Southern Environmental Law Center
Programs
Budget
$4,465,900.00
Description
SELC is pushing hard on TVA to jumpstart the clean energy revolution in Tennessee. Sixty miles northwest of Nashville, the utility wants to replace the Cumberland coal-fired power plant with a fossil fuel burning natural gas plant, and in Humphreys County, TVA has decided to build a new gas-powered peaker plant. These plans directly conflict with executive orders directing federal agencies to take a leadership role in decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. At Cumberland, SELC is using the National Environmental Policy Act review process to press TVA to adopt a clean energy mix of efficiency, solar, and storage instead. When TVA approved the new 550-megawatt combustion turbines in Humphreys County, SELC challenged the decision in federal court in Nashville. Our case is in the preliminary stages. (Note: the budget amount listed reflects all of SELC's work in the state of Tennessee).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$4,465,900.00
Description
SELC is pushing hard on TVA to jumpstart the clean energy revolution in Tennessee. Sixty miles northwest of Nashville, the utility wants to replace the Cumberland coal-fired power plant with a fossil fuel burning natural gas plant, and in Humphreys County, TVA has decided to build a new gas-powered peaker plant. These plans directly conflict with executive orders directing federal agencies to take a leadership role in decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. At Cumberland, SELC is using the National Environmental Policy Act review process to press TVA to adopt a clean energy mix of efficiency, solar, and storage instead. When TVA approved the new 550-megawatt combustion turbines in Humphreys County, SELC challenged the decision in federal court in Nashville. Our case is in the preliminary stages. (Note: the budget amount listed reflects all of SELC's work in the state of Tennessee).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
Budget
$4,465,900.00
Description
SELC is also fighting TVA's history of choosing fossil fuel power while hiding its decision-making process from the public. Heavily-redacted public documents suggest that-at Cumberland (and also Kingston)-TVA has already committed unlawfully to purchasing gas for unbuilt new fossil fuel plants before completing mandated federal environmental reviews of alternatives. After our lawsuit, the utility released more information, but TVA continues to hide the ball. We are now in federal court pushing for the release of documents illuminating how the utility justifies its fossil fuel buildout in light of federal executive orders directing a zero carbon power sector by 2035. (Note: the budget amount listed reflects all of SELC's work in the state of Tennessee).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$4,465,900.00
Description
SELC is also fighting TVA's history of choosing fossil fuel power while hiding its decision-making process from the public. Heavily-redacted public documents suggest that-at Cumberland (and also Kingston)-TVA has already committed unlawfully to purchasing gas for unbuilt new fossil fuel plants before completing mandated federal environmental reviews of alternatives. After our lawsuit, the utility released more information, but TVA continues to hide the ball. We are now in federal court pushing for the release of documents illuminating how the utility justifies its fossil fuel buildout in light of federal executive orders directing a zero carbon power sector by 2035. (Note: the budget amount listed reflects all of SELC's work in the state of Tennessee).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
Budget
$4,465,900.00
Description
Sterilization Services of Tennessee operates a facility that emits ethylene oxide into the surrounding South Memphis neighborhood, a predominantly Black community unfairly overburdened with air pollution sources, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Last summer, EPA announced its intention to propose a new rule limiting pollution from this cancer-causing chemical derived from fossil fuel production, and the federal agency identified Sterilization Services as one of the facilities that pose the greatest risk to a community's health. The Shelby County Health Department claims it lacks authority to force the company to curtail its emissions or shut down, a position that is inconsistent with the language of its own governing ordinance and conflicts with examples set by other state and local agencies. We are appealing this stance and calling on the local health department to take immediate action to protect South Memphis residents. (Note: the budget reflects all of SELC's work in TN).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$4,465,900.00
Description
Sterilization Services of Tennessee operates a facility that emits ethylene oxide into the surrounding South Memphis neighborhood, a predominantly Black community unfairly overburdened with air pollution sources, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Last summer, EPA announced its intention to propose a new rule limiting pollution from this cancer-causing chemical derived from fossil fuel production, and the federal agency identified Sterilization Services as one of the facilities that pose the greatest risk to a community's health. The Shelby County Health Department claims it lacks authority to force the company to curtail its emissions or shut down, a position that is inconsistent with the language of its own governing ordinance and conflicts with examples set by other state and local agencies. We are appealing this stance and calling on the local health department to take immediate action to protect South Memphis residents. (Note: the budget reflects all of SELC's work in TN).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
Budget
$4,465,900.00
Description
Middle Tennessee is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, placing additional development pressure on our communities and the natural resources they depend on. Tennessee's Duck River is a remarkable natural treasure and the most biodiverse river in North America. Today, plans to withdraw more water from the river to keep up with fast-paced development is threatening the Duck. In March 2022, SELC reached a settlement on behalf of The Nature Conservancy and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation that upholds the state's ability to manage water withdrawals and reinforces the state's ability to include reasonable water withdrawal limitations in future permits on the Duck and other waterways. We are also coming to the table with water utilities, state and federal agencies, and environmental groups in a stakeholder process intended to promote wise water use planning and keep the Duck's watershed healthy. (Note: budget listed reflects all of SELC's work in the state of TN).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$4,465,900.00
Description
Middle Tennessee is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, placing additional development pressure on our communities and the natural resources they depend on. Tennessee's Duck River is a remarkable natural treasure and the most biodiverse river in North America. Today, plans to withdraw more water from the river to keep up with fast-paced development is threatening the Duck. In March 2022, SELC reached a settlement on behalf of The Nature Conservancy and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation that upholds the state's ability to manage water withdrawals and reinforces the state's ability to include reasonable water withdrawal limitations in future permits on the Duck and other waterways. We are also coming to the table with water utilities, state and federal agencies, and environmental groups in a stakeholder process intended to promote wise water use planning and keep the Duck's watershed healthy. (Note: budget listed reflects all of SELC's work in the state of TN).
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
Budget
$4,465,900.00
Description
Nutrient pollution from sewage treatment plants is a major source of pollution in Tennessee waterways, where about 3,971 river miles and 22,872 acres of lakes and reservoirs are impaired by nutrients. This pollution causes harmful algal and bacterial blooms that soak up oxygen and kill fish, damage aquatic ecosystems, and pose public health risks. The Harpeth River is known to be impaired by nutrient pollution, and SELC recently became aware of a shocking bacterial and algal bloom at a sewage treatment plant's outfall in Trace Creek, a tributary of the Harpeth. Because that contamination is impacting one of Tennessee's most beloved waterways, we filed an administrative lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. We are pushing the state to address ongoing permit violations and impose clear, quantitative limits for nutrient pollution in the plant's permit.
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
$4,465,900.00
Description
Nutrient pollution from sewage treatment plants is a major source of pollution in Tennessee waterways, where about 3,971 river miles and 22,872 acres of lakes and reservoirs are impaired by nutrients. This pollution causes harmful algal and bacterial blooms that soak up oxygen and kill fish, damage aquatic ecosystems, and pose public health risks. The Harpeth River is known to be impaired by nutrient pollution, and SELC recently became aware of a shocking bacterial and algal bloom at a sewage treatment plant's outfall in Trace Creek, a tributary of the Harpeth. Because that contamination is impacting one of Tennessee's most beloved waterways, we filed an administrative lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. We are pushing the state to address ongoing permit violations and impose clear, quantitative limits for nutrient pollution in the plant's permit.
Beneficiaries
General Public
Program Areas Served
Tennessee
