Southern Environmental Law Center

Great news for clean energy access in Virginia. Dominion Energy has expanded its shared solar program to 200 megawatts. The change prompted by a June memo from the State Corporation Commission went into effect on July 1. Josephus Allmond in our Virginia office expressed excitement that the new laws require state regulators consider the ”benefits of shared solar to the electric grid and to the Commonwealth” when determining the minimum monthly bill for program participants. The SCC previously established a $55 minimum bill for Dominion’s program. “Having to pay that $55 a month to Dominion still, along with your subscription fee to the solar organization that’s building the shared solar facility, those two things add up to being more expensive than just remaining a normal Dominion customer." -Josephus Allmond, SELC staff attorney. https://lnkd.in/eKxhwzkU

The role of judges is to interpret the law, not to shape it. SELC President and Executive Director DJ Gerken weighed in on NPR’s Morning Edition about the impact judges have on our environmental laws in the face of climate change, especially given the emphasis, in recent years, on “a partisan take rather than qualifications and experience,” when it comes to judicial appointments. “I’m not so much worried about the political background of judges, I do think we need a Supreme Court, appellate courts, trial courts that respect the law and respect the facts…” - DJ Gerken, SELC President and Executive Director. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/eVSUrCF2 #EnvironmentaLaw #SupremeCourt #SCOTUS #LegalSystem

From power plants to our public lands, the decisions we make over the next five years will impact not only us, but future generations. Join us on Wednesday, July 31 at 12:30 p.m. ET to hear from SELC experts about the environmental challenges we face and how we can ensure we make the right choices at this critical moment. SPEAKERS: DJ Gerken, Executive Director Amanda Garcia, Senior Attorney Megan Hinkle Huynh Huynh, Senior Attorney Alys Campaigne, Climate Initiative Leader From utilities locking us into fossil fuels through a methane gas grab to the chance to save natural treasures like the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, learn what we are doing to block bad decisions and drive smarter solutions in the South Register: https://lnkd.in/ePZAaJ9J #Webinar #ClimateChange #EnvironmentalLaw #Conservation #EnvironmentalJustice

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, EVs qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 to make EVs even more affordable. But this week, some members of Congress have threatened to dismantle the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit. Learn more about how the South is going electric to clean our air, fight climate change, and save drivers money on gas: https://selc.link/3Yg31RN #ElectricVehicles #EVs #Transportation #ClimateChange

VICTORY: Thanks to a lawsuit from SELC and a coalition of conservation groups, the U.S. Forest Service scrapped plans to recklessly log an important area of N.C.’s Nantahala National Forest.  Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e92UJsbz

VICTORY: Thanks to a lawsuit from the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of a coalition of conservation groups, the U.S. Forest Service scrapped plans to recklessly log an important area of North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest.  The ecologically important area sits above stunning waterfalls, boasts towering trees, and shelters rare plants in a unique, wet microclimate. As a result of our challenge to this harmful plan, U.S. Forest Service opted to abandon the logging proposal. “We have been pointing out problems with the agency’s logging plans for this area for years. It’s a shame we had to take the Forest Service to court to achieve this outcome, but we’re glad this incredible place is no longer on the chopping block,” - Patrick Hunter, Managing Attorney of SELC’s Asheville Office. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e92UJsbz Photo by Will Harlan/Center for Biological Diversity

It’s been an infuriating Supreme Court term for those of us who care about environmental progress. The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority handed win after win in radical test cases designed to destabilize the foundation of administrative law, jeopardizing longstanding protections clean air, clean water, and other environmental safeguards. The joint cases of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce empowered federal judges to second guess agency experts whenever they can ferret out legal ambiguity. This reversal of the Chevron doctrine, in place for nearly 40 years, sidelines experienced professionals, and shifts power to judges who lack the expertise of staff who live and breathe the science, financial principles, and safety concerns that federal agencies specialize in. Another damaging blow followed in last week’s decision in Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System upended existing deadlines for challenging many government regulations. Together these decisions invite hundreds of new challenges aimed at reversing long-established protections we all take for granted. These deregulatory rulings tipped the balance of power away from everyday Americans who depend on commonsense protections to polluters and commercial interests that prioritize profit over public health and the environment. In the chaotic aftermath, SELC and our partner organizations will be an essential counterbalance to this assault on the laws that protect our communities and our environment. We are ready. We have been working with agencies to make sure their regulations are as well-supported and durable as possible. And as always, we’ll keep fighting in courts, legislative bodies, and local town halls across the South against any efforts to throw out the critical environmental protections we all depend on. As our Litigation Director Kym Meyer shared with reporters after the decisions, “With so much at stake, and an avalanche of litigation likely to follow, SELC and our team of litigators stand ready to fight back. We will step in where needed to defend the well-reasoned regulations our government has set in place over decades to protect the environment and people in the South.” At SELC, we are taking a stand to defend the integrity of our legal system and the bedrock environmental laws that protect our southern communities. Learn about the work we are doing in the South and beyond here at Southern Environmental Law Center at SouthernEnvironment.org #SupremeCourt #SCOTUS #EnvironmentalLaw

When Twin Pines Minerals LLC first proposed mining adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in 2019, they had to get approval from the federal government. After Trump-era rollbacks and a U.S. Supreme Court decision eliminated federal water protections for the first phase of the proposed mine, Georgia regulators are on a path towards permitting one of its first controversial and technically challenging wetlands projects without the applicant passing federal muster first. Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has asserted its reserved water rights to stop this reckless plan to mine on the doorstep of the wildlife refuge. Learn more:  https://lnkd.in/etuR4Khb Photo by: Julie Dermansky

Richmond, Virginia is one of the areas making innovative transportation choices to take Southerners farther — and often faster — than ever before, while curbing pollution. In 2018, the Richmond region completely revamped its existing bus routes and launched its first express bus — the Pulse. The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) went fare-free during the pandemic, a model that continues today. With an expanded, more efficient, and fare-free system, combined with some transit-friendly land use changes, more people are choosing public transit and ridership rose another 14 percent in just the past year. Projects like the Pulse can help revitalize economically distressed neighborhoods and significantly expand the range of job opportunities for people by increasing where they can get to within a reasonable commute time. “What Richmond has done is a model that can be replicated in other places, and a reminder that transit can work well in the South,” -Trip Pollard, SELC’s Land and Community Program Leader Learn More: https://lnkd.in/eZqb28Zg

BREAKING: We just sued a carpet manufacturer in Columbia, South Carolina over illegal and harmful PFAS pollution on behalf of Congaree Riverkeeper. By discharging PFAS into the Lower Saluda River without a permit, Shaw Industries threatens the river’s wildlife and the drinking water source for West Columbia and Cayce. “Shaw is polluting a scenic trout fishery and drinking water source for thousands of South Carolinians with highly toxic PFAS chemicals,” said Carl Brzorad, SELC Senior Associate Attorney. “The case we filed today seeks to stop this unlawful pollution.” Often called “forever chemicals,” PFAS do not break down in the environment and can build up in the bodies of exposed people and fish. PFAS can be harmful at extremely low levels and have been linked to cancers and other serious illnesses. The lawsuit in federal court comes after a March letter notifying Shaw of SELC’s intent to sue over the pollution. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e9h6HB2c