Lincoln Ash Quarry, Joliet

New Report Released Today

Listen to audio of the press conference.

In a new report released today titled “Illinois at Risk: Lax Safeguards and No Enforcement Endanger the Water, Air & Lives of Residents Near State’s Numerous Coal Ash Dumps” Prairie Rivers Network and the Environmental Integrity Project document new groundwater data and profiles of 10 contamination sites across the state showing the Illinois EPA’s failure to protect residents from coal ash pollution.

At the same time, Illinois Representatives have voted to take away U.S. EPA’s ability to implement federally enforceable safeguards which would prevent coal ash contamination cases from happening in the future, and guarantee that existing contamination sites are closed in a safe manner.

From the Executive Summary:

Coal combustion waste (CCW) or “coal ash” is a toxic byproduct of electricity generation that is contaminating water supplies and harming communities across Illinois due to the lax regulation by the state in the absence of minimum federal standards.

Illinois has the second highest number of contaminated coal ash dump sites in the United States. Data from groundwater sampling conducted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (hereafter called “IEPA”) at coal ash disposal sites in 2010 is now available, and the results are grim. IEPA found exceedances of health standards for contaminants commonly found in coal ash  in groundwater at all 22 sites evaluated in the state. Yet, in spite of years of documentation demonstrating that coal ash is polluting groundwater in communities across the state, Illinois regulators have done little to prevent or correct these ongoing problems.

As the 10 case studies compiled in this report from the Illinois communities of Joliet, Venice, Hutsonville, Coffeen, Industry, Murdock, Vermilion, Coulterville, and Farmersville demonstrate, state oversight of coal ash disposal has failed Illinois residents living near coal ash dumps.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (hereafter called “EPA”) is nearing completion on a national rulemaking that would set minimum common-sense safeguards for states to meet at coal ash dump sites.   In Illinois, hopes are high that federal safeguards will finally force IEPA to take stronger action to clean up contaminated coal ash sites and prevent more contamination from occurring at new ash disposal sites. Yet under the cover of the federal debt debate, many Illinois’ Members of Congress have just voted to take away EPA’s authority to stop this harm.

As part of a broader move to roll back clean water protections, Representatives from Illinois’ delegation including Representatives Peter Roskam (R. 6^th), Joe Walsh (R. 8^th), Robert Dold (R. 10^th), Adam Kinzinger (R. 11^th), Jerry Costello (D. 12^th), Judy Biggert (R. 13^th), Randy Hultgren (R. 14^th), Donald Manzullo (R. 16^th), Robert Schilling (R. 17^th), Aaron Schock (R. 18^th), and John Shimkus (R. 19^th) have voted to strip EPA’s ability to finalize their ongoing rulemaking which would provide Illinois residents relief from toxic coal ash pollution.

The following examination of coal ash dump sites and monitoring from IEPA reveals contamination of groundwater at many coal ash dump sites in Illinois, demonstrating why our federal legislators should step back and let EPA do its job to protect the drinking water and air of Americans living around coal ash sites in accordance with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, (RCRA). 

Read Full Report: Illinois at Risk

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

by Stacy James, Water Resources Scientist

Our new Stomwater Management Guidebook informs readers of how to manage stormwater with green infrastructure. Green infrastructure involves the use of soil, vegetation, and cisterns to capture stormwater, instead of the traditional reliance on pipes and other concrete conveyances. The guidebook is specific to Illinois, and explains what green infrastructure is, how it can be used to meet permitting requirements, and where green infrastructure projects can be found across the state. Nine green infrastructure practices are featured, and proper placement, maintenance, and installation costs are discussed for each practice.

Yesterday, Prairie Rivers Network and our partners in the Nicollet Island Coalition released a report condemning proposed expansion of 7 of the 29 locks that aid navigation along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers got Congressional authorization in 2007 to double the size of the locks, at a potential cost to taxpayers of $2.2 billion. Our report shows that the modest benefits the project aims to achieve can be achieved much more cheaply through other means. View our press release here. Download the Big Price – Little Benefit report here.

Tri-States Public Radio (Macomb, IL) covered the story.

The toll on river health of the Corps-maintained navigation system on the Upper Mississippi River is tremendous – the 29 locks and dams have altered the free-flowing and dynamic river between Minneapolis and St. Louis into a static series of enormous, homogeneous reservoirs. {Continue Reading »}

Chicago ranks 14th of the top 30 cities that are at high heat risk

The National Wildlife Federation, NWF, recently posted a report titled “Global Warming Bringing More Extreme Heat Waves.” The report details how:

Global warming will bring more extreme heat waves

Urban air pollution could be exacerbated by more extreme heat

Heat waves disproportionately impact people who are poor, elderly, children, or have asthma or heart disease, or live in big cities

Natural habitats and agriculture are also vulnerable to heat waves

We can reduce the severity of heat waves and their impacts on vulnerable people