Edwards Power Plant Coal Ash Pond and Site Issues Session Presentation Held October 13th
Representatives for Illinois Power Resources Generating, LLC, a Vistra Energy LLC subsidiary, held a public presentation about the Edwards coal plant ash pond at the Pere Marquette Hotel, Peoria, October 13th at 7 p.m. Notice about this session appeared in an ad in the Peoria Journal Star on Thursday, October 7th. The session was one of the requirements in a legal settlement over groundwater contamination at Edwards and several other downstate coal plants in the case Sierra Club v. Illinois Power Generating Company, et al, Illinois Pollution Control Board case PCB 2019-078.  The meeting was moderated by a Vistra staff member from Texas. A panel of three specialists with the company discussed aspects of their work regarding the Edwards coal ash pond, including site investigations ongoing to meet existing state regulations for ash pond closures; data collection and monitoring well results; what could be a surface impoundment closure timeline; and additional measures the company will be taking to evaluate the site for closure.

​Public comments included statements on the need for the coal ash to be removed from the river bottomland and safe handling and placement of the ash in an approved and monitored landfill. Some commentors stated doubts about the history of company compliance with regulations. There were questions on the company commitment to local concerns, including coal plant impacts of decades of polluted air impacting the south side of Peoria and minority neighborhoods. Thirty-six people were in the audience area, including the Chairman and members of the Peoria Park Board, the President of Illinois People’s Action Rev. Tony Pierce, City Council member Denise Jackson, Peoria League of Women Voters, and a diversity of faith-based, environmental, and justice group members.

Coal ash is the waste material left after coal is burned. It contains arsenic, boron, mercury and other contaminants, many of them toxic to people, fish and wildlife. When coal ash comes into contact with water, these hazardous materials leach out of the waste and can pollute both surface water and groundwater. Several of the substances can cause cancer, damage the nervous system and other organs, or cause other major health issues. Throughout its 52 years of operations, the Edwards plant has dumped large amounts of coal ash close to the Illinois River and coal ash has been used for fill and other site projects including the access road embankment. Some sources indicate the bottom ten feet of the existing ash pond is in contact with groundwater. The coal ash pond is an 89-acre, 32-foot deep incised pond with embankment and is located between the plant and access road off of Illinois Route 24 south of Bartonville. The area around the plant has been declared unusable for potable, drinkable water due to existing pollution according to the Illinois EPA permit for plant discharges. More meetings will be held in the future regarding the closure of the Edwards power plant at the end of December, 2022.
J B, Observer

News includes:

• What’s happening along the Mississippi river
• Children’s rights in demanding a climate plan
• Lake Michigan: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly 2020 Virtual Conference
  

PEORIA – Legislation designed to clean up coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal and power plants, and prevent local water sources from being polluted was signed into law today.
Assistant Majority Leader Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) was one of Senate Bill 9’s chief-cosponsors.
“Someone needs to be responsible for cleaning up the toxic waste around coal power plants, and it shouldn’t be local taxpayers,” Koehler said. “I commend the advocates who made this bill happen and the governor for making this a priority.”
A report issued by environmental groups in late 2018 found that the amount of coal ash in groundwater around the E.D. Edwards Coal Plant south of Peoria was 18 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water standard.
The Peoria area is home to three coal plants total: E.D. Edwards in Bartonville, Powerton in Pekin and Duck Creek near Canton.

​Information and Congressional petition on "The Dead Zone" available (copy paste) at: 
https://mississippirivernetwork.salsalabs.org/1mississippimonthly-julywrap?wvpId=8a34f2a7-d204-4b0f-8ff3-7f239560e6ec

​What You Can Do to Reduce Your Part of the Gulf Dead Zone: LWV Upper Mississippi River Task Force Update

The Dead Zone is the area expanding from the discharges of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico where water oxygen levels are absent or so low that fish and aquatic life must leave the area or die. The area is larger than the state of New Jersey. Much of the Dead Zone is the result of nutrient pollution caused by high levels of common fertilizers like nitrogen and phosphorus.
An excellent series of articles researching this issue is listed at the recent LWV UMR blog https://www.lwvumrr.org/blog/frustrations-lack-of-progress-environmental-groups-are-maddened-but-epa-is-pleased
More information about the LWV Upper Mississippi River Task Force is at https://www.lwvumrr.org/ and a full listing of their blog posts is at https://www.lwvumrr.org/blog
Lack of progress in reducing the size of the Dead Zone is noted. Goals set in 2008 have not been reached and the Dead Zone continues to increase in size.
Voluntary compliance for nutrient pollution reaching the Gulf is contrasted to the mandates set by the U.S. EPA for clean-up of nutrient pollution in Chesapeake Bay, which did make significant reductions of the problem in the targeted time-frame.
You can reduce your part of the Dead Zone by buying locally grown organic produce, meat and eggs from small farms and by buying phosphate free dish detergents and soaps and purchasing only phosphorous free yard products. Find out what your lawn service uses and insist on phosphorous free lawn care.
The Peoria LWV is a member of the LWV UMR. Peoria Board members Elaine Hopkins and Joyce Blumenshine attended their pre-conference session held last summer in Chicago at the National LWV Convention. Additional background on nutrient pollution and tips for what you can do are at https://www.sierraclub.org/illinois/our-work/water/nutrients
                                                                                                                                             LWVGP is a member of the UMR ILO