“We’re not asking for anything radical. We’re really just asking that people can drink the water that’s coming out of their tap." —MEA client Katy Bailey

MEA attorneys will be in Ashland tomorrow for the first day of legal proceedings in our fight to block permits for new construction on Enbridge Line 5. Proceedings are expected to continue through the first week of October.

The ability to recover fees is vital for journalists and others who have to sue to obtain public records. A recent court decision affirmed that legal fees can be awarded even in cases where the records are turned over after a lawsuit has been filed but before a final decision is issued.

👏👏👏 This decision is a win for Wisconsin's environment. Committee vetoes can no longer be used to block vital environmental safeguards, as happened in 2020 to a DNR rule regulating the use of firefighting foam. That veto enabled Tyco to continue discharging toxic PFAS into local surface waters.

For more than four years, Midwest Environmental Advocates has been fighting to make sure Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce doesn’t succeed in gutting a bedrock environmental protection called the Spills Law. Our legal fight went all the way to the State Supreme Court, and today we won!

“I’m not suing because I want to. I’m suing because I have to. My health, my future, and my right to speak the truth are all on the line,” said Eva Lighthiser, age 19.

Today and tomorrow, the Bad River Band and its attorneys are presenting to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers their finding that the proposed Line 5 reroute threatens the Tribe's water quality and therefore violates the Clean Water Act. wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/05/13/b...

Midwest Environmental Advocates is proud to represent four community groups taking action to improve air quality in Beloit. We are calling on state regulators to deny a permit for a controversial gas plant expansion and to step up air pollution monitoring in the area.

What is the Trump administration telling young people by cutting climate research? It is saying: not only won’t we protect your future by addressing climate—we won’t even give you the tools to understand and adapt to the future that is ahead.

“On its face, all of this is totally illegal. Either the real lawyers have left the building or they just don’t care,” said Jody Freeman, the director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program.

The CDC lost roughly 2,500 workers on Tuesday, including everyone who worked for the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch in the agency’s National Center for Environmental Health. “We no longer have lead experts,” said one CDC employee.

Local residents are demanding more transparency from Enbridge about the Line 6 oil spill and why the company's initial report was so wildly inaccurate. Enbridge reported a two-gallon spill to the DNR on Nov. 11, only to revise the number to almost 70,000 gallons in December.

"We need to acknowledge the truth behind the public investment in our transportation system to ensure that it is working for the entire public, not just the driving public. Not everyone can or desires to drive—we need to invest in a system that will provide mobility options for all."

An order issued by Judge Angela Chaput Foy prevents Enbridge from moving forward with any construction-related activities while our legal action is pending.

There is a real, human cost to this delay. Thousands of Wisconsin families can't drink the water from their taps because it's polluted with PFAS. They deserve better than this.

Staff who’ve been put on leave supported tribes and state and local governments in solving some of our most complex health problems. They provided assistance to vulnerable communities and made sure that the federal government served everyone in our country.

The actions of the current administration are deeply troubling. They also serve as a reminder of why our work is more vital than ever.

Two exciting opportunities! SDRI advances research and dialogue on state-level democracy, government institutions and public law.

"You take for granted that you can drink the water out of your faucet. You can do that because of the EPA."

“The business community should support our work to provide safe water to residents...I’d be far more concerned about what it says about Wausau if we make ratepayers absorb the cost of complying with water standards while letting polluters off the hook." -City Council President Lisa Rasmussen

Eliminating public access to environmental health information will have serious consequences for communities that are disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change.