A Decade of "Greening the Statehouse"
Join HEC on December 2nd as we celebrate 10 years of hosting the largest annual gathering of environmental-minded Hoosiers!

Greening the Statehouse is an opportunity for Hoosiers across the state to gather for a day of education, advocacy, and more. This year we celebrate 10 years of our annual forum and we look forward to making it even more focused on the people who are instrumental to powering our mission: YOU!

Join us for a day devoted to motivating and teaching Hoosiers across the political spectrum who care about environmental issues about how to be more effective advocates - whether conversing with elected officials, organizing in your communities, or engaging with the media. 

The day will be filled with how-to's, featuring dynamic and experienced voices from different parts of Indiana!

Take advantage of our Early Bird pricing and register today!

WHAT:     Greening the Statehouse 2017
WHERE:  Hendricks County Fairgrounds Conference Center
                     1900 E Main Street
                     Danville, IN 46122
WHEN:     Saturday, December 2nd, 2017

We look forward to seeing you there!
HEC and Partners Unite to Focus Energies on Cleaning the White River 

The White River is Indiana's largest in-state river, the towering landmark for countless communities from eastern to western Indiana. Yet it has endured decades of contamination due to eroded soil, stormwater, bacteria, industrial agricultural runoff, industrial toxins, and more.
 
While many valiant efforts have been made to reduce different sources of pollution, there has needed to be a tighter level of collaboration among the various groups to clean the river. That will certainly now happen, thanks to the formation of "Partners for the White River," of which HEC is an integral member. Our groups will work closely together to reduce major pollution threats and restore riverbanks, all underpinned by good science and proven conservation practices.
 
HEC will be specifically focused on reducing the threats posed by coal ash, factory farm waste, and industrial crop agricultural runoff to the watershed. HEC will also sustain our momentum to realize the vision of the "Mounds Greenway," a 2,300 acre conservation area (with a bike trail from Anderson & Muncie) that will no doubt enhance the watershed in an ecologically sensitive way. 

TAKE ACTION:
2. Join HEC's next volunteer training on August 9th.   
HEC Hosting Community Workshops to Empower Hoosiers to Address Pollution and Public Health Threats From Factory Farms

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) or factory farms continue to pose serious challenges to public health, quality of life, animal well-being, environmental quality, and economic livelihoods in Indiana's rural areas.
 
To address the serious environmental threats due to factory farms, HEC has been on the front line for the last several years in pushing back against the livestock lobby's legislative efforts to further weaken environmental and public health safeguards, undermine local control, and provide unprecedented legal immunity to CAFO owners and operators. We are also pursuing legal action challenging the constitutionality of Indiana's right to farm laws that so unjustly harm the property rights of many rural Hoosiers.
 
Through our efforts, we realize that more must be done to empower people concerned about this issue to take effective action. To that end, we have prepared a comprehensive citizen guide and are hosting public workshops in communities throughout the state to present the latest information on the impacts of CAFOs, citizens' legal rights (e.g., under zoning laws), how to be an effective advocate in advancing more protective local and state policies, and the role food choice plays in ensuring a healthy environment.

TAKE ACTION:
If you're interested in partnering with HEC to host a workshop in your community, please contact HEC's Agricultural Policy Director Kim Ferraro, at [email protected] .
Help Protect Indiana's Great Rivers and our Underground Water Supplies from Toxic Coal Ash 

coal ash/power plant
Last week, HEC and several state & national partners urged the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to reject Duke Energy's plans to leave nearly 34 million tons of toxic coal ash sitting in unlined dumps along the Wabash and Ohio Rivers.  

At Duke's four Indiana power plants along these rivers, the electric utility has stored this dangerous waste in unlined dumps with the result that much of the coal ash - generated by decades of burning coal for electricity - is sitting directly in the underlying groundwater. 

The utility's own water sampling submitted along with the company's plans for decommissioning these coal ash lagoons demonstrates that the groundwater beneath the lagoons is contaminated with such pollutants as arsenic, boron, and manganese.
 
TAKE ACTION:
IDEM will now review Duke's coal ash dump closure plans and the comments submitted by HEC and our coalition partners. Please contact IDEM Commissioner Bruno Pigott and urge him to reject Duke's plans and require the utility to move the ash to lined, modern landfills that prevent it from coming into contact with water. Read our comments and learn more here.
Support HEC Green Businesses!
 
We want to give a big shout-out to our new and renewing HEC Green Businesses listed below!  They are on the forefront of making Indiana a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable place.  Consider their services and thank them for supporting our work!

Sky is the Limit 
WaterFurnace - Fort Wayne, statewide

emPowering Progress 
Whole Sun Designs - Evansville, Bloomington

Get on the Bus
Georgetown Market - Indianapolis 

Sowing the Seeds 
Green Alternatives - Kokomo  

Keeping Afloat 
Indiana Crawl Space Repair - Martinsville 
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