Just Transition Northwest Indiana helps win historic EPA coal ash cleanup protections.

Just Transition Northwest Indiana (JTNWI, Norman grantee 2022–present) is a grassroots environmental justice organization founded in 2020 by Michigan City, IN, residents concerned about the Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSCO) coal ash crisis. NIPSCO had plans to phase out its remaining coal plant while relying on EPA policy loopholes to avoid cleaning up two million tons of coal ash that leaked toxins — including arsenic, lead, and mercury — into Lake Michigan through an aging, corroded seawall.

When JTNWI members learned that NIPSCO would not be held fully responsible for coal ash cleanup, they launched their Reclaiming Our Communities campaign to advocate for policies around cleanup and land use. JTNWI also became the main plaintiff in a lawsuit against the EPA for failing to address these legacy sites, and mobilized hundreds of coal ash-impacted people across the U.S. — from Appalachia, Indigenous communities, and Puerto Rico — to participate in rallies and testify at EPA public hearings. After years of JTNWI’s direct action and policy advocacy, the EPA in 2024 issued the strongest coal ash protections in US history, requiring the full cleanup of over one billion tons of coal ash at 775 sites nationwide, including 37 legacy coal ash ponds across 20 Indiana coal plants.

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