The ACLU of Wisconsin joined over 100 community members and organizations at a hearing held by the state Department of Natural Resources regarding the We Energies Valley Coal Plant in Milwaukee. The coal plant needs a renewal of an air quality control permit but the ACLU of Wisconsin opposed the renewal and said that it would be a violation of civil rights and environmental laws. While upgrades in suburban energy facilities have greatly reduced air pollution, the Valley Coal Plant in the high-density, urban Milwaukee area continues to pollute the air and impact the public health of mostly African-American and Latino neighborhoods. People attended the hearing to say that everyone has an equal right to breathe clean air, not just those who live in predominantly white neighborhoods.