About LEAF:

The Legal Environmental Aid Foundation of Indiana, Inc. (LEAF) is the only non-profit environmental law practice in Indiana. LEAF provides legal support to environmental activists and groups seeking to protect Indiana's natural environment.  Through legal advocacy, LEAF empowers Indiana's citizens with the tools they need to hold polluters, public and private, accountable. Learn more.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

LEAF Serves CAFO Owner with Notice of Intent to Sue for Clean Water Act Violations

Governor Daniels made good on his promise to make Indiana a haven for construction of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Today, there are more than 2,000 regulated industrial farms in Indiana and countless, unregulated smaller factory farms. There, thousands of animals are crowded into hanger-like barns in inhumane, unsanitary conditions where they are fed hormone-laced grain and injected with antibiotics to combat diseases that thrive in close-packed quarters. The untreated waste from these "animal cities" is stored outdoors in massive, manure lagoons emitting hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and other volatile organic compounds, pollutants and noxious odors into the air. These wastes are ultimately land applied, untreated without regard to impact on Indiana's waters. Because Indiana Department of Environmental Management refuses to take action, LEAF is bringing a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act against a CAFO owner to address past violations and prevent further violations of water quality limits. Read the Notice of Intent to Sue


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LEAF Exposes "Easterly's Pile"
On the northeast corner of the ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor facility is a 34 acre pile of steel-making waste that sits open dumped, on bare ground, without containment, within 200 feet of Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This waste pile is referred to by ArcelorMittal representatives and IDEM staff as "Easterly's Pile" implying that the current head of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), Thomas Easterly, is responsible for its creation. LEAF helped the Post-Tribune expose the story. Read more.





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LEAF Seeks Preliminary Injunction to Stop Illicit Industrial Waste Processor from Operating Pending Conclusion of Lawsuit

In October of 2009, LEAF filed a lawsuit on behalf of 160+ residents of Elkhart, Indiana in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana against an industrial waste facility that illegally dumps and processes solid waste without proper permits. The facility's massive, decomposing and smoldering waste piles have been leaching contaminants to the ground and releasing harmful air emissions into the surrounding neighborhood for years. Since litigation can take years, LEAF is seeking a preliminary injunction stop the company from engaging in further illicit operations pending conclusion of the lawsuit. The hearing on LEAF's Motion is set for April 14, 2010. Read the Brief.

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LEAF Featured in April Issue of Shore Magazine!
Check out the April issue of Shore Magazine for an article on LEAF's success in stopping an ethanol refinery from being built in Starke County. Read the article.

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LEAF files lawsuit against confined feeding operation in Wayne County
On November 9, 2009, LEAF filed a lawsuit against a confined feeding operation located in Richmond, Indiana. The operation has created such intolerable living conditions for its neighbors, Eric and Lisa Stickdorn, that the couple was forced to rent an apartment to escape the constant onslaught of raw sewage odors and contamination of their drinking water by the confined dairy built less than 300 feet from their property line. The lawsuit alleges nuisance, trespass, negligence and gross negligence against the owners of the confined dairy operation and seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages. Read more.



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With a $15,000 Grant from the Impact Fund, LEAF is pursuing a federal lawsuit against an industrial waste facility in Elkhart
Over the last nine years, VIM Recycling, Inc. has illegally dumped thousands of tons of waste materials in massive piles outdoors, on bare ground, without cover, lining, or containment at its facility in Elkhart, Indiana. On October 28, 2009 LEAF filed a federal lawsuit against the company and its owner, Kenneth R. Will, on behalf of more than 150 individuals who live next to VIM, asking the Court to stop operations, order clean up of the site, impose civil penalties, and award compensatory and punitive damages. Read more.




LEAF Empowers Citizens to Fight CAFOs 
LEAF and the Hoosier Environmental Council host a community workshop on laws applicable to confined animal feeding operations. Learn more.







LEAF E.D. Participates in Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Panel Discussion on Enforcement Changes at IDEM
On July 22, 2009, the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum held a seminar for Indiana lawyers on Environmental Law. As part of the seminar's "IDEM Enforcement Panel," Kim Ferraro, presented how these changes undermine protection of public health and environment. Read more. 

LEAF E.D. recipient of a "Leadership in Law" award by the Indiana Lawyer! At a ceremony in Indianapolis on May 5, 2009, LEAF's Executive Director, Kim Ferraro, was one of 15 Indiana lawyers honored as an "Up and Coming Lawyer" for her contribution to the legal profession and community. Rebecca Collier, Editor and Publisher of the Indiana Lawyer, stated that the "awards were created to cast a spotlight on the kinds of folks that people look up to both inside and outside the profession."


Valparaiso University Magazine features work of LEAF E.D. Read the Article

LEAF has a generous supporter who will match each donation received in 2010. LEAF needs your support to continue giving impacted communities a voice in their fight for environmental justice.  Help us now! 

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