Restoring the Natural Divide

Study Presents New Options For Restoring the Chicago River & Protecting Lake Michigan

Chicago Area Waterway

A much-anticipated study says separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to prevent the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species is not only possible, but a natural step toward much-needed action to improve Chicago’s water infrastructure.

The study, Restoring the Natural Divide, offers real alternatives to simply closing the locks between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.  Authored by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, the report shows that it is possible to stop aquatic invaders like Asian carp while enhancing transportation and stormwater management and improving water quality.

While Asian carp have been the public face of invasive species, they are among 39 species deemed “high risk” by the Army Corps of Engineers based on a propensity to invade and to inflict significant damage to new habitat.

Local and Federal Governments currently spend upwards of $200 million per year to control invasive species in the Great Lakes. Ending the continuing threat of transfer of these aquatic invaders through the Chicago River system will be essential to the region’s long-term economic well-being, and would complement plans for river restoration, increasing the value of Chicago’s second waterfront.

Restoring the Natural Divide not only provides valuable information for stakeholders working to improve the Chicago River system, but could inform and expedite the Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS), the Army Corps’ study of threats from invasive species.

“At last someone has identified solutions to the Asian Carp threat that will protect the Great Lakes and improve the Chicago River,” said Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter. “In Illinois we love both Lake Michigan and our rivers, and these are smart ideas that can work to protect and improve both. We urge the Army Corps and other leaders to study these solutions in more detail quickly, so we can get to work improving these waters for everyone’s benefit.”

To find out more about the study visit: http://www.glc.org/caws/

Normal to get “Revenge”? You bet!

Fisker Electric Sports Car outside the Chicago Premiere of "REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR" November 2011

No, we’re not advocating retaliation, just renewable electrification! This Thursday January 26^{th ,} Normal IL will host an EVening of EV’s as the hit movie “Revenge of the Electric Car” makes its way to the Normal Theater (encore showing Friday night). The event includes an EV gala with many of the newest electric cars on display, including the flashy Fisker and a Tesla Roadster that local Executive Producer Stefano Durdic will drive down from Chicago.  Following the 7pm screening there will be a panel discussion with Durdic, Normal Mayor Chris Koos and Joe Delello Mitsubishi’s Director of EV operations.

It’s becoming the norm in Normal to see electric vehicles cruise down Main street in this mid sized university town located about 130 miles outside of Chicago.  It is home to the only US Mitsubishi manufacturing plant, and has been dedicated 1,000 of the car company’s new electric vehicle called the “i”.  Normal is quickly earning its name EVtown as it plans and installs a robust network of charging stations.

Although you might not be able to distinguish an EV from a gas guzzler just by looking at it, a lack of noise (points for sneakability) and tailpipe emissions could help clue you in.  In President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address, he set the goal of 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015. Now a year in, Illinois is doing its part to break our dependence on oil and move to cleaner sources of power generation, like the solar charging canopies I-GO car sharing is installing for 2012. The state of Illinois also offers residents a rebate of up $4,000 for electric vehicles and plug in hybrids from the Alternate Fuels Rebate Program.

For those who can’t make the EVening of EV’s in Normal, Revenge of the Electric Car is now out on DVD and a movie not to be missed.

More Event Details: http://bit.ly/normalEV

For more information on electric vehicles, check out Sierra Club’s Go Electric campaign.

Stop the Swap–Go to Bat for the Bats

How ironic that during the Year of the Bat, the Shawnee National Forest would propose a land exchange in which the Forest Service would trade away a 384-acre tract of land with a known endangered bat species to Peabody Coal, Co. for a strip mine! An Indiana bat maternity roost was found on the parcel and the endangered gray bat was also detected there.

A diamond in the rough, the Gallatin County parcel is one of the Shawnee’s best-kept secrets. Located just a few miles south of Shawneetown on the Saline River, it takes only one visit to this beautiful piece of land to know that it is providing critical habitat in a part of the state that has seen more than its fair share of human disturbance.

“The single-most important factor that leads to endangerment and extinction of species– and the one the Forest Service has the greatest influence over—is the alteration and loss of habitats.” US Forest Service, Threatened, Endangered & Sensitive Species Program.

In the proposed exchange the Forest Service would trade a parcel of approximately 384 acres in size for three tracts of ALH land, which adjoin FS land in Pope and Jackson Counties.

The federal parcel is entirely forested with bottomland and upland hardwoods, including swamp chestnut oak, American elm, red maple, sweetgum, maple, ash, tulip tree and the Forest’s largest and highest quality cherrybark oaks. It’s rare to find such a diverse bottomland forest habitat within the Saline River watershed, which is constantly being bombarded with clearing, mining, ditching and draining. Canoeist and anglers enjoy recreating in this section of the Saline River, while hikers, bird watchers and hunters enjoy the beautiful woodland.

The natural wonders alone should be ample reason for the Forest Service to hang on to this parcel, but the discovery of federally-endangered Indiana and gray bats should stop the swap. This past summer, gray bats were detected and one Indiana bat maternity roost was found on the site and 2 more maternity sites were found on FS land very near by. These are the only known Indiana bat maternity roosts known on the eastern half of the Forest.

The proposed land swap is in complete violation of the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act requires the Forest Service to “use all methods and procedures which are necessary” to preserve endangered species. The Forest Service is required by law to give the highest priority to the protection and recovery of endangered species.

The Shawnee National Forest is seeking scoping comments on this proposal to swap land-for-land with American Land Holdings (ALH), a subsidiary of Peabody Coal, Co. Let your voice  be heard–take action here!

LaSalle County Board Approves Starved Rock Sand Pit

January 12, 2012 – The LaSalle County Board today approved an application for a massive open pit sand mine next to Starved Rock State Park, despite objections from local residents and a growing outcry from citizens across the state who had urged the County to protect Starved Rock, prime farmland, and local residents from the impacts of the project.

“We’re very disappointed that LaSalle County has put Starved Rock at risk.  There are many places to mine sand, but there is only one Starved Rock,” said Jack Darin, Director of the Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter.

The mine site includes a state-recognized natural area, and would be adjacent to Starved Rock State Park.  The mine would pump millions of gallons of water per day for its operations, and those withdrawals threaten springs and marshlands within the Park.   In addition, water pollution from mine operations could drain through the Park, its ravines, and canyons, which are an important outdoor recreation asset for Illinois. Over two million people each year visit the state park, which recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of its protection.

Despite strong opposition from local residents and thousands of comments against the mine from around Illinois, the County Board appeared to give minimal consideration to concerns about the project.

“I am saddened and angered that the LaSalle County Board failed to recognize that Starved Rock is an important economic engine for the area. Instead they have jeopardized existing tourism jobs for a few new ones that promise to pollute our air and water while degrading the experience for all Starved Rock visitors,” said Tracy Fox, a Sierra Club member who attended today’s county board meeting.

In the wake of LaSalle County’s approval, the project now must be approved by state agencies that will examine the mine’s impacts on water quality, archeological resources, natural areas, and the state park.

“The fight to protect Starved Rock from this open pit mine is far from over,” said Darin.   “Starved Rock is one of Illinois’ most special places, and citizens across the state are rallying to protect it.”

Southern Illinois Judge Grants Natural Gas Rights From More Than 1000 People Without Their Permission

Just two weeks ago the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a draft report linking hydraulic fracturing to groundwater contamination. Yet, despite this report, yesterday a Saline County, Illinois judge granted Colorado-based Next Energy, LLC the right to lease mineral rights from more than a thousand people without their permission!

Dimock, PA drilling site of Cabot Oil and Gas. State officials ordered the Houston-based energy company to permanently shut down some of its wells, pay nearly a quarter million dollars in fines, and permanently provide drinking water to affected families for contaminating local drinking water.

Deep beneath the coal seams of Saline County lay the New Albany and Maquoketa shale deposits at 4,200 to 6,100 feet deep respectively. Next Energy, LLC plans to extract natural gas from the deep shale beds with a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking is process in which water, sand and chemicals are injected into the well at high pressure to create small cracks in the rock that allow natural gas to freely flow to the surface.

Toxic chemicals are used at every stage of the fracking process.  Drilling muds, a combination of toxic and non-toxic substances, are used to drill the well. To facilitate the release of natural gas after drilling, approximately a million or more gallons of fluids, loaded with toxic chemicals, are injected underground under high pressure using diesel-powered heavy equipment that runs continuously during the operation.

One well can be fracked 10 or more times and there can be up to 28 wells on one well pad.  An estimated 30% to 70% of the fracking fluid will resurface, bringing back with it toxic substances that are naturally present in underground oil and gas deposits, as well as the chemicals used in the fracking fluid.

Fracking pad with waste water impoundment in Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of www.marcellus-shale.us

Most well pads contain pits that hold used drilling muds, fracking fluids and the contaminated water (produced water) which surfaces with the gas.  Produced water often continues to surface for the life of the well (20 to 30 years) and is often hauled in “water trucks” to large, central evaporation pits.  Many of the chemicals found in drilling and evaporation pits are considered hazardous wastes and upon closure, every pit has the potential to become a superfund site.

In addition to the land and water contamination issues, at each stage of production and delivery, tons of toxic volatile compounds, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, etc., and fugitive natural gas (methane), escape and mix with nitrogen oxides from the exhaust of diesel-driven equipment to produce ground-level air pollution-causing ozone, which can spread up to 200 miles beyond the immediate region where gas is being produced. Ozone not only causes irreversible damage to the lungs, it is equally damaging to many plants and crops.

Well water contaminated with methane catches fire at the tap. Photo from the film, Gasland.

Hydraulic fracturing is one of only two underground injection processes exempted from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. States where hydraulic fracturing occurs have varying regulatory requirements, some of which are weak. For example, in Illinois oil and gas companies are not required to publicly disclose the types and amounts of chemicals that are injected underground in the fracturing process. In other words, nearby residents or landowners have no way of knowing what kinds of chemicals are being injected underground that may have contaminated their drinking water.

Between the county judge’s overeager bow to industry and Illinois’ oil and gas industry exemptions from the safe drinking water act, the citizens of Saline County are being fracked in more ways than one!

Sources:
The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Inc.
Sierra Club

Illinois’ Experience Shows That Mercury Pollution Controls Work

Today’s historic announcement from the Obama Administration that it will require new pollution controls to limit the toxic chemicals coming out of coal plants across America is a huge victory for public health. More than 20 years after Congress required these controls, the President and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson are standing up to the special interests who have blocked action for so long to do the right thing for the health of our children.

The new pollution controls will save an estimated 11,000 lives per year, including 570 annually in Illinois. They will protect children’s developing brains and nervous systems from mercury and other neurotoxins. However, we know big coal and their allies will object, and their defenders in Congress will make all the usual false claims – that if we protect our kids’ health, that the lights will go out, electric bills will skyrocket, and life as we know it will grind to a halt.

Those claims aren’t new – polluters often react to calls to innovate with scare tactics and delay. In the end, of course, pollution controls always turn out to be cheaper than feared, and jobs are created in their design, installation, and operation.

In this case, here in Illinois, we’ve already proven them wrong. Coal plants in Illinois had to cut their mercury pollution by 90% (the same cut EPA is now calling for) back in 2009. Since then, the controls have been installed at plants across Illinois, and they are working as expected, or better, in reducing toxic mercury pollution:

“We’ve had a lot of success in Illinois; we’re very pleased,” said Laurel Kroack, chief of the Illinois EPA’s bureau of air. “A lot of (utilities) thought they would never get to 90 percent, but with a few tweaks, they got beyond it.”

Not only are the pollution controls working, electric rates have stayed the same, and are projected to decline in the near future, not increase. There has been no shortage of power as a result, in fact, Illinois produces more electricity than it consumes. Installing the controls has provided good jobs at a time when we needed them most.

Illinois leaders are welcoming the federal action. Governor Quinn said:

“High levels of mercury pose serious health risks, which is why we must do everything we can to ensure clean, healthy air for generations. I would like to thank President Obama and the USEPA for their mercury and air toxics standards rule.

“In Illinois, we have seen the benefits of enacting stringent requirements for reducing mercury emissions over the last several years. As a result, thousands of pounds of harmful mercury emissions have been kept out of our air. The President’s action will protect millions of Americans from these dangerous emissions just like we have been doing in Illinois.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said:

“I commend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for introducing new standards to reduce levels of dangerous toxins in our air. Limiting emissions of mercury and other pollutants from coal and oil-fired power plants will save thousands of lives, protect public health, and create jobs for Americans. Our experience in Illinois has shown that mercury emissions can be dramatically reduced without any impact on reliability, cost, or quality of service. We must continue to clean our air and clean up this industry across the country, to create opportunities for Americans and allow all Americans to lead healthier lives.”

As the President said, “today is a good day”, and in more ways than one. It’s certainly a good day for the country, but especially for all of us in Illinois who feel like we’re due for being first at something really good for a change.

Join me in thanking President Obama here.

Starved Rock: An Illinois Treasure in Peril

LaSalle County Zoning Board Ok’s Destructive Mining Proposal

After 2 days and 15 hours of testimony the LaSalle County zoning board voted on December 15, 2011, to approve a destructive new special use permit that would allow a sand mine adjacent to Starved Rock State Park.

The proposal is scheduled to be heard by the full county board on January 12, 2012, at 707 E. Etna Road, Room 250, Ottawa, Illinois at 1:00pm.  Submit a comment to the LaSalle County Board today and help protect one of Illinois’s special places.

Starved Rock State Park and the rare brackish wetland areas in and around the proposed mine are listed in Illinois’ Natural Area Inventory and have been designated as high quality natural communities to be protected. These areas provide valuable habitat for a wide array of plant and animal life that will be directly and indirectly impacted by the noise, pollution, and constant activity generated by the mine. The mine also has the potential to significantly alter the hydrology of the area.

LaSalle County’s natural areas and Starved Rock are unique assets that not only offer a chance to experience Illinois’s natural heritage but are also a strong economic engine for the County as well. Over two million people visit Starved Rock State park each year providing the county businesses with customers and local governments with revenues.

The location of this proposed mine threatens Starved Rock State Park, contradicts the county’s priorities for preserving natural areas and farmland and jeopardizes one of the County’s primary economic engines. A mine adjacent to the park won’t just scare off wildlife, but will lower park visitation rates and diminish the economic benefits LaSalle County receives thanks to its beautiful natural areas.

Sand Mine Threatens Starved Rock

The LaSalle County Board is meeting Wednesday to decide whether Mississippi Sand, LLC should be granted a special use permit that would allow mining operations on property adjacent to Starved Rock State Park. Sierra Club along with Prairie Rivers Network, the Starved Rock Audubon Society and many of the area’s citizens are concerned about the potential detrimental impacts from the mining operation on LaSalle County natural areas, waterways and Starved Rock State Park.

Starved Rock State Park and the rare salt marshes in and around the proposed mine provide valuable habitat for a wide array of plant and animal life that will be directly and indirectly impacted by the noise, pollution, and constant activity generated by the mine. It is likely the mine will affect the hydrology and water quality that feeds these unique salt marshes. A detailed hydrology study is needed because the proposed development drains west into Starved Rock State Park and the millions of gallons of water pumped per day will alter the current mineral content of the salt springs and marshlands.

Over two million people visit Starved Rock State Park each year providing LaSalle County businesses with customers and local governments with revenues. This positive economic activity is based entirely on the experience of the visitor as they step out of their car into the beautiful canyons and listen to the sound of the waterfalls cascade. An active mine brings loud machinery, dust pollution and ceaseless truck traffic. A mine adjacent to the park won’t just scare off wildlife, but will lower park visitation rates and diminish economic benefits LaSalle County receives thanks to its beautiful natural areas.

Jobs and economic development are needed in LaSalle County but the location of this proposed mine threatens Starved Rock State Park, one of the County’s primary economic engines, and contradicts the county’s priorities for preserving natural areas and productive farmland. We are calling on the county zoning board to oppose the petition of Mississippi Sand, LLC for a special use permit to allow mining operations on property adjacent to Starved Rock State Park.

Citizens of Canton in Fulton County don’t deserve a stocking full of coal!

Protect the Copperas Creek Watershed

Will the citizens in Canton, IL be getting a big lump of coal in their stocking? Or will the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) do the right thing and Protect Canton Lake and Copperas Creek from strip mining coal?

Canton area citizens, friends and allies pack the hearing.

That’s what a large crowd of people who attended  IEPA public hearings in Canton last night are wondering.The IEPA held the hearings to determine the request of Capital Resources Development Company, LLC, for a 401 Water Quality Certification¹ and a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)² permit for the proposed North Canton Mine. The proposed 1,084.5-acre coal strip mine site is located just over a mile upstream from Canton Lake, threatening the safety and quantity of drinking water for 20,000 people and permanently destroying miles of tributary streams in the Copperas Creek watershed.Aerial view showing proximity of proposed North Canton Mine to Canton Lake–drinking water supply for over 20,000 people.

Aerial view showing proximity of proposed North Canton Mine (orange outline) to Canton Lake and Copperas Creek.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has identified the Copperas Creek watershed as a strategic watershed in the Illinois River Bluffs regions due to its high quality habitat. Allowing the mine to destroy these streams is in complete opposition to the Department’s plan to “protect the good stuff first.”

If anyone gets a lump of coal in their stocking it should be Capitol Resources Development, LLC for the 300 Clean Water Act violations since 2003 at its Industry Mine in McDonough County. Despite ongoing legal action since 2009, IEPA has issued no fines and the Industry Mine continues to pollute.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has identified the Copperas Creek watershed as a strategic watershed in the Illinois River Bluffs regions due to its high quality habitat.

It’s not too late to show your support for a broad alliance of farmers, business people, health care professionals, teachers, attorneys, students, retirees, camping, hunting, and fishing enthusiasts who have all come together to protect their area’s sole source of drinking water from an ill-conceived and potentially disastrous mine proposal.

Comments concerning both the 401 certification and the NPDES permit can be made until Jan. 5, 2012.  Submit your comments using our handy Sierra Club Online Action form. Or email your comments– but be sure to specify either NPDES or 401 in the subject line.

¹The 401 certification is for impacts to the watershed associated with the proposed mine site, which is currently used for agriculture with forested stream corridors.
²The NPDES permit is for storm water related discharges of wastewater from the mine site into the Middle Branch of Copperas Creek and the West Branch Copperas Creek.

Chicagoans Urge Mayor Emanuel To Protect Public Health

Rev. Thomas R. Gaulke, Pastor at First Lutheran Church of the Trinity in Bridgeport, speaks on the importance of retiring two of Chicago's dirty coal plants: Fisk and Crawford

Supporters of the Clean Power Coalition delivered an eight-foot tall board to Mayor Emmanuel’s office displaying over 800 Chicagoans demanding their right to breathe cleaner air.  Local community justice members, parents, environmentalists and public health experts urged the Mayor to set retirement dates for Chicago’s two dirtiest coal plants,

Fisk and Crawford, by the end of 2011.

Fisk and Crawford are two of the dirtiest coal plants in the country located in a dense urban area. Studies have shown that these two coal plants are linked to asthma attacks among children, heart attacks, hospitalizations and early deaths. Chicago Clean Power Coalition members, including Sierra Club, have been mobilizing in their communities to shutter the pollution from both Fisk and Crawford and to fight for clean air solutions.

During the petition delivery event, Rev. Thomas R. Gaulke, Pastor at First Lutheran Church of the Trinity in Bridgeport and representatives from P.E.R.R.O. and Pilsen Alliance spoke on behalf of the community, urging Mayor Emanuel to announce retirement dates a top priority of his administration.

Clean Power Coalition supporters and organizers continue to bring light to a pollution crisis that results in 45,000 tons of pollution a year and in an eight year span has cost Chicagoans more than $1 billion in health care and environmental costs.  Join us and our community partners in moving Chicago beyond coal.