Today, Ameren shareholders voted and passed a resolution introduced by Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment that will require Ameren to disclose the impacts of coal ash on the communities it serves. Area residents and Ameren shareholders convened outside of the annual Ameren shareholders meeting to call for clean water and cleaning up of toxic coal ash waste sites around the region.
Residents from Central Illinois testified before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) yesterday in strong opposition to proposed rollbacks to federal coal ash pollution rules. USEPA Head Scott Pruitt’s new proposal to weaken the already modest federal clean water protections from toxic coal ash endangers the health of the 1.5 million children that live near coal ash storage sites. Illinois has seventy-five coal ash impoundments across the state. These sites contain some of the most toxic chemicals on earth - like arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium - which raise the risk for cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and can inflict permanent brain damage on children. Proposed rollbacks not only cede the authority to monitor pollution to polluters themselves, but also will curtail local residents’ ability to hold companies accountable for damaging local water supplies.
Springfield, MO - At today’s Springfield Board of Publ
Puget Sound Energy (PSE), the largest utility in Washington State, reached a proposed settlement today to pay down all of its debts on Colstrip by 2027.