Now is your opportunity to submit written comments to make sure Illinois’s coal ash rules are applied to the coal ash at the Marion Coal Plant on Lake of Egypt. On June 10th, several Southern Illinoisans spoke before the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) in Marion IL, asking the Board to ensure that the coal ash is responsibly cleaned up. If you were unable to attend that meeting, you can still submit written comments to the IPCB until June 30th.
What’s At Stake?
In 2021, Illinois adopted coal ash regulations requiring power plant owners to properly manage, monitor, and clean up toxic coal ash ponds to prevent pollution. But the Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC) is seeking a permanent exemption from these rules for eight coal ash ponds at its Marion Lake of Egypt plant by filing a “petition for adjusted standards” with the IPCB. These ponds contain significant amounts of toxic coal ash and the company’s own monitoring shows they are actively contaminating groundwater. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has twice recommended to the IPCB that the coal ash ponds should not be exempt from the rules.
What Should Your Comment Say?
Our Fact Sheet will give you the information you need to draft a short comment. Even a sentence or two would be worthwhile. For example, a simple comment might say, “The SIPC coal ash ponds should be subject to Illinois’ coal ash rules. The ponds contain significant amounts of toxic coal ash, they have not been properly closed, and the company’s own monitoring shows they are actively contaminating groundwater.” You might also include why this matters to you, if you are local, a member of the cooperative, or use the Lake of Egypt.
How to Submit Comments?
You can submit your public comments by emailing Don Brown, the clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control Board (don.brown@illinois.gov) with the subject line “Public comment on Case # AS 2021-006”. Comments will be accepted until June 30th.
