Illinois

December 1, 2022

“Flagrant environmental injustice”- groups petition EPA over coal ash pollution

By Grace van Deelen

Seven years after US regulators set what were supposed to be strict rules for the disposal of coal ash—a toxic mix of metals such as arsenic and lead generated by coal-burning power plants—the vast majority of coal power plants are continuing to allow coal ash contamination of groundwater at levels considered unsafe, according to environmental advocacy groups.

Roughly half a billion tons of coal ash at 300 sites across around the United States are exempt from “life-saving health protections,” according to a petition delivered Thursday to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The petition calls on the agency to update regulations to include the complete closure and cleanup of legacy coal ash landfills and to take “aggressive enforcement against violators.” The petition specifically cites coal ash waste impacting communities in Indiana and Illinois. In addition to the organizations that signed on, the petition received nearly 2,000 citizen signatures.

“We want communities to know exactly what’s happening at their power plant. Much of it is very concerning and very damning,” said Lisa Evans, an attorney at Earthjustice, one of the lead groups petitioning the EPA.

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November 2, 2022

Farmer safety net growing more costly as climate changes

As cool weather sets in to the US Midwest, much of the farm state of Iowa is suffering from moderate to severe drought, but for farmer Brent Drey, another worrisome weather trend is also top of mind: Over the past few decades, the Drey family farm has noticed an uptick in rainfall, which often comes down so hard and fast that the moisture actually does more harm than good.

“There are times, especially in the spring, where it can dump three or four inches in a matter of an hour or two,” Drey said. “That really makes a mess for any farmer.”

Drey Farms, which grows 3,000 acres of mostly corn and soybeans near Sac City, Iowa, has sometimes lost production due to excess moisture, according to Drey. Flooding, heavy rains and excess snow melt can complicate planting, and drown out or sicken maturing crops as wet conditions lead to elevated levels of mold, fungus, and toxins.

For Drey and other farmers who suffer production losses due to excess moisture, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has long offered a crop insurance program to cover their losses.

October 5, 2022

Chicago’s southeast side pushes back against pollution

By Paul Gordon

For more than 100 years, the Southeast side of Chicago has been a magnet for industry – a place where working class families made their homes and raised their children alongside steel mills, grain elevators, cement kilns and other operations drawn to the easy transportation of goods afforded by rail lines and the proximity of the Calumet River.

There once was a common saying in the area: “If there is soot on the windows, there is food on the table.”

The price for the industrial prosperity has been high: Now the area is home to two Superfund sites, multiple landfills, and numerous abandoned tracts of heavily polluted land that lie adjacent to a new cast of polluters – factories constantly busy milling, grinding and combusting.

Once a marshy area, 40% of Chicago’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900. The wetlands, which filter pollutants and prevent flooding, began to drain when the city altered the course of the Chicago River, sending its industrial waste-fouled waters away from population centers.

Without the wetlands, residents of Chicago’s southeast side experience high rates of flood damages, poor air quality, heat vulnerability, and other harmful environmental impacts, leaving people struggling for ways to protect their health and the environment.

“All of the environmental issues facing Chicago are magnified on the Southeast side where industrialization and contamination have created an inhospitable and dangerous environment for many,” said Daniel Suarez, conservation manager for Audubon Great Lakes, a regional arm of the national nonprofit conservation group.