FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andrew Rehn, arehn@prairierivers.org, 217-344-2371 ext. 208
Illinois Senate Passes Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act
Legislation would protect communities and water from toxic coal ash
URBANA — Today, the Illinois Senate in Springfield approved sweeping measures to permanently protect our groundwater from the dangerous pollutants found in toxic coal ash dumps found around the state.
Introduced by Senator Scott Bennett of Champaign, the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act (SB9) would:
- Provide a regulatory framework that ensures the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approves protective closure plans for coal ash impoundments
- Require financial assurance from companies to ensure Illinois taxpayers are not stuck with clean-up costs
- Ensure public participation and transparency for affected communities, giving them a voice in the process
- Focus on environmental justice communities and high risk impoundments to ensure that attention is given to those most at risk
- Assess fees on polluters to provide EPA the resources they need to protect our water and communities
“This bill tells power companies that they can no longer rely on the public to foot the bill for their past legacy of waste,” said Andrew Rehn, Water Resources Engineer at Prairie Rivers Network. “We are one step closer to making sure communities are protected and our water is safe from pollutants seeping into our groundwater from toxic coal ash pits.”
Coal ash is the solid by-product that is left over after coal is burned for electricity — much like ash is left over after burning wood in a fire. Coal ash pollutants (including boron, sulfates, iron, and manganese) have seeped into the groundwater at sites across Illinois. Last year, Prairie Rivers Network with Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and the Environmental Integrity Project issued a report showing that there are more than two dozen coal ash dumpsites spread across Illinois that contain over 80 individual ash ponds and landfills. Nearly all of these sites sit near rivers and lakes. Twenty-two of 24 coal ash dumps are leaching unsafe levels of pollution into Illinois Waters.
Senator Scott Bennett’s leadership on this legislation has been outstanding, and he and the legislative Green caucus are to be commended for their tireless efforts to make this legislation meet the needs of all Illinoians. It is now up to the Illinois House to take up this issue and pass this legislation to protect our communities and water.
Information is available at illinoiscoalash.com and prairierivers.org.
At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.
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