FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 13, 2023
Contact: Hannah Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
State of Illinois Files Sweeping Lawsuit Against Springfield’s City Water, Light & Power
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Today, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit against Springfield’s municipal utility City, Water, Light & Power (CWLP) for multiple violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) regulations, and CWLP’s Clean Air Act operating permit when CWLP released a massive dust cloud of coal ash across the city in August of 2021.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of the September 7 decision from the IPCB that found CWLP responsible for ongoing groundwater contamination from leaching coal ash ponds in Springfield. The ruling advances litigation that was first filed in 2017 by Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network, and Springfield NAACP for documented violations of Illinois groundwater standards.
In addition to the mounting liability on CWLP for coal ash pollution, the utility faces critical decisions about how to meet state emissions reduction requirements and federal power plant standards. Although the Inflation Reduction Act has offered groundbreaking clean energy incentives for publicly owned utilities, CWLP has not conducted a public integrated resource plan since 2018 to guide future decision-making for the Dallman power plant and its future power supply.
In response, Sierra Club Illinois released the following statement:
“We applaud the Illinois Attorney General for taking this critical first step to hold City Water, Light & Power accountable for its pollution, broad mismanagement of handling coal ash, and failure to complete basic record-keeping,” said Christine Nannicelli, Senior Campaign Representative for the Beyond Coal Campaign with Sierra Club Illinois. “From CWLP’s leaching coal ash ponds contaminating groundwater next to Lake Springfield, to the massive coal ash dust cloud and maintenance failures at the center of the Attorney General’s lawsuit, CWLP has repeatedly demonstrated that it can not properly manage its dangerous waste from burning coal.”
“This is a clear call to action, not only for CWLP to make significant improvements to its handling of coal ash, but also to the City of Springfield to make a responsible transition plan beyond coal,” said Nick Dodson, Chair of the Sangamon Valley Group of Sierra Club Illinois. “Ongoing coal use at our power plant only continues to threaten our community and create financial liability for ratepayers. CWLP and Springfield City Council are overdue in their fiduciary responsibility to conduct our next utility planning process to transparently assess the best courses of action for the future of the Dallman plant and our power supply.”