Defending Wisconsin’s Environment
Legal Action
For decades our legal team has fought and won high-impact cases to protect Wisconsin’s air, water, and natural places—from curbing agricultural runoff to challenging weak air pollution permits. When policy fails, we use the power of the courts to defend the environment and public health.
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Our approach
Our Approach to Legal Advocacy
Clean Wisconsin uses legal expertise to protect our environment and the people who depend on it. Through strategic litigation, our attorneys work to ensure that environmental laws are properly interpreted, effectively enforced, and continuously strengthened. From challenging fossil fuel development at the Public Service Commission to defending water protections at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, our legal team is always fighting for Wisconsinites’ right to a safe and healthy environment.
Our legal work includes:
Our legal team advances clean energy development by testifying in front of the Public Service Commission (PSC) to support approval of new clean energy projects. Our legal work helped win the approval of the Vista Sands Solar Farm, the most powerful solar project ever approved in Wisconsin, and the Badger Hollow Wind Energy Center, the first wind farm approved by the PSC since 2011.
Clean Wisconsin’s legal team fights against unsustainable fossil fuel projects by testifying in opposition to new investments in fossil fuel infrastructure. We have stopped coal plants, sued utilities when they violated air permits, and forced settlements that created lasting protections for clean water. Our legal work at the Public Service Commission and beyond makes it more difficult for new fossil fuel projects to be developed in Wisconsin.
Clean Wisconsin sues agencies, like the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), when they fail to protect our environment. Clean Wisconsin filed nine lawsuits against the DNR in 2016, after the agency failed to live up to its duties under the Public Trust Doctrine, putting rivers, lakes, and streams in the Central Sands at risk of depletion. After five years of litigation, Clean Wisconsin’s 2021 Wisconsin Supreme Court victory reaffirmed DNR’s authority and duty to act when surface waters are placed at risk.
When polluters and powerful interests try to erode environmental safeguards, Clean Wisconsin’s legal team intervenes. After lobbying groups for some of the state’s largest dairy operations tried to undermine a program that helps keep untreated animal waste out of Wisconsin’s waterways and drinking water, Clean Wisconsin took action. In 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, 2nd District, ruled in Clean Wisconsin’s favor, holding that the DNR has clear authority to require all CAFOs (large factory farms) to obtain water pollution control permits. This decision preserves a critical safeguard for Wisconsin’s waterways, drinking water, and public health.
Decades of Legal Impact
A Legacy of Protecting Wisconsin
Since the 1970s, Clean Wisconsin has led landmark legal cases that shaped state environmental law—starting with the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA). For over five decades, we’ve held polluters and agencies accountable, ensuring environmental impacts are considered before projects move forward and protecting Wisconsin’s people and natural resources.
See All Legal VictoriesThe Latest From Our Team
Latest News and Analysis
Stay informed on the latest developments in our legal work—from new filings and court rulings to policy shifts and emerging threats. Our legal team is on the ground, fighting for Wisconsin’s environment—and this is where you’ll find the stories behind the strategy.
Press Releases
Line 5 Hearing Expert Testimony Begins
In front of a packed hearing room, expert testimony began today the legal battle against Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline.
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Expert Insights
At the breaking point: The Line 5 contested case hearing
In northern Wisconsin, where the Bad River flows through the largest wild rice beds in the Great Lakes basin, a legal battle is looming. The outcome may decide the fate of a dangerous oil pipeline and the health of a fragile watershed.
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Podcasts
Why the EPA claims climate change won’t hurt you
The EPA is fighting the landmark legal decision that allowed it to fight climate change.
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Fighting for Accountability
Recent Legal Wins
Unsafe wells. Air pollution. Dangerous toxic chemicals. These threats endanger Wisconsin’s environment and health—but legal action can turn the tide. Explore our current cases and learn how you can help.
Reinforced Protections Against Untreated Animal Waste
Supreme Court Win: High-Capacity Well Protections
Real-World Legal Training
Law Student Internship & Externship Program
Get hands-on experience in environmental law by working alongside Clean Wisconsin’s attorneys. Interns and externs help draft briefs, analyze legislation, participate in hearings, and gain real-world skills that prepare them for impactful legal careers.
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