Regulation of Illinois’ coal ash may now fall solely in Illinois EPA’s hands. This weekend, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) passed the U.S. House and Senate, and is now awaiting a signature. This bill provides investments into water infrastructure across the country, including funding to address the Flint water crisis, but […]
Coal
National Park Service encourages removal of Dynegy’s coal ash from Vermilion River floodplain
The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, one of Vermilion County’s beautiful and best natural resources, is under constant threat from coal ash. Dynegy’s enormous coal ash ponds sit perched on the banks of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, Illinois’s only National Scenic River. The National Park Service, steward of the National Scenic […]
Open dumping of coal ash waste called “beneficial use”
July 25, 2016 | Blog Post
An investigation to determine if coal ash used near Kickapoo State Park has contaminated a lake reveals why the current regulations for beneficial use of coal ash are broken and need to be changed.
University of Illinois Votes for Coal Divestment
University of Illinois Academic Senate votes to divest from coal companies This week, the University of Illinois Academic Senate (over 200 faculty and students) voted in overwhelming support of a resolution to divest from coal companies — shifting the University’s investments to socially responsible funds. The resolutions was pushed by Student Senators and the UIUC […]
New Coal Ash Safeguards Effective Nationwide
On October 19th, the U.S. EPA’s new safeguards on the disposal of coal ash went into effect nationwide. The rules are targeted to prevent impoundment failures (like the massive Kingston, Tennessee spill in 2008), protect groundwater beneath coal ash disposal sites, and establish basic requirements for maintaining these massive waste storage pits. From now on, […]
