SELC in Brief — Clean Air Month edition

 

EPA rollbacks push the South toward dirtier air and higher health risks May is Clean Air Month. With a warming climate and the Trump administration rolling back critical regulations, air quality is getting worse for millions of Americans — especially for children and communities of color who bear the greatest impacts of pollution.  Read the story for the state of clean air in the South, plus learn how SELC is tackling dirty air from confronting the ethylene oxide emergency to addressing soot pollution standards. Read More

Pursuing plastic polluters Charleston’s waterways are littered with “nurdles,” tiny plastic pellets that spill from shipping and manufacturing sites into our marshes, beaches, and rivers. Our legal work is revealing the scale of this pollution and why stopping it at the source is essential.

Inside the greater Memphis area's fight against xAI A comprehensive timeline sheds light on our years-long push for accountability, transparency, and clean air from this Elon Musk-owned company in Memphis and North Mississippi.

The Trump admin is trying to gut toxic coal ash protections EPA wants to reverse federal coal ash rules that Southern communities worked for more than a decade to secure. Here’s what’s at stake.

Get More News Say 'no' to toxic coal ash in our water Coal ash polluters are asking the Trump administration to eliminate protections against their pollution. Help us tell EPA and Congress that it should reject this proposal and keep these safeguards to protect our water and communities against coal ash pollution. Act now. Take Action

Image credits: ©Julie Dermansky, ©Joel Caldwell, ©Eric Hilt/SELC, ©Waterkeepers Alliance

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We are the Southern Environmental Law Center—one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and the people that live here.  We can solve the most complex environmental challenges right here in the South. Let’s solve them together.     Support our Work |  Our Impact | Advocacy Center   Copyright © 2026 Southern Environmental Law Center, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 120 Garrett St Suite 400, Charlottesville, VA 22902