FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 14, 2010

Over 100 people crowded the hall of a church in Broadlands, Illinois for an informational meeting on the proposed coal mine in Champaign and Vermilion Counties. The meeting, held Thursday July 8, was initiated by a local farmer and landowner, Charles Goodall of Sidell.

Charles Goodall, farmer and PRN board member

Mr. Goodall said he organized the informational meeting after attending a Farm Bureau-sponsored review of the mineral leases used by Sunrise Coal, the Terre Haute company that intends to operate the mine.

“It became increasingly clear that Sunrise Coal has been flying under the radar, trying to sign landowners one at a time while avoiding open public discussion of the many important issues raised by proposing to mine coal in an agricultural community based on highly productive, level, prime farmland,” said Mr. Goodall, “The public needs to know what Sunrise is actually planning.” {Continue Reading »}

For Immediate Release 

Thursday, July 1, 2010

The discovery of spawning Asian carp in the Wabash River shows the crisis is advancing on multiple fronts and demands aggressive and immediate action to deal with the Asian carp crisis, says a coalition of national and Great Lakes groups. 

The carp were found downstream of a floodplain that separates the Wabash from the Maumee River and Lake Erie, near the city of Fort Wayne, Ind., according to recent press and congressional statements.

The discovery and acknowledgment of the finding by the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee comes a week after the committee announced a live Asian carp was found just six miles from Lake Michigan in Chicago’s Lake Calumet. The 3-foot-long, 20-pound sexually mature male was the first Asian carp found beyond the last locks protecting the Great Lakes, and miles beyond the electric barrier meant to keep the devastating fish out of the lakes.

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Fish finding affirms eDNA testing and points to need for aggressive action to stave off fish invaders

PRESS RELEASE

June 23,2010

Asian carp captured in Lake Calumet on 6/22/10 (IDNR)

The nightmare scenario of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes through Chicago waterways is closer to reality as the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced today that they had captured an invasive bighead carp [a species of invasive Asian carp] in Lake Calumet, 6 miles away from Lake Michigan. The fish’s capture bolsters repeated environmental DNA tests which have shown that the carp have evaded an electrical barrier intended to prevent their movement out of canals artificially connecting the Great Lakes and Mississippi River system. Scientists and government regulators agree that the invasive fish pose a dire threat to the Lakes because of their size and voracious appetites.

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American Rivers * Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy * Izaak Walton League of America * Missouri Coalition for the Environment * National Wildlife Federation * Prairie Rivers Network * River Alliance of Wisconsin * Sierra Club * Taxpayers for Common Sense

Groups call on Congress to reject the barge industry-promoted proposal that will increase the taxpayer burden for constructing barge transportation network

NEWS RELEASE

June 21, 2010

Conservation and watchdog groups sent a letter to members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee late last week detailing problems in a proposal from the barge industry to eliminate existing industry financial responsibilities for the inland barge system. The industry proposal would re-write a long-standing policy established between the users of the system and the federal Treasury for sharing the cost of navigation construction.

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Rain garden with native plants

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, IL — Prairie Rivers Network has been awarded a 2010 Environmental Grant from Illinois American Water. The grant will help fund a new stormwater outreach campaign called “Reining in the Rain in Champaign,” which was launched this month. Prairie Rivers Network will be working on this campaign with the City of Champaign, the John Street Watershed Steering Committee, the Washington Street East Watershed Steering Committee, and the Washington Street West Watershed Steering Committee.

“Prairie Rivers Network is excited to be working with Champaign residents and City staff to help address flooding problems and educate the public about alternative ways to manage the stormwater that causes flooding,” according to Stacy James, Water Resources Scientist for Prairie Rivers Network.

Many local neighborhoods experience significant flooding problems that cause property damage and sewage overflows. In particular, the John Street and Washington Street neighborhoods in Champaign have recently seen significant increases in flooding and wet basements. Residents can help reduce the amount of water that floods streets and storm sewers by getting more rainwater and snowmelt to soak into the ground on their own properties. Two things that residents can do at home are to install rain gardens and rain barrels.

 As part of Reining in the Rain, three rain gardens will be built in the John and Washington Street neighborhoods during 2010. The selection of the rain garden locations is currently underway. 50 rain barrels will also be given away at no cost to residents.

Established in 2005, the Illinois American Water Environmental Grant Program offers funds for innovative, community-based environmental projects in our local communities. “The Environmental Grant Program has been very successful in helping local organizations carry out meaningful, sustainable initiatives that benefit our watersheds,” said Karla Olson Teasley, president of Illinois American Water. “Again this year, the grant recipients exemplify the type of environmental stewardship in which we are proud to partner to better protect our drinking water resources.”

Prairie Rivers Network is Illinois’ statewide river conservation organization and the state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. Information about Prairie Rivers Network can be found online at www.prairierivers.org.

Illinois will remain vulnerable to water contamination.

PRESS RELEASE
May 10, 2010

CONTACTS: Traci Barkley, Prairie Rivers Network, 217/344-2371
Kathy Andria, American Bottom Conservancy, 618/213-6906

Champaign — On Tuesday, May 4, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released long-awaited proposed national regulations for the storage and disposal of coal combustion waste (often called coal ash), the byproduct of coal-fired power plants. The agency presented two options with vastly differing approaches to handling the 4.4 million tons of coal ash that is generated each year in Illinois. Recent USEPA reports indicate that coal waste leaches hazardous pollution in much greater quantities than had been recognized previously, contributing to over 100 documented contamination sites nationwide, several of which are in Illinois. {Continue Reading »}