Sierra Club * Greenpeace * Prairie Rivers Network * Restoring Eden* Physicians for Social Responsibility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 16, 2010

Contacts:

Rosemary Wehnes, Sierra Club, 414-828-1357 (cell)

Traci Barkley, Prairie Rivers Network, 217/621-3013 (cell)

Edyta Sitko, Greenpeace, 812.219.4644 (cell)

Hundreds of Concerned Citizens Demand EPA Protections from Toxic Coal Ash

Residents speak out for kids’ health at Environmental Protection Agency public hearing in Chicago

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of concerned citizens gathered in Chicago today urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pass strong, federally-enforceable safeguards for coal ash, the toxic remains left over from coal-fired power plants. Citizens traveled to Chicago from across Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana to testify about the harmful effects of coal ash on their health, neighborhoods and communities. The hearing is one of seven the EPA is holding this month on its proposal to finally regulate toxic coal ash.

During the hearing and mid-day press conference residents, doctors, faith leaders, water experts and scientists testified about the dangers of coal ash that are already being experienced and those that have yet to be identified.

“In spite of the hazards, the disposal and reuse of toxic coal ash waste has received little to no oversight,” said Edyta Sitko of Greenpeace.   “Only recently have the number of contaminated sites escalated as a result of research by citizens, public interest groups and state agencies. It may be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.”

After the hearing a huge crowd crossed the street to Grant Park where they performed a street theater rendition of the massive coal ash spill in Tennessee that drew the nation’s attention to the problem of coal ash. As dozens of people in coal ash t-shirts broke over the retaining wall of people in brown and flooded the small “town” below, onlookers got a powerful reminder of why new protections are needed.

Coal ash is America’s second largest industrial waste stream, with enough coal ash generated each year – approximately 150 million tons – to fill over 340,000 jumbo 747 jets.

Toxic chemicals in coal ash such as arsenic, lead, selenium and others, have been linked to health problems including cancer, organ disease, respiratory illness, neurological damage and reproductive and developmental problems.  Studies show that these coal ash toxins can, and have, leaked into drinking water across the country.

“In most states – at ponds, landfills, and pits where coal ash gets dumped – a slow seepage of the ash’s metals has poisoned water supplies, damaged ecosystems, and jeopardized citizens’ health, said Traci Barkley, of Prairie Rivers Network  “Unfortunately, the Illinois communities of Marion, Joliet, Venice, Oakwood, Havana, Alton, Powerton, Hennepin, Hutsonville, Canton, Wood River, and Coffeen now know this.”

EPA’s 2010 risk assessment found that the cancer risk from drinking water contaminated with arsenic from coal ash disposed in unlined ponds can be as high as 1 in 50 adults, 2,000 times the level the EPA deems “acceptable.”

“Coal ash dumps that sit around the country are ticking time bombs,” said Doctor Jeffrey Patterson, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “We should learn lessons from past environmental disasters, like the poisoning of our children from exposure to lead paint. In addition to arsenic and lead, coal ash also contains mercury, cadmium, chromium, selenium and other deadly toxic metals that can cause cancer and neurological harm in humans.”

There are 83 toxic coal ash ponds in Illinois and 17 are more than 30 years old, making it highly unlikely that they have basic protections like liners in place to keep this cancer-causing pollution out of waterways. A recently released investigative report documented the growing problem of toxic coal ash contamination across the United States.  At every one of the sites with ground water monitoring wells, onsite test results for heavy metals exceeded federal health standards for drinking water.

“The cost of continuing to ignore the very real health and environmental risks of this toxic waste may well be higher than we can afford. The EPA needs to act quickly to finalize strong, federally enforceable protections from coal ash before more families are exposed,” said Bruce Nilles, Deputy Conservation Director of the Sierra Club.

For more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/coalash

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 13, 2010

The Department of Natural Resources is now confirming that approximately 40,000 fish were killed in sections of Lone Tree Creek and the Sangamon River as a result of pollution released into the waters over the Labor Day weekend. Also killed were endangered mudpuppies, mussels and crayfish. A full investigation is still underway.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency reported water samples taken from the affected streams contained ammonia. While the agency has not yet revealed the source of the spill, the pollution likely drained off a field located on the Stone Ridge Dairy Farm in McLean County. Constructed in 2002, Stone Ridge is Illinois’ largest dairy farm, with 3,100 cows.

“This total kill is an unfortunate example of why we need more protective, clear laws in Illinois regarding managing waste from large factory farms,” said Glynnis Collins, executive director of Prairie Rivers Network (PRN). “From a single spill, the people of Illinois have lost tens of thousands of fish and other aquatic animals. We will be communicating closely with state agencies as the investigation progresses to ensure they respond adequately to this disaster.” {Continue Reading »}

Yesterday, a major new study was released that identifies 39 additional coal-ash dump sites in 21 states that are contaminating drinking water or surface water with arsenic and other heavy metals. Three of those sites are in Illinois. The report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, with help from Prairie Rivers Network’s Traci Barkley, documents the fact that state governments are not adequately monitoring the coal combustion waste (CCW) disposal sites and that the USEPA needs to enact strong new regulations to protect the public.

For the Press Release, click here.

For Report, click here.

For News Conference audio, click here.

The report shows that, at every one of the coal ash dump sites equipped with groundwater monitoring wells, concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic or lead exceed federal health-based standards for drinking water, with concentrations at the Venice, IL site reaching as high as 38 times the federal standard for arsenic 400 feet beyond the ash ponds.

Take Action – Let Your Voice Be Heard

The US Environmental Protection Agency is about to launch a series of regional hearings on whether and how to regulate toxic coal ash waste from coal-fired power plants. PLEASE ATTEND IF YOU CAN.

Chicago, IL on September 16

Louisville, KY on September 28

Financial assitance is available to defray some travel costs. Contact Traci Barkley at 217/344-2371 or tbarkley@prairierivers.org.

Press Coverage In the News

Immediate Release:
August 3, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, IL — Long before the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico suffered from a chronic spill of chemicals that rush down the Mississippi River from Illinois and other Midwestern states. The influx of pollution results in an area appropriately known as the Dead Zone. Scientists from Louisiana just finished their annual research cruise of the Gulf and determined that this year the Dead Zone was 7,722 square miles, one of the largest since the cruises began in 1985 and almost the size of Massachusetts.

The Dead Zone is characterized by water so low in dissolved oxygen (<2 mg/L) that animals suffocate. When shrimp, crab, and other relatively immobile species cannot escape, fishermen must move to cleaner waters.

The primary cause of the Dead Zone is too many nutrients. According to recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey, Illinois is the number one contributor of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Gulf of Mexico. {Continue Reading »}

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.

{Continue Reading »}