Press Center
To reach media contacts across SELC states and programs, check out our press room.
SELC announces 2026 Reed Environmental Writing Award winners and featured speaker
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Today the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) announced Catherine Coleman Flowers and Lindsey Liles as the winners of its 2026 Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award. Their work exemplifies the power of storytelling to capture some of the most important...
Tennessee Valley Authority goes back on commitment to retire dirty coal plants
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In an extremely disappointing reversal, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced it is planning to keep its Kingston and Cumberland coal plants operating for the foreseeable future, blowing by its upcoming deadlines to...
Wood storks at risk after losing federal protections
WASHINGTON — Today the US Fish and Wildlife Service removed federal protections for the U.S. breeding population of wood stork, an iconic, large wading bird only found in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Today’s premature decision puts the Southeast’s wood stork colonies at risk because of its shrinking...
City of Atlanta, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper settle lawsuit over river pollution
ATLANTA, GA – The City of Atlanta and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) have reached a collaborative settlement agreement to resolve a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed in 2024 regarding the state’s largest wastewater treatment plant. Located...
Owner and operators of illegal mine warned to stop polluting the Nolichucky River in North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of MountainTrue and the Center for Biological Diversity, today warned operator, Horizon 30, LLC, and the owner of an illegal mining site to...
Charleston Waterkeeper and Charleston Water System Announce Agreement to Address Sewer Overflows in West Ashley
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Charleston Waterkeeper, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, and the Charleston Water System (CWS) reached an agreement to address sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) events in West Ashley. SSOs occur when...
Groups file suit over presidential exemptions for cancer-causing ethylene oxide
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of environmental and community groups challenged the Trump administration’s move to give commercial sterilizer facilities a free pass to spew cancer-causing chemicals. The exemptions granted by the Trump administration waive...
Judge reigns in harmful quarry in Belle Mina, Alabama
BELLE MINA, Ala.—Late Friday a Limestone County Circuit Court Judge ordered a controversial Belle Mina quarry to stop operations until it meets conditions imposed by the court to reduce the harm it’s causing nearby residents...
Judge Protects Billions for Reliable EV Charging; Cleaner Air and Lower Driving Costs Across the Country
SEATTLE – Today, U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin of the Western District of Washington entered final judgment in State of Washington v. U.S. Department of Transportation, a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s unlawful freeze of the National...
SELC provides data center guidance to localities in new report
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In a new report, the Southern Environmental Law Center is providing guidance to communities facing data center development. For several years, SELC has been working on data center issues at the local government level in Virginia, the “data center capital of...