Plains Justice to Open Office in Iowa City 

By Sidney Lister

My name is Sidney Lister. I'm a senior at Cornell College and I'm interning or a new Iowa non-profit called Plains Justice. We expect to open an office in Iowa City in early 2007, and I'm looking for donations or contributions in kind to support the new office. The mission of Plains Justice is to provide legal services to communities that are suffering environmental and public health harms. This will be the first public interest environmental law office in Iowa. Its primary goal will be to improve and water quality, and it will also provide employment and training opportunities for young people who'd like to pursue careers in conservation and environmental law.

Here is a list of some of the things that we are currently working on, in
case you are interested:

Coal Plant Challenge Advocacy

Plains Justice is working actively with a number of regional and national organizations to challenge coal plant siting in Iowa and adjacent states. Plains Justice provides counsel and training to local advocates involved in the agency public comment process, including sending speakers to workshops in other states. Plains Justice has agreed to challenge permits for the proposed 750 MW pulverized coal plant proposed for Waterloo, Iowa. If the plant proposal goes forward, Plains Justice expects to devote significant resources to pushing for the most protective air emission permits possible. Plains justice has also initiated a study of the environmental justice significance of current coal plant siting proposals, which appear to target economically disadvantaged communities desperate for development.

Coal Combustion Waste/Landfills

A 5-year-old study by Hoosier Environmental Council suggests that Iowa's landfills for coal combustion waste may lack basic groundwater protection. Plains Justice proposes to update this study, evaluate the quality of Iowa's monitoring and enforcement, and challenge flawed regulations, procedures and permits.

Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)

Iowa water and air quality are significantly affected by CAFO development and operation. Plains Justice uses its expertise in Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act law to evaluate compliance of the state's CAFOs and work with operators to ensure full compliance with the law. Although this work has been handled up until now by out-of-state organizers, Plains Justice is stepping up to handle this role, in cooperation with the Iowa Environmental Council.

Clean Water Act Permit Challenges

Iowa Environmental Council has recently received long-needed funding for the review Clean Water Act discharge permits and provide comments. The Council does not have the legal resources to challenge flawed permits if DNR fails to take the appropriate action. Plains Justice is well-positioned to assist the Council in this area by using its Clean Water Act expertise to bring legal challenges where grave water quality violations exist. The Council has agreed to refer matters and potential clients to Plains Justice, which will undertake legal action separate from the Council's more broadly based coalition advocacy model. A stronger legal presence in this area will greatly improve Iowa's water quality enforcement.

If your organization might be interested in contributing, you can contact me at 319-895-5211 or by replying to this email, or you can contact the executive director, Carrie La Seur at 319 560 4729.

Also if you know of anyone else who might be interested in contributing, I would be extremely grateful if you would let me know their names and phone numbers or email addresses.

Thank you very much,
Sidney ListerSidney.Lister@gmail.com.