FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Contact: Hannah Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Today, despite widespread community support and passage in the Illinois State Senate, Senate Bill 3073 did not advance in the Illinois House during the last week of the spring legislative session. Environmental advocates with Clean Power Lake County, Illinois Environmental Council, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Earthjustice, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Prairie Rivers Network and Sierra Club Illinois denounced the Illinois House’s inaction and called for SB3073 to be taken up again in the Fall Veto session.
“Yet again, my community has been left exposed, legally unprotected, and expected to deal with the consequences of NRG’s lack of responsibility for the mess they’re trying to leave behind. NRG Energy continues treating Waukegan like a sacrifice zone and contributing to ongoing groundwater contamination,” said Eduardo Flores, Waukegan resident and Co-Chair of Clean Power Lake County. “Throughout this decade-long saga, NRG has repeatedly proved they’re bad neighbors by doing everything in their power to avoid and delay responsible coal ash clean up. Today, lawmakers failed my community and voted with a polluting industry instead of protecting the health of the millions of people that get their drinking water from Lake Michigan. How much longer will my community be a sacrifice zone?”
Coal ash pollution at NRG Energy’s lakefront site in Waukegan has been contaminating groundwater since 2010 and legal and regulatory efforts to address this significant threat to Lake Michigan have lagged, often due to industry challenges. Senate Bill 3073 provides the Illinois EPA with a clear directive to oversee a comprehensive clean up and removal plan for all sources of coal ash pollution to ensure groundwater contamination is addressed. Under Illinois’ current coal ash rules, only the two active ash impoundments are being considered for closure plans because the state rules do not cover scattered ash. Additionally, NRG has petitioned the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) to exempt its historic ash pond, which is the predominant source of groundwater contamination at the site, from compliance with state rules.
“The Illinois House failed to seize a critical opportunity to put an end to the groundwater contamination that has continued on the shores of Lake Michigan for over a decade,” said Christine Nannicelli, Senior Campaign Representative with Sierra Club Illinois. “Without the passage of SB3073, the coal ash rulemaking process continues for only some of the coal ash pollution at Waukegan, leaving the most dangerous sources of groundwater contamination in regulatory limbo.”
Environmental advocates first filed a lawsuit against NRG’s subsidiary Midwest Generation for violating Illinois groundwater standards in 2012 and it wasn’t until 2019 that the Illinois Pollution Control Board issued an initial decision in the lawsuit. The IPCB concluded that NRG was responsible for failing to address ongoing groundwater contamination at each of its Illinois sites, including Waukegan. The IPCB still has not issued a subsequent order in this litigation detailing the remediation actions that will be required of NRG.
"We are sorely disappointed that our legislature has failed to take action to protect Lake Michigan and the overburdened residents of Waukegan from toxic coal ash pollution,” said Jennifer Cassel, Earthjustice Senior Attorney. “Passing this legislation is a necessary step in ensuring Illinois acts responsibly to clean up all of the dangerous legacy of burning coal. We call on the legislature to protect our communities and our lake and reintroduce this bill in the Fall Veto session.”
“As soon as our new coal ash rules were effective, companies like NRG began working to undermine them by seeking exemptions and delays,” said Andrew Rehn, Water Resources Engineer with Prairie Rivers Network. “SB3073 ensures that the previous work of the state legislature to address coal ash pollution is protected and implemented as it was intended for one of the most overburdened environmental justice communities on Lake Michigan.”
“The science is clear on the dangers of coal ash contamination, yet the Illinois General Assembly has fallen short in protecting communities in Lake County and the millions of people who rely on Lake Michigan for clean drinking water,” said Jen Walling, Illinois Environmental Council Executive Director. “We’ll be working to hold the lawmakers who didn’t support this measure accountable to their constituents who do.”