Illinois Fracking Update

Illinois Fracking Update
Statement of Jack Darin
Director
Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter

Tuesday the Illinois House Executive Committee is expected to consider SB1715, which contains measures to regulate high-volume horizontal fracturing, or “fracking” for gas in Illinois.

Sierra Club opposes fracking in Illinois.   Fracking poses grave dangers to our communities, land, air, and water; and contributes to the continued destabilization of our climate.    The safest and smartest  way to protect ourselves would be to immediately enact a moratorium to allow for thorough study of the risks of fracking and to learn from the experiences in other states and major health studies currently underway.   HB3086 and SB1418 would each enact a two-year moratorium on the dangerous practice, and Sierra Club supports these proposals.

Sadly, fracking is legal in our state today, and evidence suggests that in fact it is already occurring, putting our citizens and environment at grave risk.  Strong regulatory measures are essential to protect the environment and public health, and the provisions of 1715 are improvements on our pre-World War II era oil and gas regulations.   However, new regulations will not make fracking safe.   Our support for these additional protections does not mean we have confidence that fracking can be done safely or without pollution.  No one should point to SB1715 as a model for how fracking can be done safely, or as evidence that the Sierra Club supports fracking.

With dangerous fracking likely already underway in Illinois, it is urgent that the act General Assembly before adjourning the Spring session.   We reiterate our call on Springfield to consider and approve a two-year moratorium to best protect our communities.

Renewed Calls For Moratorium on Fracking In Illinois

Today, a coalition of groups supporting a moratorium on fracking in Illinois descended on the state capitol. HB 3086 and SB 1418 would both establish a two-year moratorium on the controversial practice of high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

High-volume horizontal fracturing (fracking) is devastating to our communities, land, water and contributes to the continued destabilization of our climate.   Sierra Club stands with those who are calling on Springfield to enact a moratorium on fracking in Illinois, and we urge legislators to support HB3086 and SB1418.

Sierra Club opposes fracking in Illinois, and wants to stop this destructive practice before it starts. We continue to stand with our friends and allies that support a moratorium and urge state legislators to support HB 3086 and SB 1418. A moratorium affords us the opportunity to prioritize protecting public health and the environment while we look more closely at the damaging risks posed by yet another extractive industry in our state.

Because fracking, sadly, is legal in our state today, a moratorium is the safest and best approach for dealing with this threat.   Strong regulatory measures are also important to protect the environment and public health, but new regulations will not make fracking safe.   We do need to update our pre-World War II era oil and gas regulations, but our support for additional protections does not mean we have confidence that fracking can be done safely or without pollution. We believe that the safest option for Illinois is to adopt a moratorium so that we can study the risks of fracking in an open and transparent way.

There is a better way to develop energy for Illinois. Rather than our continued reliance on fossil fuels, we should continue to build our clean energy economy. Illinois’ clean energy economy has created 20,000 jobs, saved consumers $177 million and cut climate changing pollution by more than 5 million tons. Illinois should embrace the opportunities of a clean energy future and pass on the extractive fossil fuels of the past.

 

Fracking Legislation in Springfield – Where We Stand

Sierra Club is opposed to fracking.  Fracking is devastating to communities and families all over the country — polluting our air and water, and contributing to the destabilization of our climate.

That’s why the Sierra Club supports a moratorium on fracking in Illinois: we want to stop destructive drilling before it can start. Our responsibility is to ensure our representatives take the strongest possible actions to protect our families and the environment.  We stand with Representative Mell, Senator Hunter, Speaker Madigan, and other legislators who have expressed their support for a two-year timeout while we analyze the tremendous risks fracking poses for Illinois.

While we stand with all of those calling for a moratorium, we also acknowledge that, until we pass a moratorium, fracking is legal in Illinois, and may indeed already may be occurring.  HB2615 does not allow or open the door to fracking in Illinois — unfortunately that door is wide open today, and our health and environment are at great risk.  Our pre-World War II Oil and Gas Act is entirely inadequate to protect us from fracking’s many threats, and our Department of Natural Resources has none of the resources needed to oversee this controversial industry.  For these reasons we support The Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, HB 2615, which will provide at least some solid measures to protect ourselves from the dangers of fracking.   However, our support for these protections does not mean they give us any confidence that fracking in Illinois can be done safely, or that any regulatory regime could adequately address all of the risks posed by fracking.  On the contrary, we oppose fracking coming to Illinois and continue to build support for a moratorium.

A far safer and better path to job creation and economic development in Illinois is to continue to build our clean energy economy.   We have created over 20,000 jobs in wind and solar energy since Illinois set clean energy targets in 2007, and that is only the beginning of the economic and environmental benefits if we prioritize clean energy.   Conservation efforts can also create jobs and business opportunities while reducing the demand for natural gas, and lower our utility bills.   We urge the General Assembly to approve pending renewable energy and energy efficiency measures to help Illinois take advantage of these opportunities and all the benefits they offer our state.

Protecting Illinois From Fracking

The prospect of the gas industry coming Illinois to extract gas from beneath our state using high-volume hydraulic fracturing has caused a great deal of controversy and concern, especially in parts of Illinois where leasing for drilling rights has been underway for well over a year. Horror stories from other states about open pits of toxic wastewater, secret brews of toxins injected into the earth, air emissions sickening neighbors, and contaminated drinking water are just a few of the impacts seen elsewhere.

Can we stop the industry from bringing fracking to Illinois? When legislators proposed a two-year moratorium on the practice last year, we strongly supported that proposal, and we support continued calls for a moratorium today. However, we also need to acknowledge that fracking is legal today in Illinois, and for all we know, may already be occurring as you read this. We also need to recognize that our current laws regulating oil and gas drilling, originally passed in 1941, are totally inadequate to deal with the range of issues raised by injecting millions of gallons of chemical-laced fluid deep into the earth only to come surging back with gas and potentially oil. In short, Illinois citizens and our environment, at the moment, are virtually defenseless against against the problems experienced in other states.

That’s why it is essential that Illinois move quickly to get the strongest possible safeguards in place to protect citizens and their water supplies. Fortunately, discussions in Springfield have produced a basic agreement on what would be the strongest set of protections of any state in the country. The open pits for wastewater in use in other states will be banned here, and there will be none of the dumping the water into wastewater treatment plants, which has overwhelmed sewage plants elsewhere. The discharge of any fracking wastewater into surface water will be a felony offense. The industry must disclose what chemicals are used, and the most toxic ones will be banned. Ann Alexander from the Natural Resources Defense Council, who helped represent environmental groups in the negotiations that produced the proposal, has a good rundown on the major provisions of the bill here.

Open pits for wastewater will be banned in Illinois

We certainly applaud the leaders who recognized the urgency of getting these safeguards in place. Representatives John Bradley (D-Marion) and David Reis (R-Olney) led the talks, and Ann Williams (D-Chicago), Naomi Jakobsson (D-Urbana), and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn-Currie (D-Chicago) particularly focused on the environmental safeguards. Governor Quinn’s Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which has been advocating for strong legislation for over a year, will be faced with regulating the industry and played a critical role. Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s team fought for the strongest possible regulations at every step of the way.

The bill is certainly not perfect, and its ultimate effectiveness in protecting public health and the environment will be in how it is enforced. This will be a major test for the Department of Natural Resources, which will need significant new resources to do the job. That will be a key issue in the next phase of discussions, which will focus on taxes and fees the industry must pay. If the safeguards in HB2615 are going to work, they must be accompanied by adequate fees, paid by industry, to cover the state’s substantial costs.

We certainly share the concerns of those who live in areas where tracking is likely to occur – they have reason to be concerned. Hopefully, once House Bill 2615 is signed into law, they will be much safer than they are today, and much better protected than citizens in other states facing the same concerns. We may not be able to decide whether fracking comes to Illinois, but we absolutely must decide to make sure we are as protected as we can be.

Coal Ash Chronicles

This December will be the 4-year anniversary of the tragic coal ash waste impoundment failure at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tennessee when a billion gallons of toxic coal ash flooded the surrounding residential area and water bodies with extremely dangerous levels of arsenic, mercury, and other toxins.

In May of 2010 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposal for the first-ever national rules to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants and the structural integrity of coal ash impoundments. At the time of the announcement, Lisa P. Jackson, EPA Administrator, stated, “The time has come for common-sense national protections to ensure the safe disposal of coal ash. We’re proposing strong steps to address the serious risk of groundwater contamination and threats to drinking water and we’re also putting in place stronger safeguards against structural failures of coal ash impoundments. The health and the environment of all communities must be protected.”

The coal ash waste impoundment at Dynegy Energy’s Havana Power Plant on the Illinois River is larger than the ash impoundment that failed in 2008 at the TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant.

From the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA, the nation’s primary law for regulating solid waste, arose two options for addressing the risks of coal ash management. Simply put, Subtitle C, which creates a comprehensive program of federally enforceable requirements for waste management and disposal, is the option that is clearly more protective of the health and environment of all communities. The other option, Subtitle D does not classify coal ash as hazardous waste, merely sets performance guidelines that are not enforceable by EPA, does not prohibit wet ash storage impoundments, does not require states to comply with minimum national standards for coal ash disposal, does not require utilities to monitor old landfills or waste ponds, does not require states to issue permits, and does not require regulations governing the pre-disposal management of coal ash such as storage, transportation, accidental spills, etc.

After the EPA announced the proposed rules it went out for public comment. Many of you were among the 450,000 people who commented on the proposed rule during the summer of 2010. We’ve been waiting now for two years for a final ruling.

Forty-three percent of the active and retired coal waste landfills are unlined and 53 percent lack leachate collection systems.

In the meantime, this summer EPA released data showing the number of coal ash disposal ponds and landfills is far greater than previously known. The data released by the EPA to Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) revealed that there are at least 451 more coal ash ponds and 56 additional landfills than previously acknowledged. Forty-six percent of the 1,161 ponds are not lined, which means there is nothing to prevent contaminates from leaching into water supplies. Forty-three percent of the active and retired landfills are unlined and 53 percent lack leachate collection systems.

On October 3, 2012, the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Environmental Law & Policy Center, Prairie Rivers Network and Illinois-based Citizens Against Ruining the Environment filed a legal complaint with the Illinois Pollution Control Board against Midwest Generation for violations of Illinois state solid waste and groundwater laws at four power-generating facilities in Illinois: the Joliet 29, Powerton, Waukegan and Will County Generating Stations.

Meanwhile, while we’ve been waiting a final ruling, industry has been pushing hard to completely remove EPA’s authority to regulate coal ash altogether. Last summer, legislation introduced by Rep. David B. McKinley (R-WV) to prevent EPA from regulating coal ash was attached to a completely unrelated must-pass transportation bill. Fortunately, that maneuver was thwarted. Then came Senate Bill 3512, the Hoeven-Conrad-Baucus coal ash bill, designed to permanently remove EPA’s authority to regulate coal ash, to eliminate waste ponds, impose regulations on states to issue permits or close leaking and dangerous sites.

Yesterday it was confirmed that the original sponsors of S. 3512 were trying to attach it as an amendment to a military spending bill coming out of the Senate Armed Services Committee. This morning an email arrived from our friends at Earthjustice with news that last night Senator Barbara Boxer, Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about coal ash and it’s dangers, warning that she would remain in the Senate floor for as long as it would take to ensure that a coal ash rider does not get added to the Department of Defense funding bill.

The battle continues, but its encouraging to know that there are leaders with integrity watching out for our families and our future.

Pollution Control Board Finds Industry Mine in Violation of Water Permit

Polluted runoff from Industry Mine.

For eight years, between 2004 and 2011, Springfield Coal Company’s 5,651-acre Industry Mine in McDonough and Schuyler Counties violated its water permit 624 times. Pollutants including sulfates, iron, manganese, pH and total suspended and settled solids were released at 16 of 17 outflow points into tributaries of Grindstone Creek. Grindstone Creek flows into the LaMoine River, which flows into the Illinois River.

Industry Mine

In 2009, the Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) and Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) notified the state of their intent to sue over 363 permit violations. In response, on February 10, 2010, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office filed a suit before the Pollution Control Board. On the 25^th ELPC filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Sierra Club and PRN. Over the course of the next two years Industry Mine continued to rack up pollution violations, which today amount to 624.

In a ruling released on November 16^th, the Illinois Pollution Control Board found Springfield Coal Company’s Industry Mine in violation of its water permit. Springfield Coal and its predecessor, Freeman United Coal Mining Company, face a maximum penalty of $64 million.

The penalty phase of the lawsuit will take place at a hearing at a future date to be determined. Although the Board rarely imposes the maximum fine, its our opinion that this fine should be substantial enough to send a clear message to Springfield Coal and the industry as a whole that clean water standards in Illinois will be enforced!

Industry Mine
Photo credit: Marianne Morgan/InIllinoisWater.org

The extreme number of pollution violations at Industry Mine is of particular concern because Springfield Coal is also seeking permits to open two new strip mines in west-central Illinois. One, the North Canton Mine strip mine is proposed directly upstream from Canton Lake, Canton’s public water supply for over 20,000 people.

We commend everyone who took part in this important case, which demands the protection public waterways from chronic violators. From the engaged citizens who saw what was going on and knew they had to take action, to the Attorney General’s Office that took up this case, to the Pollution Control Board that did a thorough review of the data, all played an important role in a system that works if we pay attention and stay involved.

Don’t Frack With Illinois!

That’s the message a growing coalition of organizations and concerned citizens is sending to industry and decision-makers regarding the proposal to open Illinois to high-volume hydraulic fracturing–or fracking.

Gas leasing speculation has been quite a spectacle in Illinois, especially in the southeastern counties where shale gas development is thought to be the most promising. We learned early on that the state has virtually no regulations in place to protect the public and the environment from the hazards of fracking. Seeing all to0 clearly the myriad of damages to people, communities and the environment that shale gas development has caused in other states a coalition of environmental organizations came together to address the issue head on.

For nearly a year, Sierra Club and other organizations have established a list of measures that are necessary for the protection of people and places in Illinois. They include:

• Chemical disclosure–before fracking–of exactly what chemicals are being used in the frack.
• Baseline groundwater testing before the frack and following monitoring afterwards.
• Water withdrawal plans.
• An adequate public notice and appeal process for frack well permits.
• Adequate setbacks from water supplies, including water wells, streams, ponds and lakes.
• Prohibition on the use of toxic chemicals such as BTEX chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene).
• Prohibition of storing wastewater in open pits.
• Treating  fracking waste as hazardous waste.
• Ending clean air act exemptions for fracking sites.

Until industry is willing to accept reasonable regulations that protect the environment and the people who depend upon it for their lives and livelihoods, no permits should be issued for high-volume hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, we continue to support a moratorium on fracking until Illinois has developed robust and comprehensive regulations that protect people and places from an activity that has been so harmful in other parts of the country.

Please ask your state legislators for his or her support by co-sponsoring Senate Bill 3280 with a moratorium on fracking until robust regulations have been developed.

And, please support this important campaign by taking part in the Don’t Frack With Illinois event—a virtual fundraising event sponsored by the Shawnee Group Sierra Club. Win a handcrafted acoustic guitar generously donated by Whipple Creek Guitars in Pomona, Illinois. Visit the event website to buy tickets and your chance to WIN!!

High-volume Hydraulic Fracturing Background Information

Industry is proposing to use high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing to reach oil and/or natural gas in the New Albany Shale. After drilling into the shale, which is located between 4,000 to 5,000 feet down, the well bore is then drilled horizontally for one to two miles. Following the drilling the well is then “completed” or “fracked.” Fracking is process in which water, sand and toxic chemicals (fracking fluid) 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.

Each well uses between 2 to 8 million gallons of fresh water taken from our lakes and aquifers. Since one well is often fracked up to 18 times and there could be one well for every forty acres of land within the New Albany Shale, this amounts to an enormous quantity of fresh water permanently taken out of the system.

Additionally, 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. Industry is proposing to store this toxic brew in open evaporation pits until it can be hauled away in tanker trucks to deep injection wells. Spills and leaks throughout this process are inevitable, putting wells, farm ponds, streams, lakes, and aquifers and the people, pets, livestock and wildlife that use them at great risk.

In many areas, after a well has been fracked, people’s well water has become contaminated by chemicals (some even radioactive) that migrate into aquifers through natural fissures and/or possibly through abandoned wells.

Air pollution is also a big problem. Volatile organic compounds from wastewater flowback pits and airborne chemical releases from the equipment involved in the fracking process all add up to a high level of air pollution in many areas.

On Chicago’s Ballot Tuesday: A Clean Energy Future

When Chicagoans go to the polls Tuesday, they’ll have a chance to decide whether the Windy City moves beyond coal to clean energy in a way that lowers electric bills and creates jobs.   And no, I’m not talking about the clear choice in the presidential race for all who want to move in that direction.

A referendum on Chicago’s ballot will ask voters if they want to pool their buying power to get a better deal on electricity.   A better deal will surely mean lower monthly bills, but by choosing clean, renewable energy to replace dirty coal, Chicagoans can ensure that those lower monthly payments are supporting the jobs of the future and reducing the air pollution that threatens our health.

Choosing a cleaner, different supplier won’t change how the power gets to your home.   The power will still get to you over ComEd’s lines, and your monthly bill will still come from ComEd.   What could change is where the power comes from, and that is where the exciting potential to grow the green economy lies.   Chicago could choose to eliminate coal from its power supply, which currently makes up 43% of Illinois’ electricity.   If Chicago replaced coal with cleaner sources, the reduction in air pollution would be the same as taking 600,000 cars off the road – all while paying less.

Chicago can also choose to show the leadership lacking in the current Congress, and support local employers who are trying to build the clean energy industry here.   While Republicans in Congress are letting the clock run out on one of the key drivers of growth in the wind power industry, Chicago can step up and support an industry that has created over 19,000 jobs in Illinois over the last five years.  A new power supplier could also offer new energy efficiency tools to lower bills even further, and potentially support Chicago’s efforts to install more solar on city rooftops.

“Voting yes on this referendum question will allow my administration to explore the potential for municipal aggregation to deliver savings for Chicago residents and small businesses through an open and competitive bidding process. As part of this competitive bidding process, we will also ask for suppliers to show us how they can deliver cleaner energy to Chicago customers, keeping Chicago on track towards becoming the greenest city in the world. This will result in a win for homeowners, a win for small businesses, and a win for clean energy.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

In less than two years as Mayor, Rahm Emanuel has taken big steps to move Chicago to clean, prosperous energy future.   Working with community groups, he closed Chicago’s two dirty coal plants.   He’s cutting costs by retrofitting buildings to reduce energy waste.    He’s opening doors to new business by streamlining permitting for solar panels on Chicago rooftops.

If Chicagoans vote Tuesday to pool their buying power, 1.1 million ComEd customers will be able to build on these accomplishments by speaking with one voice – a clear call for a cleaner energy future.

Let’s flip the switch – vote yes on community choice aggregation for Chicago.

Get your map while it’s hot!

 

RALLY FOR STARVED ROCK

Join us October 28th as we continue our fight to save Starved Rock State Park!

For more information, visit our site dedicated to fighting sand mining at Starved Rock State Park!