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In an OpEd published in the Des Moines Register, ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner says, “Iowa can and should be a leader in gaining the jobs of the future by helping build new, cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution and save us money at the pump.” Read the full OpEd.

Interconnection is the process of linking clean distributed wind power and solar energy sources of electric generation to the grid. The new standards create a clear process for Iowa citizens and utilities to bring their clean energy sources online with standard forms, affordable fees and reasonable insurance requirements.  Iowa previously had loose interconnection guidelines that resulted in a complicated patchwork of rules.

The new Iowa standards are built on a model by ELPC in Illinois and South Dakota. The goal is to “facilitate the addition of distributed generation” to the electric distribution system.  The rules minimize burdensome insurance requirements and application fees for small systems, and they include standard forms and contracts to streamline and provide transparency to the process.

The Iowa Utilities Board’s Final Order which includes the final interconnection rules, forms and standard agreements is available here: https://efs.iowa.gov/efiling/groups/external/documents/docket/041781.pdf

The Iowa Utilities Board Staff Memo describes the process: https://efs.iowa.gov/efiling/groups/external/documents/docket/041952.pdf

“The US EPA is stepping up to protect children’s health, the Great Lakes and our environment by reducing toxic mercury pollution from major sources,” said Howard A. Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Mercury is a neurotoxin that can pass through a pregnant woman’s placenta and harm fetal brain development. Coal plants and these industrial smokestacks are the largest sources of mercury pollution.  Today’s announcement leads the way to better protection for children’s health and the environment.”

One program that’s made thousands of new clean energy projects possible is the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). ELPC’s Farm Energy Success Stories report highlights clean energy projects on farms and rural small businesses across the country that are saving money, creating new income and reducing pollution. ELPC is advocating to expand REAP and other farm energy programs. Listen to the interview here.

The shift toward cleaner cars presents an opportunity for Midwest manufacturing centers, as carmakers develop more efficient technologies and better pollution controls.

“The U.S. EPA’s action shows the Clean Air Act working successfully to achieve environmental progress and economic benefits together by advancing clean technologies that provide positive solutions,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “The Midwest should be a leader in capturing the jobs of the future and building the new, cleaner cars of the future that will increase our energy independence and save consumers billions each year at the gas pump.”

Under the new standards, average fuel economy for passenger cars will increase from 27.5 mpg in 2009 to 37.8 mpg by 2016 – an improvement of nearly 40 percent.  Building cleaner cars will reduce lifetime greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles produced between 2012 and 2016 by 655 million metric tons.  By 2030, the 2012-2016 standards will reduce GHG emissions from the U.S. light-duty fleet by approximately 21 percent.

American automakers have expressed support for the standards, which will make American cars more competitive at home and abroad. American vehicles manufactured to comply with the federal clean cars standards can also meet the stringent greenhouse gas emissions standards for new vehicles that have been adopted by the European Union, Japan, China and Canada.

The new fuel efficiency and emissions rules are expected to cost approximately $52 billion and will generate more than $182 billion in economic benefits.  The bulk of new investment by automakers will be for development of innovative fuel efficiency technologies.  Those standard-driven research and development investments will create new jobs and put U.S. manufacturers at the forefront of clean car technology.

“Clean car standards and innovative technology will spur new jobs in research and development of pollution control technologies and create new manufacturing opportunities in the Midwest,” said Jack Shaner, Deputy Director of the Ohio Environmental Council.

“Because they reduce fuel consumption, these standards are an important step toward increasing our energy independence and strengthening national security,” said David Gard, Energy Program Director for the Michigan Environmental Council. New standards for cars of the future are predicted to save as much as 11.6 billion gallons of gasoline per year by 2016 (equal to half the oil the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia) and save consumers up to $31.8 billion annually at the pump.

The coalition working to promote the economic benefits of the new clean car standards includes The Environmental Law & Policy Center, The Hoosier Environmental Council, The Ohio Environmental Council, The Michigan Environmental Council and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

Estimated annual benefits of the federal clean cars standards for the Midwest (by 2016):

Analysis of NOPR proposed standards from Environment America “State Leadership and the National Clean Cars Program.”

Average fuel economy required under federal clean car standards:

To see the full press release, click here.

To download a copy of the report, click here.

Farm Energy Success Stories highlights clean energy projects that were made possible with grants and loan guarantees from the Farm Bill’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

Download the Report Here

Officials with Iowa’s Office of Energy Independence credited “Iowa’s spirited and proactive response to energy efficiency” for the unexpected interest.

Read more in the Des Moines Register.

“This is great news for Iowa,” said Brad Klein, Staff Attorney at ELPC. “After years of delay, the legislature made the choice today to protect Iowa’s environment and economy and make this a better place to live.”

A university of Iowa study found that an estimated 11,479 jobs, $242.9 million of income and $424.9 million of gross state product are associated with the spending by visitors to Iowa lakes. The rules provide additional protections for Iowa’s few remaining high-quality waters, for example West Lake Okoboji and several trout streams in Northeast Iowa.

After decades of meetings, letters, delays and, finally, a legal intervention, clean water advocates gathered at the statehouse in Des Moines this morning to witness the final meeting and decision needed to adopt clean water ―anti-degradation rules for Iowa.

Clean water advocates said today that the Iowa rules are long overdue and that they have worked for years to get antidegradation Rules written and passed in Iowa. With the passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972 states were required to enact antidegradation rules by 1985 to prevent the further pollution of lakes, rivers and streams. Iowa adopted rules but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency informed Iowa that its rules violated federal law as early as 1997.

Repeated delays in rewriting the rules led a coalition of environmental organizations – the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Iowa Environmental Council, Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association and the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club  – to file a Petition for Rulemaking with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in 2007 requesting that the State act immediately to adopt antidegradation implementation rules.

This action initiated a rule-making process that included several opportunities for public comment and a hearing before the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, which approved the revised rules in December of last year. Monday’s meeting of the legislative Administrative Rules and Review Committee marked the final step in a decades-long process.

Advocates stressed that the rules will allow Iowa to grow sensibly and sustainably. “These rules will stem the tide of declining water quality in Iowa, protect the outstanding jewels that remain, and serve as an economic engine for those communities with the foresight to protect and leverage the potential of these remarkable waters,” said Shannan Garretson, water program legal analyst for the non-profit Iowa Environmental Council.