Press Center
To reach media contacts across SELC states and programs, check out our press room.
HUD proposes to roll back protections, placing vulnerable communities at greater flood risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a proposal to roll back key components of a 2024 rule designed to make affordable housing more resilient to flooding —...
Groups ask court to require Spartanburg County to provide transparent review of proposed data center
COLUMBIA, S.C. — On behalf of Concerned Citizens of Spartanburg County, the Southern Environmental Law Center is asking a state court to require Spartanburg County to follow its own land development ordinance by publicly reviewing the...
EPA abandons risk assessment of toxic PFAS contamination of farms, food and water sources
WASHINGTON—By dropping its risk assessment, EPA today abandoned clear scientific evidence regarding the dangers of PFAS contamination in sewage sludge used as fertilizer, putting farming families and rural communities at risk, the Southern Environmental...
In a win for Virginia communities, state rejoins RGGI
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Today marks Virginia’s official reentry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Virginia became the first Southern state to enter the program in 2020, but was subsequently removed from it by former Governor Glenn Youngkin. Now, following a legal...
Groups alert Georgia regulators to unpermitted construction of pop-up power plant, data center
Covington, GA — Local communities and environmental groups have alerted the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) about unpermitted construction at VoltaGrid’s pop-up power plant and Serverfarm’s adjacent data center in Covington, GA, where the companies have installed over 40 methane gas and diesel-fired engines before getting required environmental approvals. After a neighbor drove by the...
Trump administration puts safety, drinking water at risk at the request of power coal ash polluters
WASHINGTON —The Trump administration’s proposal to eliminate protections against coal ash that communities fought for after contaminated water and disastrous coal ash spills clearly grants the wishes of coal ash polluters to the detriment of families and communities,...
Trump Administration defies federal court in refusing to fund illegally canceled grant program
WASHINGTON – The Southern Environmental Law Center and Public Rights Project called on the South Carolina federal district court today to require the Trump Administration’s EPA to comply with the court’s recent ruling. Earlier this month, South Carolina’s federal district court ruled that EPA’s decision...
Groups threaten TVA with lawsuit over Clean Air Act violations at Cumberland plants
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s reckless coal retirement reversal led the utility to violate federal law CUMBERLAND CITY, Tenn. — The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Appalachian Voices, the Center for Biological Diversity,...
The Southern Environmental Law Center brings Southern Solutions and Climate Action to Climate Week NYC
WASHINGTON – The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan environmental legal advocacy organization rooted in and focused on the U.S. South, announced today that it will host a one-day public event during Climate Week NYC on September 22, featuring three panel discussions on data...
Federal government settlement with Chemours is a negotiated outcome to shield from real accountability, says SELC
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The Southern Environmental Law Center issued the following statement by Jean Zhuang, senior attorney, regarding the settlement announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice, EPA, and West Virginia’s Department of Environmental...