PeoriaStory

Stop the Pipeline(s)

PEORIA, IL -- The Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance put on an impressive news conference on Feb. 22. With five speakers from community groups, they announced a campaign to keep carbon dioxide pipelines and/or carbon capture and sequestration projects out of a proposed southside Peoria TIF district. 

A public hearing on the TIF district is scheduled for Feb. 27 in the city council chambers.

Here is the press release they issued:

Local racial justice and equity concerns and environmental issues regarding the proposed City of Peoria Distillery District Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan will be presented by Martha Ross, President, Southside Community United for Change; Jonathan Thomas, Co-Chair, Environment and Climate Group, City of Peoria and Peoria County Commission on Racial Justice and Equality; Warth Mohammed, Concerned Citizen and Activist; and Pastor Marvin Hightower, President, Peoria NAACP at a press conference February 22nd.

A Public Hearing on the proposed Distillery District TIF will be at the February 27^th Peoria City Council Meeting. This District begins south of McArthur Highway near the Illinois River and includes an expanse of SW Washington Street, and a narrowed area further south. This location and adjacent neighborhoods are recognized by the U.S. EPA as designated Environmental Justice areas due to multiple factors, including health and environmental disparities after decades of cumulative social impacts and disinvestment.

Environmental justice means the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in decision-making and other activities that affect human health and the environment. Environmental justice ensures people are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards; the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens; and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers.

The 2022 Annual Report for the Peoria City and County Joint Commission on Racial Justice and Equity states that U.S. EPA Environmental Justice factors for areas of the Southside show extreme levels of inequity due to having multiple high pollution factors and that the areas are predominantly minority residents. The Distillery TIF could have a direct impact on increasing disparities already recognized for the Southside if action is not taken by the City and the Peoria City Council regarding this TIF.  The Distillery TIF project should not enable funding for developments that add air and/or water pollution to the Southside through new state or federal permits. TIF funding should not add risks and safety issues for area neighborhoods, such as carbon dioxide pipelines and/or carbon capture and sequestration.  

The City of Peoria is being asked to act on the clear findings in the Joint Commission on Racial Justice and Equity Report, and align the Distillery TIF and their decisions on that TIF to give full recognition to those findings and honor and incorporate them. ***

Here's a fine in-depth story about this issue on WCBU-FM radio's site:

https://www.wcbu.org/local-news/2024-02-22/peoria-environmental-southside-groups-push-for-safeguards-in-potential-distillery-tif-district

  -- Elaine Hopkins

Pipeline threats

MACOMB, IL -- The proposed CO2 pipeline for several western Illinois counties is a terrible idea.  Building it puts more pollutants into the environment than it would capture, according to Food and Water Watch. 

It's failed elsewhere, and even worse: "Running a carbon capture system is incredibly energy-intensive — it essentially requires building a new power plant to run the system, which would create another new source of air and carbon pollution. That undermines the whole goal of capturing carbon in the first place. While our country emits roughly 5 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year, removing 1 billion tons of that through direct air capture would require nearly the entire electricity output of the United States."

That's enough -- just say 'no.'

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

CO2 pipeline is a threat

PEORIA, IL -- An important news release:

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

A new kind of pipeline for our state concerns the Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance (CIHCA). Beginning in January, a Texas venture capital company will hold meetings about a liquified carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline crossing thirteen counties. CIHCA sees liquified CO2 pipelines as major public health and safety concerns.

A CO2 pipeline explosion in February, 2020, spread a gas cloud over Sartartia, Mississippi, sickening people across the town. CO2 is an asphyxiant and displaces oxygen. In too high quantities it can cause unconsciousness or death. Lesser amounts can cause convulsions, disorientation, foaming at the mouth, nausea, vomiting, and other health problems.

In the Sartartia incident, some individuals could not escape the gas cloud because their vehicles could not start due to the displacement of oxygen by the leaking CO2 mixture. Gasoline and diesel vehicles need oxygen to operate and will not run with high levels of CO2 in the air.

Navigator CO2 Ventures, LLC, has announced it plans to pipe CO2 from South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa, ending in Illinois. Thirteen Illinois counties will be impacted: Hancock, Adams, McDonough, Henry, Knox, Fulton, Schuyler, Brown, Pike, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, and Christian. Given the risks posed by CO2 pipelines as well as the probability that such pipelines will extend the useful life of fossil fuels in electricity generation and various industrial processes, it is important people learn more about what is being planned. A major question is if the company is considering eminent domain.

The CO2 pipeline will stop at a yet-to-be announced carbon sequestration site in central Illinois, where the company intends to inject the CO2 deep into the state’s Mt. Simon sandstone formation. Tenaska and Advanced Resources International, Inc., are working on the carbon sequestration location details, according to a Navigator press release.

CIHCA sees a better investment in more renewable energy and energy efficiency, instead of spending millions to build pipelines moving liquid CO2. The organization is especially concerned about any routes through residential areas due to pipeline hazards.

Navigator will hold a virtual meeting on January 14^th, 2022. Registration appears to be limited to landowners only and is at the Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC website. Directions are to click on your state at https://heartlandgreenway.com/landowners/

A series of informational meetings will be held in several counties beginning January 11^th, 2022. As of December, the full listing of Navigator meetings is as follows:

• Tuesday, January 11^th at 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Knoxville American Legion, 749 Henderson Rd., Knoxville, IL 61448, about Henry and Knox Counties
• Tuesday, January 11^th at 6-7:30 p.m. at the Spoon River Outreach Center, 2500 East Jackson, Macomb, IL 61455, about Fulton and McDonough Counties
• Wednesday, January 12^th at 10-11:30 a.m. at the University of Illinois Extension Center, 550 N. Madison, Carthage, IL 62321, about Hancock County
• Wednesday, January 12^th at 6–7:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus, Rt. 24 West, Mr. Sterling, IL 62355, about Brown, Schuyler, and Adams Counties
• Thursday, January 13^th at 10-11:30 a.m. at Hamilton’s, 110 N. East St., Jacksonville, IL 62650, about for Pike, Scott, and Morgan Counties
• Thursday, January 13^th from 6-7:30 p.m. at Edgewood Gold Club, 16497 Kennedy Rd., Auburn, IL 62615, about for Sangamon and Christian counties

Please attend and ask questions about safety, construction, materials used, what routes impact residential areas, local impacts to the environment, accident response, inspection frequency, and other issues of concern to you. It is hoped interested community members who do not own land in the pipeline path can attend the meetings, but Navigator controls who attends and who is allowed to speak.

Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance is a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to creating a sustainable and healthy community for Central Illinois. CIHCA is concerned about air and water pollution and is working to transition Central Illinois to a clean energy economy. We urge transparency and open information regarding new projects, such as the Navigator Heartland Greenway, LLC, CO2 pipeline and carbon sequestration.

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"Save Our Riverfront"

CHILLICOTHE, IL -- A group has formed to save the Chillicothe riverfront from plans to put a barge terminal on a nearby island. 

Here's the story with photo from The Community Word.

And here's a terrific letter from state Rep.Ryan Spain opposing the project.

  -- Elaine Hopkins

Glen Oak Park questions

PEORIA, IL -- With more than $2 million slated for improvements to Glen Oak Park, the Peoria Park District asked citizens what they wanted, at an August 16 meeting in the park.

They got an earful.

At least 100 people showed up, 99 percent white in a neighborhood with many Black residents. As the meeting turned to public comments, it became obvious that most want the band shell in the amphitheater saved, not demolished as park officials have suggested.

They are OK with tearing down the fence around the amphitheater, and no one spoke up to defend the playground, a wonderful rugged place that children were enjoying as the meeting continued.

The rationale is that  handicapped children cannot use it, so it should be replaced and made accessible. That will be a loss to ordinary children. Our four grandchildren loved that playground. It should be retained (and no, it doesn't seem to be falling apart) and another accessible playground built nearby.

As for the band shell, without a roof many bands will not play there, park district CEO Emily Cahill said.  Someone in the crowd said "build a roof" over the existing space. "Upgrade the band shell," someone else said, to applause.

"We love it. We want something nice," another said, to applause.

A man noted that the park's historic foot bridges and trails badly need repairs.

Whether to install basketball courts drew debates, with some saying they have been destroyed at schools, so would need supervision. Where to build them was discussed, and someone said a gravel parking lot could be paved for tournaments.

This gravel parking lot could host a basketball tournament. The signs on the hills say 'Save our Amphitheater in Glen Oak Park ." 

Some spoke of the park as a "gem" in the city, important to the East Bluff, and walkable for many in a time now and in the future when people will drive less.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the park board meets on Glen Oak.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Save Donovan Park

UPDATE OCT 6, 2021 -- The pavilion proposal has been withdrawn for now.  Here's the PJS story. 

PEORIA, IL -- Should a fourth of Donovan Park be sacrificed for a Ravinia-style pavilion?  No.

Here's what I found on a half hour walk through the park, where the pavilion and its parking lot would be built: Monarch butterflies, bees, wild flowers, hundreds of beautiful mature trees, oaks and evergreens, prairie grasses, a lovely wild feeling except for the traffic sounds from Knoxville (and what would the musicians in the park do about that?). Bees and Monarchs are facing possible extinction and desperately need habitat and nectar.

Here are some photos:

Monarchs on a wildflower. Notice the many trees in the background, and the prairie grasses.

One of many beautiful oak trees. 

This park is a piece of the wild in the middle of Peoria. It's in use all year, for hikes and cross country skiing, while providing habitat for wild creatures.  

There are plenty of venues in Peoria, now and proposed, that don't affect this beautiful, wild park.  Leave it alone, pavilion backers, and find another location for your project.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

A Pavilion in Donovan Park?

PEORIA, IL -- Does Peoria need a $20 million Ravinia-style pavilion in Donovan Park, a 120-acre park on the upscale north side of the city, created from a former golf course?

The Peoria Park Board has already given a sort of preliminary approval for the project, telling its staff to work on presenting a document for its official ok.  The vote could come in October, park district CEO Emily Cahill said.

There's a lot at stake in this project: pay checks for the contractor and event promoter, and tax write-offs for the donors, even surcharges on event tickets for the park district.

It's not the first entity to try to take park property for private gain. A drugstore and an apartment complex failed to grab park acres in recent memory. But this project is different.  It's a not-for-profit venture to bring arts events to Peoria.

It would take 18 percent of the park, on its southwest corner, for the 1,500-seat  pavilion and parking lot for 670 vehicles. 

It will all be "green" construction, the advocates say. 

A project proposal before the park board can be accessed here, though it's less than ideal visually. But the backers make their case and the board likes it, so far.

The downsides: creature habitat in the park (will birdsong vanish?), the threat of light and heat pollution to the venerable observatory, and competition to several other venues, including some now being developed. And that $20 million could be spent on other charities, maybe.

Is the idea financially viable? When is the last time the Peoria Civic Center Theater was sold out, or the baseball park Dozer Field?  In the August issue of the Community Word, columnist Roger Monroe notes that Dozer Field has been attracting only a couple of  hundred fans at games (it needs 700 to break even), and the Heart of Illinois Fair attendance was way down.

So a symphony or a national rock group would attract more? Maybe. The park pavilion would be open from April to October, have year round classrooms back stage, and could also be rented. The park district would get a fee for each ticket sold, and the not-for-profit group would pay for all maintenance, so there's no financial risk for the park district.

Here's a sensitive downside: it's on Peoria's white northside, instead of where most of the Black communities live.  And closer to them, Glen Oak Park's pavilion has been closed. That area is scheduled for a $2 million facelift, with  the pavilion demolished in favor of more green space, Cahill said. But events could still take place there, she added.

Some have said the Glen Oak Park area has become dangerous in a bad neighborhood, and people won't go there. The same complaint is made about downtown and the Civic Center. I disagree with both fears, but I have heard them. 

The pavilion is a tempting proposal with some major flaws.  But it won't happen if the funding fails, Cahill said.There could be a time limit on raising the $20 million plus an endowment for maintenance, she added.

There will be two public hearings, she said, before the board votes. 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Saving the endangered

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:         

New Bill Would Galvanize Wildlife Conservation,

Help Prevent Extinctions in Illinois

 

Champaign (July 21, 2021) — New bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate will fund locally-led efforts to help prevent extinctions and help wildlife thrive nationwide. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will send approximately $26 million to Illinois each year, which the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) will use to help the 419 species of concern in Illinois, such as the Blanding’s Turtle, the Lake Sturgeon, and the Monarch Butterfly.

 

“We are facing a looming wildlife crisis in Illinois. This commonsense, bipartisan bill will allow us to help at-risk wildlife early with collaborative, voluntary measures before they become endangered,” said Elliot Brinkman, Executive Director of Prairie Rivers Network. “This will create jobs while restoring habitat for some of Illinois’ most threatened species.”  

 

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was just introduced in the Senate by Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) introduced a similar version of the  Recovering America’s Wildlife Act in the House in April. 

 

“The historic, bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is by far the most important piece of wildlife legislation in the past half century,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “At a time when more than one-third of wildlife species are at heightened risk of extinction, this critical legislation will help recover thousands of at-risk species through proactive, collaborative efforts in every state, territory, and Tribal nation, creating jobs while preventing extinctions. We applaud the incredible bipartisan leadership of Senator Heinrich and Senator Blunt, and their House partners Rep. Dingell and Rep. Fortenberry, who are all demonstrating once again that wildlife conservation can unite all Americans.”

 

Nationwide, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act dedicates $1.4 billion annually to locally-led wildlife restoration efforts, with most of the money going to wildlife agencies like IDNR who will use the money to implement existing plans for at-risk wildlife. At least 15 percent of the funds will be used to help species that are already considered endangered or threatened.  

 

More than 1,500 businesses and organizations have signed on in support of the legislation, including 30 from Illinois.

 

 

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At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.

 

The National Wildlife Federation is America's largest conservation organization uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly-changing world.

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Hog factory threatens aquifer

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

Socially Responsible Agriculture Project
1120 Washington Ave. Suite 200 Golden, CO 80401
(503) 362-8303

Hog CAFO Threatens Water Quality of Mahomet Aquifer – Residents
Concerned About Health, Safety, and Access to Clean Water and Air

Mason County, Illinois – Mason County Concerned Citizens (MCCC) has
partnered with Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water (ICCAW) and the Socially
Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) to submit comments to the USDA Farm
Service Agency (FSA) on the impacts of a swine concentrated animal feeding
operation (CAFO) proposed by Fanter Farms in Mason County Illinois.
The site is located over the Mahomet Aquifer which was designated as a
Sole Source Aquifer in 2015. Over half the population in east-central Illinois
relies on the Mahomet Aquifer system as the sole source of their drinking
water.

Fanter Farms recently applied for a Beginner Farmer Loan through the USDA
direct and guaranteed FSA loan program to construct the 2,400 head swine
CAFO. Prior to approving a loan to finance a CAFO, FSA must consider the
potential impact on local water sources and ecology via an environmental review.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the Endangered Species Act, FSA is
required to consider the environmental and cultural impacts of government loans
that are approved through its program. Areas of special concern such as effects
on minority and low-income populations and water resources are among issues
to be evaluated.

The FSA recently issued a public notice regarding the Fanter project and invites
public comment as they complete the current environmental assessment (EA).
Residents are concerned that the project’s proposed site is located near existing
residences and would expose residents to the public health effects associated
with industrial livestock operations. Many residents living in the community of
Peterville near the proposed site experience serious health issues, are on
supplemental oxygen, and are low-income minority populations.

Scientific research has shown, over and over again, that industrial livestock
operations can contribute to health problems, lack of access to safe drinking
water, and unsafe air to breathe for communities living nearby.
Furthermore, an industrial CAFO coming into the neighborhood would negatively
impact property values, destabilize the local socioeconomic structure, and would
endanger the Illinois Chorus Frog – which is a vulnerable and threatened
species.

The high potential of the Mahomet Aquifer – which is the sole source for
drinking water for a large portion of Illinois – to be contaminated by the
CAFO’s operations is critically concerning.

A new Bill (SB 2515) to create a permanent Mahomet Advisory Council
dedicated to protect the Mahomet Aquifer passed both houses in the General
Assembly and is currently on the Governor's desk. The proposed CAFO is a
direct and serious threat to the safety of the aquifer.

“Agricultural runoff has long been noted as one of the threats to the integrity of
the Mahomet Aquifer. The passage of this bill is timely, in that it recognizes the
urgency to preserve the drinking water purity for all of East- Central Illinois,”
stated Karen Hudson of ICCAW and SRAP. “The future of the Mahomet lies in
the hands of the FSA who is using our tax dollars to either subsidize or deny
loans for projects that could affect almost 500,000 residents whose lives and
livelihoods rely on a clean water source.”

The MCCC is also submitting new photos showing flooded fields from recent
heavy rains. Drainage ditches in the area often have year- round standing water
due to the elevated aquifer. There are also sections of farm fields unable to be
planted for three years in a row due to constantly saturated ground, according to
the coalition.

“This project is trying to place 2400 swine and their 10 ft deep waste pits along
my road that was rebuilt & elevated one and a half feet after severe flooding
inundated us in 1993,” stated Kay Curtis, one of the nearest neighbors to the
site. “It makes zero sense to store and spread the untreated waste of over two
thousand hogs in our sandy and soggy neighborhood. The last thing our aquifer
and shallow private wells need is more animal waste runoff and leaks.”
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About Socially Responsible Agriculture Project
For more than 20 years, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) has
served as a mobilizing force to empower communities to protect themselves from
the damages caused by industrial livestock operations and to advocate for a food
system built on regenerative practices, justice, democracy, and resilience. Our
team includes technical experts, independent family farmers, and rural residents
who have faced the threats of factory farms in their communities. When asked for
help, SRAP offers free support, providing communities with the knowledge and
skills to protect their right to clean water, air, and soil and to a healthy, just, and
vibrant future. www.sraproject.org
About Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water
Illinois Coalition for Clean Air and Water (ICCAW) is a state-wide coalition of
family farmers and community groups advocating for sound policies and
practices that protect the environment, human health, and rural quality of life from
the impacts of large-scale, industrialized livestock production facilities in Illinois.
www.iccaw.org
About Mason County Concerned Citizens
The Mason County Concerned Citizens coalition supports responsible livestock
production and is calling for stronger livestock regulations that will better protect
public health and future rural development in Illinois.
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Why they are dumb

Is this the reason for so many dumb  right wing voters in rural America? They are sick and stupid.

 

 

THOUSANDS AT RISK DUE TO UNKNOWN LEVELS OF CONTAMINATION IN WELLS ACROSS THE STATE

Prairie Rivers Network Issues New Report On Nitrates In Rural Illinois Drinking Water

CHAMPAIGN -- Today, Prairie Rivers Network released a new report titled, “What’s in Your Well: The Hidden Dangers of Nitrates in Rural Drinking Water” highlighting the danger of nitrate contamination in rural drinking water.

Consumption of nitrate is associated with significant human health hazards, like Blue Baby Syndrome in infants, and more recent studies suggest it may also increase risks of various illnesses and cancers in adults. 

Despite serious health risks, not enough is known about the extent and degree of nitrate contamination in rural wells throughout Illinois. The limited data that does exist reveals some wells are experiencing high levels of nitrate, especially shallow wells under 100 feet deep in agricultural settings or wells along major rivers. As a result, thousands may be at risk of developing serious illnesses due to nitrate contamination in excess of the federal legal limit of 10 mg/L.

“Illinois has some of the highest nitrate levels found in private wells in the country,” says Prairie Rivers Network Agricultural Programs Specialist Catie Gregg. “We found wells testing at almost nine times the drinking water standard (90mg/L).”

The limited data available about nitrate contamination of shallow rural wells provides a disturbing if incomplete glimpse into Illinois’ shallow groundwater. It is clear that high nitrate levels can be seen across the state and in some areas at levels many times the drinking water standard. However, systematic statewide analysis of nitrate contamination of rural wells is needed to understand the full breadth of the problem.

“A theme that emerges from what little data we do have on Illinois shallow groundwater is that some wells are experiencing extraordinarily high nitrate contamination. And well owners may be unaware of the dangers they and their families face as a result,” Gregg said.

Illinois policy makers have recognized that the state must reduce the amount of nitrate that makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico, but we must also address nitrate contamination of local groundwater, especially in drinking water sources.

A robust, statewide well survey would provide much-needed data on the extent of nitrates in Illinois drinking water. Outreach to rural well owners and wide-scale adoption of farming practices that reduce pollution and restore soil health are needed and can be achieved by adequately funding state conservation and water quality programs and incentivizing better farming practices.

Read the full “What’s in Your Well” report here.

At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.