PEORIA -- About a dozen people navigated around flooded streets, ignored watery basements, and otherwise braved the stormy weather to attend the first public meeting on April 17 on the fate of Ameren's Edwards power plant at Bartonville.
It's an old, dirty, polluting, coal burning power plant that needs to close, environmental activists say. They have the facts to prove it.
But a Hollis Township official at the meeting, Jim Bailey, pointed out the elephant in the room. The plant pays $250,000 a year in property taxes to schools and local governmental bodies. "Others will have to pay it," he said. Or budgets will be cut dramatically.
Then there are the 110 workers at the plant, he noted. What will happen to them?
To make matters worse, a huge corporation that already has restructured from bankruptcy, Dynergy, last month announced it is "buying" the Edwards plant along with others owned by Ameren.
In a unique transaction that has not yet closed, it offered to assume the $850 million debt Ameren owes on the plants. That's what it called "buying" the plants. Then what?
Earlier in the day, a coalition of environmental groups sued Ameren in federal court because the Edwards plant has been (allegedly) violating the Clean Air Act. (See story below.)
The enviros want to alert the community to what's coming down, and put pressure on the powers that be to plan for the future, and include all the stakeholders including the local community and the workers. Will that happen?
Other meetings will be held, perhaps in June, they said.
Meanwhile, here's what should occur: A committee of elected officials at all levels, from township to the General Assembly, should begin investigating all aspects of the so-called 'purchase' to be sure there are guarantees that the plant and its polluted site won't be dumped onto the taxpayers in another bankruptcy.
Legislation may be required to make that happen.
Then they can plan for a suitable closing, including environmental cleanup.
Grassroots folks can help by pressuring the elected officials with real power, including subpoena power, to find out what's being planned.(Wouldn't looking at corporate emails be interesting!)
At the meeting, activists suggested retiring or retraining workers for 'green' jobs, and looking to federal funds to compensate local governments for loss of property taxes. Good ideas, also dependent on government.
"It should be treated like a military base closing," activist Tracy Fox said. "It could be part of Obma's climate initiative."
Stay tuned.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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