FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Paul Dailing, Environmental Law & Policy Center, 312-771-1979, pdailing@elpc.org
Andrew Rehn, Prairie Rivers Network, 708-305-6181, arehn@prairierivers.org
Celeste Flores, Faith in Place, 502-395-8683, celeste@faithinplace.org
Renner Barsella, Sierra Club, 217-390-9394, Renner.barsella@sierraclub.org
Miranda Fox, Earthjustice, mfox@earthjustice.org
Proposed Coal Ash Rules in Illinois Face Criticism as Public Hearings Continue
The second round of hearings on new coal ash regulations in Illinois will proceed this week with strong participation from public demanding stronger protections
CHICAGO, IL — The final public hearings to gather feedback and comments on Illinois’ proposed coal ash rules will conclude this week. While the proposed rules have some strong provisions, they must do more to protect future generations by prohibiting ash pond owners from leaving coal ash in contact with water or in the floodplain.
“This rulemaking process has the potential of being an agent of change. It’s an opportunity to provide my community and other environmental justice communities with a vision of a brighter future,” said Dulce Ortiz with Clean Power Lake County.
It is clear from feedback delivered during the first hearings that the rules fall short on public participation. Communities deserve the opportunity to review and weigh in on all aspects of coal ash impoundments operation, clean-up, and closure. It is communities, not ash pond owners, that must live with the consequences if coal ash ponds are operated, maintained, remediated, or closed in an unsafe manner.
“Public participation shouldn’t be an afterthought when it comes to handing out state permits for coal ash pollution,” said Kiana Courtney, Staff Attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Illinois law guarantees that public health must be protected from coal ash pollution and requires a meaningful public participation process to achieve that goal. This means the public must get access to all necessary documentation in the permitting process and enough time to review it so they can voice concerns about what’s happening in their communities.”
The public, as well as the Illinois EPA, must also have the opportunity to weigh in on who is assessing and guaranteeing their safety. Illinois must not — as the Illinois EPA proposes — rely solely on third-party engineers hired by industry to protect the integrity of the many ash pits around the state. Catastrophic collapses of ash ponds can and do happen. Illinois must not risk our waters nor residents’ lives by failing to review whether coal ash ponds are at risk of failure.
“Illinois has a real opportunity to make a difference by protecting our treasured waters for generations to come. These rules go part of the way, but they must go further,” said Jennifer Cassel, Staff Attorney at Earthjustice. “There must be no doubt: coal ash cannot be left in water. I hope the Board chooses to make Illinois residents proud by committing to a future of clean water for our state.”
“The communities of faith represented by Faith in Place are looking toward the Illinois Pollution Control Board to make the strongest coal ash rules,” said Celeste Flores, Faith in Place. “The time to stand with community members is in this process. These rules must protect our groundwater and not continue to allow corporate polluters to make decisions without community input.”
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Background
The Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act, passed last year, set up a rulemaking process for the development of regulations for coal ash sites. Coal ash is a waste byproduct of burning coal, and contains toxic metals that cause serious health problems, including cancer. Coal ash is stored on-site at power plants in coal ash impoundments, which are often referred to as “coal ash ponds” because they resemble man-made ponds filled with coal ash mixed with water.
Illinois EPA identified 73 coal ash ponds at dozens of power plant sites across the state, nearly all of which are next to rivers and lakes. A report from 2018 shows that groundwater at 22 of 24 coal ash sites tested in Illinois, including impoundments and landfills, had unsafe concentrations of toxic coal ash pollutants. Safe closure of coal ash impoundments is critically important to protecting human health, drinking water, and the environment. Where coal ash has already contaminated the land and water, clean-up of the contamination is a major issue facing Illinois. We need to stop further contamination and clean up the pollution already in our water.
