No determination has been made regarding future use of the plants or the plan's precise impact on employment, the company said.

The Sierra Club's Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign laid out three demands.*

THe campaign asked NIPSCO to create a participatory, inclusive process that involves public meetings in communities most affected by NIPSCO's pollution, particularly low-income and urban communities.

The campaign also asked NIPSCO to prepare a cleanup and recovery plan that safely and equitably addresses coal ash ponds, and provides for reclamation of coal plant and lakefront property for other uses determined by the community.

Lastly, the campaign said NIPSCO should offer comprehensive job training in renewable energy and renewable-energy efficiency technologies.

"These jobs and the renewable energy generated should be locally sourced," Sierra Club said in a news release.

La'Tonya Troutman, a local volunteer for the Northwest Indiana Beyond Coal Campaign, said NIPSCO's new plan is an important first step but the company must do more to ensure it is meeting the demands of all communities it serves.