June 2007

Big News from MEA's Founder, Melissa Scanlan

Dear Friends and Colleagues,  

I'm excited to let you know about some big changes at Midwest Environmental Advocates that will mean increased capacity to promote environmental justice.   

Since 1999, Midwest Environmental Advocates has actively engaged communities across Wisconsin and  has achieved victories for clean air, water and government through lawsuits and advocacy.  As the only non-profit environmental law firm in the state,  Midwest Environmental Advocates serves as Wisconsin's private attorney general for the environment,  especially  as enforcement actions by state and federal agencies decline.  A recent report indicated a stunning 70% decrease in the number of  federal Justice Department lawsuits to enforce environmental laws - and Wisconsin's own Attorney General is now less focused on environmental enforcement.

 To build on our past successes, our board and staff have decided to significantly expand Midwest Environmental Advocates' operations to address the growing need for environmental enforcement and advocacy in the Midwest.  We've been particularly concerned with the lack of attention in the most populated part of Wisconsin, which suffers from high rates of poverty and environmental degradation. 

So after founding and serving as the Executive Director of Midwest Environmental Advocates for eight years, this August I will be moving my family to Milwaukee to expand Midwest Environmental Advocates' work with low-income communities and communities of color that live with greater water and air pollution.  I'm looking forward to spending more time on direct legal advocacy for environmental justice.   At the same time, we will be hiring another experienced environmental lawyer and nonprofit manager as the new Executive Director to take our growing organization to the next level.  We're currently working with a search firm to find the next Executive Director for our organization.  If you know potential candidates or are one, check out our position description  for more information. 

I hope you will celebrate this change, help us advertise the position, and - as always - call on us as your lawyers for the environment.

Melissa Scanlan

Steps Forward in the Fight for Clean Water

SUCCESS!  Midwest Environmental Advocates represented the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in a legal fight to ensure the Flambeau Mining Company did not leave Wisconsin with waters polluted by mining waste.  The parties settled the case with a stipulation that required the company to clean up a contaminated stream at the site and wait three years before applying for a Certificate of Completion of Reclamation.  The agreement also requires surface water, soil and sediment sampling and monitoring for the next five years.    Read the full story here.

Helping to Create a Sustainable Community in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

  In Sturgeon Bay, Staff Attorney Brent Denzin has been working with community residents and city officials to establish size caps and mandatory impact studies for big-box developments.  Last year, after receiving letters from Midwest Environmental Advocates and residents opposing big- box sprawl, the City Council unanimously rejected proposals to annex land for a Wal-Mart Supercenter.  This year, Brent led Sturgeon Bay officials on a tour of infill development and recommended changes to the big-box ordinance.  The City Council will soon vote on a big-box ordinance that would cap retail buildings at a fifty-thousand square feet footprint and a seventy-thousand square feet total area.   

Read more about the Sustaining Communities Campaign here.    

Fostering the Next Generation of Environmental Advocates

Midwest Environmental Advocates is glad t0 welcome our new Summer Advocates from law schools across the country.  Thomas Driscoll (left) is studying at the University of Toledo College of Law, Angela Streit (center) is studying at the University of St. Thomas Law School and Craig Sparks (right) is studying at Vermont Law School.  Working full-time at MEA this summer, the Summer Advocates directly assist with commenting on permits, developing legal arguments, brief writing and more.   

For more information on our Summer Advocate program or our semester externship and seminar for students at the UW law school click here.

Join our advocacy community by donating today.  Your donation will be a powerful statement of your commitment to public interest environmental law.  Your act of giving will help make environmental justice a reality.  You can donate by mail here or you can donate online with Community Shares.

551 W. Main Street, Suite 200, Madison, WI  53703, Telephone: 608.251.5047,  Fax: 608.268.0205

Email: advocate@midwestadvocates.org  Web: www.midwestadvocates.org

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