Yesterday was Environmental Lobby Day, and Prairie Rivers Network traveled to Springfield with our partners and hundreds of Illinoisans that care about the health of our environment and communities. We met with legislators and asked them to support several pro-environment bills! Thanks to all the legislators that took time out of their busy schedules to meet with constituents.
Make Today Your “Lobby from Home Day!”
If you couldn’t make it to Environmental Lobby Day, we have three ways you can make a difference TODAY:
1. Take action and ask your legislator to support the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act (HB3119) that would protect Illinois from becoming a carbon dumping ground.
Due to our state’s unique geology and an influx of federal incentives, Illinois has the potential to become ground-zero when it comes to carbon capture and storage (CCS), and the State is unprepared to protect us from this growing threat.
Fossil fuel companies are looking to exploit gaps in Illinois’ regulatory framework to take advantage, putting Illinois landowners, local drinking water, public health, and our climate at risk. HB 3119 establishes protections for human health and existing property owners at all key points in the carbon capture process. It also shields the public from bearing the financial burden of abandoned projects, includes robust public participation, and bans use of captured carbon for Enhanced Oil Recovery.
Lobby from the comfort of your home by contacting your state legislators here and asking them to support HB3119!
2. Take action with Neighbors for Environmental Justice and sign their petition in support of HB 2520, the Environmental Justice Act.
Environmental Justice (EJ) communities in Illinois are overburdened by huge amounts of pollution. Yesterday we joined EJ groups in Springfield to build support for the EJ Act (HB 2520). Specifically, this bill strengthens the definition of EJ Communities and creates a more robust air permitting process for any new construction.
It is critical we support grassroots, frontline organizations in their fight for Environmental Justice in their communities. Please consider following the work of People for Community Recovery, Neighbors for Environmental Justice, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, and Clean Power Lake County.
Take action and sign the petition to support HB 2520!
3. Read up on the nutrient pollution threatening Illinois’ waterways and pick up the phone! Yesterday we lobbied for SB1701, the Partners for Conservation Reauthorization Act. Agricultural runoff is a major source of water pollution in Illinois. Nutrient pollution contaminates drinking water, causes harmful algal blooms in our rivers and contributes to the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. We need to do more to support farmers who are adopting conservation practices that protect water and soil. SB1701 puts Illinois in a position to leverage new conservation funding that will result in less pollution and more wildlife habitat.
You can learn more about nutrient pollution on our website here and here. Then pick up the phone and call your representative to share your support of the Partners for Conservation Reauthorization Act! Don’t know your representative? Dial 1-312-814-3500 to get contact information and patched through.
Want to Do More?
Check your calendars and join us in Springfield on May 2nd to lobby for HB3119, the Carbon Dioxide Transport and Storage Protections Act! This is our chance to meet with our state senators and representatives about the ONLY bill that has been proposed that would protect Illinois residents from carbon capture, CO2 pipelines, and sequestration. You can learn more and register for the May 2nd lobby day here.
Photos from Environmental Lobby Day!
