Attendance was high at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s public hearing April 12th on the proposed renewal of the Industry Mine’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) water discharge permit. With over 40 people in attendance and more than a dozen taking the stand to provide comments, the message to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) was loud and clear: don’t renew the Industry Mine’s water discharge permit!
The strip mine located southwest of the town of Industry in Schuyler and McDonough Counties has been in operation for over two decades, and has been in continuous violation of its current water permit dating back at least to 2004. With over 300 Clean Water Act Violations in the past six years, including discharges of pollution such as iron, manganese, and sulfates at levels several times higher than their permit allows, the Industry Mine’s environmental compliance record is one of the worst for coal mines in Illinois. Prairie Rivers Network and the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club filed suit with our partners in 2009 to stop the pollution. The case caught the attention of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who has now taken the case against the mine to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. Prairie Rivers Network and Sierra Club are now intervening to ensure sufficient penalties for unlawful pollution of Grindstone Creek and Willow Creek.
In the 15 months since the Attorney General took on the case, the Industry Mine has continued to violate its water pollution permit. Furthermore, the new permit would allow the mine to continue its practice of dumping toxic coal ash into unlined pits at the mine – a practice that may be contributing to the groundwater pollution problems onsite that IEPA has acknowledged exist.
Grindstone and Willow Creek both flow into the La Moine River, and at the hearing the La Moine River Ecosystem Partnership (LMREP) urged IEPA not to issue the permit. In their statement delivered by Schuyler County resident Tim Sullivan, LMREP stated that “The Illinois EPA, in association with local matching funds, has spent approximately $1 million over the past five years on projects in the La Moine River watershed under the Section 319 Grant Program. By consciously allowing this mine to operate outside the scope of its pollution discharge permit, the Illinois EPA is directly undermining its own efforts to improve water quality in the region.”
Echoing the sentiments of many who spoke at the hearing, Macomb resident Sara Wood said, “The coal company cannot be allowed to continue to flush the true cost of mining downstream.”
Prairie Rivers Network along with local citizens and our partners at the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the La Moine River Ecosystem Partnership will continue to fight to put an end to pollution from this mine.
SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS:
Illinois EPA will accept public comments on the draft NPDES water discharge permit for Industry Mine until May 12th. Comments can be sent to Hearing Officer Dean Studer, RE: Industry Mine NPDES, IEPA, P O Box 19276, Springfield, IL 62794 or via e-mail to <EPA.Public HearingCom@Illinois.gov>. The subject line on the e-mail must read: Industry Mine NPDES.
Tell Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to deny Industry Mine’s permit!
News Coverage
Just before the hearing, Prairie Rivers Network’s Traci Barkley sat down with Rich Egger of WIUM 91.3, Macomb, to discuss the problems at Industry Mine. Listen to the full interview here.
- Locals Speak Out Against Mine Permit Renewal, McDonough County Voice
- “Substantial Issues” Raised at Mine Permit Hearing, WIUM 91.3 FM Macomb
- Question of Coal Mine’s Permit Renewal Stirs Controversy, WGEM Quincy
