PEORIA -- Ameren's Edwards coal fired power plant at Bartonville, south of Peoria, is not only polluting the air in central Illinois. (See stories below.) It's polluting the Illinois River, as well.
That was the focus of an August 7 news conference held by a coalition of environmental groups. The groups urged people to attend a public hearing at 6 p.m. on August 7 at the Pekin Public Library, 301 S. 4th St., to tell the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to require the plant to modernize its discharge systems into the Illinois River.
"We call on the Illinois IEPA to protect us," said one of the many speakers at the news conference. About a dozen activists attended, most young adults.
The Edwards plant dumps 5.2 million gallons daily into the river. Its 89-acre coal ash landfill sits near the river and likely drains toxins and heavy metals into the river, they said.
It also discharges 320 million gallons daily of warm water into the river, with a negative impact on aquatic life. Could that warm water be encouraging zebra mussels and Asian carp? No one knows.
Here's the news release the groups issued after the news conference:
Throughout its 52 years of operations, the E.D. Edwards plant has dumped large amounts of coal ash dangerously close to the Illinois River. The accumulated toxic coal ash currently sits in an 89-acre, 32-foot high pond near the plant and has left groundwater contamination problems on the site. Each day, more than 5 million gallons of water is polluted with toxic metals like arsenic, lead and mercury by coal and coal ash processing. To date, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has failed to place limits in its water discharge permit for the E.D. Edwards plant on the amount of dangerous heavy metal pollution that the plant can send from the plant’s ash ponds into the river.
“The water discharge permit written by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency does not limit toxic metals that Ameren can discharge from the Edwards coal plant,” said Traci Barkley, Water Resources Scientist with the Prairie Rivers Network. “In order to adequately protect our health and the quality of our drinking water, IEPA must strengthen its permit for the Edwards plant to prevent water contamination issues near Peoria.”
The E.D. Edwards coal plant’s current water permit is expired, and the draft permit sets no limits on toxic metals discharged from the plant’s coal ash pond. The draft permit only requires twice yearly monitoring for pollutants including arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium.
“From polluting our air to polluting our water, coal hurts our community’s health in so many ways, said Alyssa McMillian from ICC Students Advocating For the Environment (SAFE). “It’s time to work together as a community to revitalize our city by transitioning away from burning fossil fuels. As a young person, I’m determined to bring together many different voices here in Peoria to create a new legacy in our region.”
The E.D. Edwards coal plant reports that it can discharge more than 4 million gallons per day of ash pond wastewater, containing a mixture of fly-ash and bottom ash contaminated waste. Ameren, the current operators of the Edwards coal plant, was required to monitor for mercury only on a monthly basis, and Ameren only had to do that 12 times before stopping indefinitely.
“When pollutants like arsenic, boron and mercury come into contact with water, it can be disastrous for public health,” said Tessie Bucklar with Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste. “Doctors and scientists know that exposure to these dangerous metals can lead to birth defects, cancer, and even death. Think of how many are out on that water every summer? Their health is on the line, and it is more important than ever that the IEPA do its job and protect our water and our health from toxic metals in our waterways.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than half of all toxic water pollution in the country comes from coal-fired power plants, making coal plants the number one source of toxic water pollution in the country. Toxic metals from the coal ash waste pond at the E.D. Edwards coal plant discharge into the Illinois River, which serves as a water supply for many river towns and is popular for fishing and swimming. The Illinois River is already designated as an impaired waterway because of mercury contamination and active coal-fired power plants are among the largest sources of these toxic pollutants.
“It is disheartening to know that polluters are given a free pass to discharge toxic metals into our waterways,” said Jacob Leibel, Peoria Resident and member of the Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance. “The Illinois River, Pekin Lake and our other local fishing spots define summertime here in Peoria. We boat, we fish and we recreate in that water. Right now, the fish that comes from the Illinois River is too dangerous to eat. Our families and our rivers deserve better than toxic pollution.”
The Central Illinois
Healthy Community Alliance (CIHCA) is a coalition of individuals and
organizations committed to creating a sustainable and healthy community
for Central Illinois. CIHCA is concerned about the decades of air and
water pollution created by the E.D. Edwards coal plant south of
Bartonville. CIHCA is working to retire the E.D. Edwards plant and
transition Central Illinois to a cleaner energy economy by reducing
energy use, moving to renewables such as wind and solar and requiring a
just transition for workers.
Here's a story on national regulation of coal ash pollution.
Here's a story on the problems with coal ash sites elsewhere in Illinois.
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