will your grandchildren say about your impact?

Community-Centered Conservation Interview with Kim Ferraro

Kim E. Ferraro is the Senior Attorney at the Conservation Law Center, known for her pivotal role in securing landmark legal victories for environmental protection during her tenure with the Hoosier Environmental Council. Kim’s achievements include halting threats posed by factory farms, compelling cleanups of industrial waste sites, and preventing the construction of hazardous industries near critical natural areas and marginalized communities, demonstrating her commitment to conservation, and addressing environmental injustice.

Interview with Kacey Cook, Constance and Terry Marbach Conservation Attorney

Kacey’s career path in environmental law was charted during her time as a student in CLC’s Conservation Law Clinic at the IU Maurer School of Law. After graduating, Kacey served as Policy Specialist and Staff Attorney at Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in Northern Michigan, where she collaborated with local communities to protect the area’s abundant freshwater resources. In 2022, she was invited to return to CLC, this time as the Constance and Terry Marbach Conservation Attorney.

Lake Superior Spaceport Plans Are Defeated

We are pleased to announce that the Powell Township Board has enacted an official “RESOLUTION” rejecting the plan by the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association (MAMA) to rezone Granot Loma to build an industrial rocket launch site, finding under the Township Zoning Ordinance that it:

Macaw Recovery Network secures habitat for critically endangered Great Green Macaw

Macaw Recovery Network announces its first land purchase toward the restoration of habitat for the critically endangered Great Green Macaw. Its purchase of La Peninsula in northern Costa Rica will help save not only this magnificent bird but all forest wildlife that share its habitat.

Gary citizen group fights back against Fulcrum harassment

Gary, IN - - In an ongoing challenge to Fulcrum Centerpoint’s air pollution permit, Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) is asking the administrative law judge overseeing the case to put an end to Fulcrum’s harassing litigation conduct. Fulcrum, a large California corporation wants to build what it calls a “biorefinery” that will “gasify” garbage and turn it into a sustainable source of jet fuel. GARD appealed Fulcrum’s air permit out of concern that the planned operation will add even more toxic air emissions to Gary’s already unhealthy air.

Public interest vs. private homes: Climate change and erosion fuel disputes along Lake Michigan’s shoreline

Swimmers at Ogden Dunes enjoy a dip in Lake Michigan on New Year's Day. Doug Ross, The Times

Possible Ogden Dunes revetment sparks debate

ODGEN DUNES — The possible construction of an armor stone revetment in Ogden Dunes has been challenged by the non-profit group Save the Dunes. The organization filed an administrative appeal June 19 after the Indiana Department of Natural Resources approved Ogden-Dunes' request for a 2,970-foot-long, 10-foot-wide revetment along Lake Michigan’s lakeshore, according to a statement from Save the Dunes.

Environmentalists oppose extension of Ogden Dunes revetment along Lake Michigan shoreline

A little more than three years ago, Lake Michigan was at its highest level in more than 30 years, and waves dashed up against the sheet steel piling that lakefront homeowners in the town of Ogden Dunes had installed in the 1980s and 1990s. Worried that the piling was vulnerable and their homes were in danger, the town petitioned for permission to install a revetment — a layer of large, interlocking boulders along the shoreline — to protect their homes.

Save the Dunes Challenges State Approval of an Armor Stone Revetment Along the Lake Michigan Shoreline for Violating the Public Trust

(Ogden Dunes, IN)- Save the Dunes filed an administrative appeal on Monday with the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. The appeal challenges the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ (“DNR”) approval of the Town of Ogden Dunes’ proposal to build a 2,970-foot-long, 10-foot-wide, armor stone revetment along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Save the Dunes is represented in the case by the Conservation Law Center, a public interest environmental law firm that also runs the Conservation Law Clinic at Indiana University Mauer School of Law.

Critics: Regulatory ‘shell game’ allows AES to dump harmful coal ash pollution in White River

The state is allowing AES Indiana to dump more than 1 million gallons of water contaminated with harmful coal ash pollutants directly into the White River every day, according to Indiana environmental groups who call the approval process a "contradictory shell game." 

State is letting AES Indiana discharge toxic water into White River, group says

An Indiana environmental group says the state is allowingutility AES Indiana to release more than 1 million gallons ofcontaminated water a day into the White River from coalash ponds at its Eagle Valley Generating Station inMartinsville in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

Gas plant could be sending coal ash contaminated water into the White River

The Eagle Valley natural gas plant in Martinsville is using water that could be contaminated with toxic coal ash to cool the plant and then putting it back into the White River. The Hoosier Environmental Council said that violates federal coal ash rules. The group is challenging the state’s decision to reissue Eagle Valley’s wastewater permit.

Indiana Environmental Group Challenges State Permit Allowing Releases of Coal Ash Waste into the White River

(MARTINSVILLE, IN)- The Hoosier Environmental Council (“HEC”) filed an administrative appeal on Monday with the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication (“OEA”). The appeal challenges a water permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (“IDEM”) that allows the Eagle Valley Generating Station—an AES-owned powerplant in Martinsville—to discharge toxic contaminants from its leaking coal ash ponds directly into the West Fork of the White River.
Child fishes at Beaver Lake

District court rules against CAFO, Corps

A ditch system dug nearly 100 years ago to drain Beaver Lake, formerly the largest natural lake in Indiana, is at the center of a legal battle between a 4,350-dairy cow CAFO and the neighboring Newton County residents.

The United States Supreme Court Denies Cert. in Pavlock v. Holcomb

On October 31st, the US Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari filed by private landowners in the Pavlock case, declining to consider the legal questions posed by petitioners and to require further consideration by the 7th Circuit.

From class actions to classrooms: Ferraro adding teaching experience to resume as public interest attorney

Environmental law attorney Kim Ferraro might have only been half-joking when she claimed that if she had known at the start of her career what she knows now, she probably would have chosen a different practice area.

Long-time HEC Attorney Kim Ferraro Joining Legal Team at Conservation Law Center

Today, the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) wishes a warm farewell and many thanks to its long-time Senior Attorney, Kim Ferraro, who is leaving HEC after 11 years to become the Senior Staff Attorney at the Conservation Law Center (CLC), effective August 1st.

Professor Jeff Hyman’s Last Semester with the Conservation Law Clinic

Spring 2022 will be Professor Jeff Hyman’s final semester teaching the Conservation Law Clinic through Indiana University Maurer School of Law.  Jeff has taught over 150 law students throughout his tenure with CLC, many of whom have gone on to practice environmental law as a career.  It is safe to say he had high expectations of his students and held them to a high standard, but he also met them with honesty and respect. Clinic students have been fortunate to learn both the practice of law as well as specific areas of environmental law from such an experienced professional.  Jeff will be missed!

Conservation Law Center names Megan Freveletti as first Nancy C. Ralston Conservation Fellow

The Conservation Law Center is excited to announce the creation of a new position—the Nancy C. Ralston Conservation Law Fellowship. Through a nation-wide search, Megan Freveletti has been selected to start in August 2022. The fellowship will cover a broad spectrum of responsibilities including litigation-related research, land protection transactions, advising conservation clients, policy analysis, and outreach.    

A Win for Wetlands!

In 2020, Conservation Law Center partnered with Hoosier Environmental Council and the Indiana Audubon Society in a suit against Natural Prairie and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Contrary to its name, Natural Prairie is a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) with over 4300 cows in the bed of the former Beaver Lake, once the largest natural lake in Indiana. Beaver Lake was part of the Grand Kankakee Marsh, at one point the country’s largest inland wetland, and this property sits adjacent to the Kankakee Sands, owned and managed as tallgrass prairie by The Nature Conservancy. This procedural win in the US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana requires the US Army Corps of Engineers to go back and reassess its jurisdiction over these important wetlands. CLC is proud to partner with HEC and Indiana Audubon to protect this ecologically and historically important natural area.  

Federal court tosses finding that Clean Water Act does not apply to Newton County CAFO

Finding the Army Corps of Engineers did not follow its own guidance and procedures, the Northern Indiana District Court has thrown out the Corps’ decision that a concentrated animal feeding operation built on a former wetland in Newton County is not under federal regulation.
Macaw

CLC coauthors report on threats to survival of endangered Costa Rican Great Green Macaw

This report, requested by the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN), details the ways in which the rapidly growing pineapple industry in Costa Rica threatens the survival of the Great Green Macaw, an already endangered species. It specifically examines the impacts of the pineapple industry on the environment, labor rights, and public health. It also provides overviews of several initiatives aimed at amending the pineapple industry and offers suggestions for enhancing Great Green Macaw conservation efforts. Finally, the report outlines potential next steps for continued research that may be helpful to MRN’s conservation efforts.
Water and Quality of Life In Indiana Report Cover

Water and Quality of Life in Indiana

The Teddy Bears of the Bee World Are Endangered

Due to loss of habitat, disease, pesticides, and climate change, the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, Bombus affinis, has been classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These insects are home in grasslands and prairies, but much of this land has been lost, degraded, or fragmented in recent years. Among these various threats, climate change is one of the biggest.

The Promise of Protecting Land Forever

Land conservation has always been one of Conservation Law Center’s focus areas. With a combined 60 years of experience, Christian Freitag, our Executive Director, and Bill Weeks, our Board Chair and Founder, have continually improved our legal support of land trusts, helping them do their work better and faster.

Thank you Herbert Simon Family Foundation

We continue to work on solutions to Indiana’s water quality challenges thanks to a generous gift of $40,000 from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation.

The Public Trust Battle Continues

In our landmark case, Gunderson v. Indiana, CLC represented the environmental groups Save the Dunes and Alliance for the Great Lakes through the Trial Court, the Indiana Court of Appeals, and the Indiana Supreme Court, and through our opponents’  unsuccessful petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. CLC was a major driving force defending Indiana’s ownership of its Lake Michigan shore and the public’s right to enjoy it.

The Great Green Macaw

Macaws are some of the most beautiful birds in the world, and among the most threatened. Great Green Macaws are a particular concern to conservationists right now, due to pressures from habitat loss and the pet trade in Central America. As part of its conservation mission, the Indianapolis Zoo has supported the Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica.

Center Helps Protect First ACEP Farmland Easement at Indiana Land Trust

George Rogers Clark Land Trust and the Center made history with the closing on Indiana’s first farmland easement under the USDA’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.

Indiana easement signing a historic event

Harrison County agreement marks the first use of the federal agricultural land easement component in Indiana.

Center Continues to Defend Clean Air, Protect Nearby Residents from Cement Plant

Conservation Law Center and Earthjustice, working in collaboration to represent the Sierra Club, have prevailed in the case of Essroc Cement Corp. v. Clark County Bd. of Zoning Appeals &  Sierra Club. Essroc had sued the Clark County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) in an attempt to overturn the BZA’s denial of Essroc’s plan to burn hazardous wastes as a fuel for its cement plant.

Supreme Court stands with conservation groups in Lake Michigan beach access case

U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Hear Lake Michigan Public Trust Case

Is your right to access Indiana’s Lake Michigan shoreline a national concern? On October 5th, the US Supreme Court was asked to decide if it would consider the issue of the boundary of public rights on the shoreline. Their answer could set a national precedent.

Conservation and Common Wealth

On March 2, CLC Director Bill Weeks delivered the Carlson Lecture at Indiana University School of Public Health.

Did you see us at PIELC?

Last week, Sr. Attorney Jeff Hyman presented two panels at the Public Interest and Environmental Law Conference in Oregon. The two panels are described below. 

Landmark Public Trust Case a Major Win for Hoosiers

The Conservation Law Center, with attorney Jeff Hyman leading the litigation, represented environmental groups Alliance for the Great Lakes and Save the Dunes in a bid to protect the public’s right to use the Lake Michigan shore as public land.

Advocacy group seeks protection of Indiana’s water resources

Carol Kugler, a reporter for The Herald-Times in Bloomington, IN, attended CLC's recent presentation at Green Drinks Bloomington.

Intervention Granted on Essroc Cement Corp. v. Clark County Board of Zoning Appeals

The Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice and Conservation Law Center, has been granted intervention in a trial court proceeding in which the right to burn hazardous waste near homes and schools is being disputed.

What the Appelate Court’s Ruling Means for The Public Trust

On December 7th, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline is held in trust for the public up to the ordinary high-water mark. The opinion, setting an important precedent, recognizes the public trust in Indiana.

A Win for the Public Trust

The Public Trust Doctrine grants access to use the land between the low and high water marks of Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline.

Clear-Cut Victory for White River Corridor

Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of White River (FOWR), the banks along a stretch of riparian corridor in Warfleigh and Broad Ripple will retain vegetation originally slated for removal.

CLC Saves 22% of Trees from Extensive Clearing on the White River in Settlement

For a good portion of the year, CLC has been representing Friends of the White River in a Tree Clearing Settlement Agreement with the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to ensure that the proposed tree clearing on the Indianapolis banks of the White River represents the community as well as the safety concerns it addresses.

A Win for the Indiana Bat: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Requires Analysis of Greater Protections for Endangered Species Impacted By Wind Energy Development

In an important decision, the court has ruled for the bats, setting a precedent which will mean more careful consideration of the environmental impacts of all federal decisions.

CLC Urges Greater Protections for Birds and Bats From Wind Turbines in the Midwest

The CLC is continuing its efforts to promote responsible wind energy development. Wind turbines can kill many birds and bats, including federally protected species, and can destroy important wildlife habitat. Properly locating and operating turbines can drastically reduce these deaths. CLC attorneys submitted comments on a proposed multi-state wind power plan urging increased protections for birds and bats impacted by the proposed action. We collaborated with American Bird Conservancy, the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, and Union Neighbors United.

CLC Urges Federal Government to Hold Coal Companies Responsible for Clean-Up Costs in Future

Peter Murrey and the CLC recently submitted comments on behalf of the Hoosier Environmental Council encouraging stricter oversight of bankrupt coal companies. We urged the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) to develop regulations requiring insolvent and nearly insolvent corporations to post bonds covering clean-up costs, instead of merely making promises they may never fulfill.

CLC’s comments on FWS mitigation policy aim to better protect species and habitats

Peter Murrey, Jeff Hyman, and CLC submitted comments on the new Fish and Wildlife Service mitigation policy, urging for more accountability and better protections for threatened species and habitats. This article sums up the proposed mitigation policy and our suggestions for improving it.

Still Hanging On: The Endangered Indiana Bat

Jeff Hyman, Bill Weeks, and CLC are embarking on our second year arguing tor sufficient protection of the Endangered Indiana Bat from Wind Turbines. This article sums up our research and describes a possible solution to reduce the impact of increased wind energy on the Indiana Bat and other bat and bird species.

The Flow of the Conservation River

Conservation is an objective, not itself a science. And it is a human objective, at that. But the definition and achievement of the objective requires the appreciation of at least biological, ecological, geological, and climatological sciences, to say nothing of the law and various of the political, economic and social sciences. The demands are as encompassing as the life conservation is designed to addressed. And the objective—the kind of world we and our descendants will live in—is of similarly broad concern.

Indiana Court Recognizes Public Right to Walk and Sunbathe on Lake Michigan Shore

This July, La Porte County Judge Richard R. Stalbrink ruled that Indiana holds the state’s Lake Michigan shore in trust for public uses, including swimming, sunbathing, and other recreational activities. The decision, Gunderson v. State, No. 46D02-1401-PL-606 (LaPorte Super. Ct. 2 July 24, 2015) establishes that citizens’ rights extend beyond the water to an administratively established boundary on the shore, regardless of beach ownership.

CLC Submitted Comments on Proposed Stream Protection Rule

On October 26, the CLC submitted comments on the Office of Surface Mining’s proposed Stream Protection Rule on behalf of the Hoosier Environmental Council.

Director Bill Weeks Named Chair of American Bar Association Task Force on Conservation Easement Law

Conservation Law Center Director Bill Weeks has been named Chair of an American Bar Association Task Force on Conservation Easement Law. Under the auspices of the Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law Section, the Task Force will work over the next year to develop recommendations for improving the clarity of applicable federal tax law, and the enhancing the conservation results achieved.

CLC Challenges Indiana DNR’s Authorization to Destroy Mature Hardwood Forest and Habitat Along the White River Levee

On behalf of Friends of the White River, CLC has challenged the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ decision to authorize the permanent destruction of more than seven acres of mature hardwood forest and other high-quality riparian habitat along Indianapolis’s White River levee.

CLC Supports Additional Habitat Protection for Endangered Killer Whales

On July 6, CLC joined a coalition of environmental organizations to send a letter urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to take immediate action to conserve the endangered Southern Resident population of killer whales. After several drastic declines, only approximately 81 of these animals remain in the wild. Recent government research reveals that a variety of human activities threaten the killer whales year-round, but only the population's summer habitat in Puget Sound currently receives federal protection.

CLC Working for Friends of the White River to Protect River Corridor

The Conservation Law Center is representing Friends of the White River in contesting a plan to strip vegetation in the White River corridor from Broad Ripple to Kessler in Indianapolis.

CLC Represents Hoosier Environmental Council as Friend of the Court in Deer Shooting “Preserve” Case

The Indiana Supreme Court has granted CLC's request for leave to file a friend of the court brief on behalf of the Hoosier Environmental Council.

Protecting the Endangered Indiana Bat

We are arguing in court that the endangered Indiana bat deserves more protection than it is getting in the process for approving wind energy installations. We came across a study that concluded that the protections we would like to see implemented will cost about 1 percent of the power the wind turbines can generate. Wind turbines produce relatively little power from gentle breezes. Bats, on the other hand, avoid flying when the wind blows at the speed it takes to generate wind power efficiently.

Good News on the Lake Michigan Shore

The Center has been representing the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Save the Dunes in a lawsuit in which certain owners of lakeside property claim ownership of the beach of Lake Michigan right down to the water's edge.

CLC Defending Public Rights to Lake Michigan Shore

CLC is representing the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Save the Dunes in litigation over the application of the public trust and the boundary of the State of Indiana's ownership of the shore of Lake Michigan. The lawsuit began when certain owners of lakeside property sued the Town of Long Beach, claiming a town resolution interfered with their rights. The complaint asks the court to declare that there is no public right in the shore landward of the water's edge. CLC’s clients believe that the conservation interest in the lakeshore will be best served by defending the claim of public rights in the shoreland.

CLC Files Friend of Court Brief for American Bird Conservancy

On behalf of the American Bird Conservancy, the Conservation Law Center filed an amicus curiae — a friend of the court — brief in a dispute over the approval of the construction of wind turbines in Nantucket Sound.

CLC Comments on the Draft Upper Great Plains Wind Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

The CLC has submitted comments (together with American Bird Conservancy) on the Draft Upper Great Plains Wind Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).

CLC Comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Beech Ridge Energy’s Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and the Service’s associated Draft Environmental Impact Statement

The CLC recently submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Beech Ridge Energy's Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and the Service’s associated Draft Environmental Impact Statement. BRE's 66-turbine wind facility in West Virginia currently operates under a court-ordered restricted schedule. 

CLC Comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Buckeye Wind LLC’s application for an Incidental Take Permit

The CLC submitted comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Buckeye Wind LLC's application for an Incidental Take Permit for the federally endangered Indiana Bat.

CLC Amicus Brief Filed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Florida Panther Case

The CLC recently submitted an amicus curiae brief for the consideration of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Conservancy of Southwest Florida v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The case involves the petition of a group of environmental organizations requesting the USFWS to designate critical habitat for the federally endangered Florida panther. 

CLC Represents Clients in Oral Argument at the Indiana Supreme Court

The CLC's Jeff Hyman represented three Indiana environmental groups in oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday, March 15, in a case that will have repercussions for advocacy organizations throughout Indiana.

Great Plains Wind Corridor Comments

The CLC, in collaboration with American Bird Conservancy (ABC), recently submitted comments on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's initial plan to fast-track wind energy projects within a 200-mile-wide corridor through the Great Plains from Canada to the Texas coast.

CLC Prevails in IKEC v Citizens Groups; IKEC Appeals

The Conservation Law Center is representing three Indiana environmental groups in litigation filed by the Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation (IKEC), the operators of the Clifty Creek power station in southern Indiana.

Litigator of the Year Award Bestowed on CLC Staff Attorney Jeffrey B. Hyman by HEC

CLC Staff Attorney, Jeffrey B. Hyman, has been named the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) "Litigator of the Year" for his talents and dedication, especially in regards to the IKEC v. Citizens Groups case.

CLC Assists Save The River in Filing Rulemaking Petition; NY DEC Joins the Filing

On February 5, 2010, Save the River (STR) filed a rulemaking petition with the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC).

Ensuring Responsible and Environmentally Sensitive Development of Renewable Energy

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are critical components of our national strategy to fend off climate change, reduce pollution, and promote energy independence.

CAFO Rulemaking

Indiana's Hoosier Environmental Council has asked for CLC's help in advancing their interests in an upcoming rulemaking that will change the way Confined Animal Feeding Operations -- or factory farms -- are regulated.

Antidegradation Rulemaking

CLC attorneys and Clinic interns continue the CLC's multiyear involvement in Indiana's antidegradation rulemaking on behalf of client Alliance for the Great Lakes.
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