Citizens Win Eight-Year Battle to Stop Coal Strip Mine

Local Water Resources Saved Upstream of Public Water Supply Lake IDNR Stream Protection Errors Exposed CANTON, Ill. – The court case contesting the North Canton coal strip mine permit was officially ended January 16th, winning an eight-year battle by citizens of Fulton County to protect Canton Lake and its watershed that supplies drinking water to over…

Sierra Club Among 18 Illinois Groups Calling on Rep. John Shimkus to Address Failing Coal Ash Pits

Today, on the six-month anniversary of an impoundment failure at Duke Energy’s Dan River plant in North Carolina, 18 environmental organizations and community groups representing thousands of citizens in Illinois sent a letter to U.S. Representative John Shimkus urging the congressman to address failing coal ash pits in the state. The letter reminded Rep. Shimkus,…

Foresight Energy LP profits rise at the expense of quality of life, clean water and clean air in Illinois

While there may have been excitement on Wall Street this week as Foresight Energy LP began trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Illinois residents living in the shadow of a Foresight Energy LP coal mine have a different story to tell. The financial community lauds the chutzpah of Chris Cline’s Foresight Reserves, which controls…

Illinois DNR Rejects Coal Mine Proposal After Scofflaw Company Defaults On Bond Obligation

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) recently rejected a permit renewal application for Springfield Coal Company’s Industry Mine.  Citing failure of financial obligations, the June 4 permit denial marks a significant step toward stronger enforcement of coal mining regulations in Illinois. “By denying this permit, IDNR is letting Springfield Coal and the mining industry…

Citizens’ Frustrations at Mine Hearing Underscore Need For Reform Measures

Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) recently announced some much needed and welcomed State mining program improvements within the Office of Mines & Minerals (OMM). But, it’s only a start. As was evidenced by citizen frustration at a recent public hearing more changes need to be made, people need to be heard, and OMM needs…

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.…

Pollution Control Board Finds Industry Mine in Violation of Water Permit

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…

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…

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

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? That’s what a large crowd of people who attended  IEPA public hearings in Canton last night…

Chicagoans Urge Mayor Emanuel To Protect Public Health

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…