is a non-profit environmental public interest law firm headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Organization history
The protects the environment and health of the Southeast in its : Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. SELC is the largest environmental organization in its region, with more than 80 attorneys and 75 legislative affairs, communications, advancement, finance, and administration working out of throughout its six states and on Capitol Hill. This structure enables the organization to work on the local, state and federal level. SELC is a 5013 nonprofit organization headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, and managed by its Board of Trustees and President’s Council. The nonprofit is supported entirely by charitable gifts from individuals, families and foundations. Founded in 1986 by President Emeritus Rick Middleton, SELC is currently under the leadership of .
SELC is weaning the South off its overreliance on fossil fuels. In April 2007, after seven years of legal effort, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled power companies could no longer continue to extend the lives of old, coal-burning power plants without installing modern pollution controls, catalyzing the largest in history. The organization’s attorneys then blocked or shelved plans to construct seven new coal-burning units in the region and secured plans or legally binding commitments to retire one-third of the existing coal plant capacity in the region.
For decades, utilities have been allowed to store toxic coal ash in unlined, leaking pits next to rivers. SELC’s campaign to stop that practice is realizing the of industrial pollution in the Southeast. The organization reached agreements to safely store or recycle all coal ash in South Carolina. It has compelled Duke Energy to clean up 8 of its 14 sites in North Carolina, with active cases at the rest. Its plant resulted in the first time a federal court ordered a utility to excavate its coal ash.
No Atlantic offshore drilling
SELC’s “Protect Our Coast” campaign helped persuade the Obama Administration to remove the South Atlantic from seismic exploration and the federal offshore leasing plan in 2016. Now facing renewed attempts by the Trump administration to open it to offshore exploration and drilling, . The governors of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia have all formally opposed offshore drilling, along with more than 200 cities and towns up and down the coast.
Not a single roadless acre lost
In 2013, SELC and its partners celebrated the permanent safeguarding of more than 700,000+ acres of roadless national forest lands in the Southern Appalachians. For 14 years, SELC defended these wild areas from logging, road building, or other destruction. Drawing on expertise in forest issues, SELC continues to help shape the future of the 5 million acres of Southern Appalachian national forests.
A brighter future for solar in the South
SELC is removing legal and policy roadblocks to power and provide clean energy access to a broader range of households throughout the region. Georgia is now one of the fastest growing solar markets in the nation while North Carolina is second in the U.S. in solar capacity. Through bipartisan, unanimous legislation, South Carolina enacted progressive solar reforms that have earned national attention. The state is poised to add 10,000 new jobs in the clean energy industry.
For more than three decades, SELC has used the Clean Water Act to keep pollution out of drinking water and to protect rivers and streams. SELC has emerged as a national leader in itself, as its attorneys are challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically limit longstanding federal protections for streams and wetlands.
Rural lands, vibrant communities, less asphalt
Unnecessary roads induce sprawl and squander funds to address real transportation needs. SELC has halted plans for a 210-mile Outer Perimeter around Atlanta, the doubling of across the state of Virginia, and a string of sprawl-inducing roads in the Carolinas like the or Garden Parkway. As alternatives, its Land & Community Team advance forward-looking transportation policies and land-use planning, reform state DOTs, and steer funding toward transit and rail.
Dozens of places saved
Part of SELC’s mission is to protect sites of particular beauty or exceptional wildlife, historic, or natural value. The organization has successfully defended numerous places, among them are traditional native fishing grounds on the and an over-wintering habitat for tundra swans and snow geese on the Atlantic coast.
SELC believes that everyone deserves to breathe healthy air, drink clean water, and live in an environment free from harmful pollution. Yet too often, communities of color and people with limited financial means bear the brunt of environmental degradation.
SELC seeks to protect the South’s cleanest waters, to rescue the most polluted ones, and to make sure there remains enough water flowing in our rivers and streams to support a healthy and diverse array of aquatic life.
SELC is fending off destructive activities related to growth pressures and lax enforcement all along the Southeast coast—and to proactively shape a sustainable future for the coastline.
SELC is focused on stopping destructive highway projects; reforming asphalt-centered transportation policies and wasteful land-use practices; and advancing cleaner, more efficient transportation choices such as rail and transit.
The Southeast has the largest concentration of public land east of the Rockies. SELC is a staunch defender of these lands, advocating particularly for long-term protection of old growth forest remnants, wildlife habitat, headwater streams, and backcountry recreation.
SELC’s legal team continues to defend the wild areas that are home to the South’s impressive array of wildlife. Its efforts are needed now more than ever, in light of attempts to undermine the Endangered Species Act and remove protections for sensitive species and critical habitat.
Charity ratings
SELC has a and the highest four-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent charity assessment organization.
