FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 21, 2022
Contacts: Hannah Lee Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
Andrew Rehn, arehn@prairierivers.org, 708-305-6181
Linden Mueller, linden@greatriverslaw.org, 314-231-4181
FRANKLIN COUNTY, IL. -- According to reports released by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IMEA) on Wednesday, a pipeline ruptured on July 18 and spilled 20,000 gallons of mine wastewater near Macedonia, Illinois. The pipeline belongs to Sugar Camp Energy LLC, which is a subsidiary of Foresight Energy—the largest privately-owned coal company in the country. The rupture is reportedly under inspection by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). This pipeline rupture is the latest incident in which Foresight Energy and Sugar Camp Energy have endangered Illinois communities and our shared environment through illegal actions.
Sugar Camp Energy is currently facing a lawsuit from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for violating the Environmental Protection Act. Sierra Club Illinois, Prairie Rivers Network, and the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center filed a motion to intervene in this lawsuit in April in order to assert that Sugar Camp Energy also violated the Clean Water Act and common law public nuisance. Sierra Club Illinois and Prairie Rivers Network assert that Sugar Camp Energy committed these wrongs when mine operators dumped 46,000 gallons of firefighting foam, including at least 660 gallons of concentrated PFAS-based foam, deep into the underground coal mine last September. Given the recent history of PFAS usage and contamination at the mine, it’s critical that the IEPA test for PFAS in the spill areas during their investigation of the pipeline rupture.
In April, Pond Creek, another mine owned by Foresight Energy, received approval from the IEPA for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for a similar pipeline in nearby Williamson County. In May, Sierra Club Illinois and Prairie Rivers Network appealed the IEPA’s decision to grant the NPDES permit because the permit does not remedy major flaws in the 2019 draft permit, does not protect the environment, and does not adhere to Illinois or federal law. The failed pipeline at the Sugar Camp Energy mining complex further demonstrates the inherent risks of mining and mine waste.
Just last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) proposed nearly $1.2 million in civil penalties to M-Class Mining LLC, another coal mine operator in the Sugar Camp Energy mining complex owned by Foresight Energy. The mine faces 14 citations, including 10 related to the operator’s neglect of the miners’ safety and health, after operators failed to evacuate miners or notify the MSHA when a fire broke out underground.
In response, Sierra Club Illinois and Prairie Rivers Network released the following statement:
“This latest spill serves as yet another reminder that coal mining is dirty, dangerous, and outdated, and that Illinois must transition away from fossil fuels so that communities are no longer at risk,” says Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin. “In addition to ensuring the appropriate clean-up response is taken, Sierra Club also urges the IEPA to identify the cause of the spill and investigate the long-term effects that the spillage of mine water may have on the health and safety of the community, environment, and groundwater.”
“Dumping PFAS, endangering workers, and now a ruptured pipeline. There is a pattern here of Foresight’s disregard for the health and safety of our rivers, water, and nearby communities,” says Prairie Rivers Network Senior Water Resources Engineer Andrew Rehn. “This spill at Sugar Camp is all the more unsettling in light of the recent approval of a similar pipeline from the Pond Creek mine to the Big Muddy river that will discharge highly saline wastewater into the river.”
Sierra Club Illinois and Prairie Rivers Network encourage local community members to report any unusual creek or wildlife conditions near the Sugar Camp Energy mining complex to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IMEA) via phone at 1-800-782-7860. An online reporting form is also available on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) website and can be submitted anonymously via bit.ly/IEPAPollutionComplaint. The IMEA report on the pipeline spill indicates the spill occurred near Heard Lane and Bobtail Road, west of Macedonia, in Franklin County. Pollution releases can cause stream fish kills, unusual smells or discolored surface water conditions, or other visual clues of environmental contamination.