about mea
MISSION & IMPACT
Midwest Environmental Advocates is a nonprofit law center that combines the power of law with the resolve of communities facing environmental injustice to secure and protect the rights of all people to healthy water, land, and air. With the support of our generous donors, we are pushing past special interest interference and winning important legal victories.
Preventing Exposure to Toxic Contamination
When Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce sued state regulators in an attempt to undermine the Spills Law, MEA went to court to defend this important public health protection. After four years of litigation, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with MEA in a decisive victory, ensuring that polluters, not taxpayers, remain responsible for cleaning up toxic pollution, including PFAS.
Demanding Data Center Transparency
MEA took legal action when the City of Racine refused to disclose information about projected water use at a massive Microsoft data center. After MEA filed the lawsuit, the city turned over the information.
Preserving Environmental Oversight of Large Livestock Operations
MEA successfully intervened when industrial agriculture groups challenged the DNR’s water quality permitting authority. Wisconsin courts agreed with MEA that permits are essential to prevent rural drinking water from being polluted by manure and agrichemicals.
Securing our Rights to a Stable Climate
MEA and Our Children’s Trust represent fifteen young people who filed a groundbreaking climate lawsuit against the Wisconsin Legislature and the Public Service Commission for enacting and enforcing unconstitutional laws that exacerbate the climate crisis.
Supporting the Environmental Stewardship of Native Nations
As attorneys for the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, MEA filed a lawsuit that stopped the planned use of an aquatic herbicide that threatened wild rice in Tribal waters.
Making Data Centers Pay their Own Way
As a result of the advocacy of MEA and our partners, Wisconsin regulators rejected elements of a We Energies’ proposal that would have shifted data center energy costs onto the public. Instead, they said data center operators must pay the full cost of their energy needs.
Defending Public Access to the Great Lakes Shoreline
When a Milwaukee County resident was cited for trespassing while walking along the Lake Michigan shoreline, MEA agreed to represent him in a series of legal proceedings that could go all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and have major implications for the public’s right to access and enjoy the Great Lakes.
Ending Legislative Interference in Environmental Decision Making
MEA helped secure a pair of State Supreme Court rulings that prevent committees of the legislature from vetoing conservation grant awards and blocking critical updates to environmental health regulations.
Preventing the Commodification of Great Lakes Water
After more than three years of litigation, Wisconsin courts blocked a private company’s plan to withdraw and sell water from an artesian well near Lake Superior. MEA was honored to represent Lake Superior Not for Sale in this successful effort to prevent the commercial exploitation of Great Lakes water.
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