About SWICQL

Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life (SWICQL) is a community-based organization working to protect public health and environmental quality in Southwestern Indiana.

Explore our work

Battle tested. Community-driven.
Unafraid to fight for what’s right.

Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life is a grassroots coalition of neighbors, advocates, and everyday people who refuse to look the other way when our health, our land, and our future are on the line. We’ve stood on the front lines of environmental fights that others said were too big to take on—and we’ve proven, time and again, that organized communities can win.

We bring together lived experience, local knowledge, and a deep commitment to fairness and transparency. Our work is grounded in the belief that every person deserves clean air, safe water, and a healthy place to call home. When powerful interests threaten that, we show up. We dig in. We stay in the fight.

Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life (SWICQL) is a community-led organization formed by local residents who care deeply about the health of our families, our environment, and the future of our region.
We live and work in southwestern Indiana and bring together community knowledge, lived experience, and collaboration with scientists and public health experts to better understand environmental impacts in our area.
Our mission is to protect public health and environmental quality in southwestern Indiana.
We work to raise awareness about pollution and environmental risks, support community-based research and monitoring, and advocate for responsible decision-making that puts the well-being of people first.
We believe that communities have the right to clean air, safe water, and transparent information about environmental risks.
We believe that residents, governments, scientists, and industry must work together to protect public health — and that meaningful decisions require openness, accountability, and respect for future generations.
Looking forward, SWICQL is focused on expanding community science efforts, sharing accessible and trustworthy data, and creating more ways for residents to get involved.
As new issues, projects, and opportunities emerge, we aim to remain a reliable gateway for information, participation, and collaboration in our region.

Our approach

01
Community-led

Our work is rooted in local knowledge and lived experience.

02
Data-informed

We rely on environmental monitoring, public health data, and transparent reporting.

03
Collaborative

We work with residents, scientists, journalists, and policymakers.

04
Long-term

We focus on sustainable outcomes that protect future generations.

From one campaign to ongoing work

In 2017, SWICQL played a key role in stopping a proposed coal-to-diesel refinery in Spencer County — a major industrial project that would have significantly increased toxic emissions in an already overburdened region. That campaign showed what informed, organized communities can accomplish. Today, SWICQL builds on that experience by focusing on long-term environmental monitoring, public health, and community engagement.

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