Edwards coal-fired power plant in Bartonville Pollutes Without Any Planned Pollution Controls, Makes Peoria Air Some of the Most Dangerous in Illinois
BARTONVILLE, Ill. – Today, local health advocates and families gathered in front of Ameren’s Edwards coal-fired power plant in Bartonville asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set a plan in motion to clean up dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions in the Peoria area. The Peoria families also called for a plan from the operators of the Edwards coal-fired power plant to clean up air pollution locally.
The EPA determined earlier this year that the air in Peoria is unsafe to breathe, largely due to sulfur dioxide emissions from the area’s two large, uncontrolled coal-fired power plants, Ameren’s Edwards plant and Midwest Generation’s Powerton plant. In June, the EPA missed a deadline to finalize an official designation of nonattainment for the areas in both Peoria and Tazewell Counties. This designation from the EPA would mean that the state of Illinois must outline a detailed plan to clean up the air in this region.
“No parent should have to watch their child wheeze and gasp for air, but so many parents in the Peoria area are put in that position every day due to the high levels of asthma-causing sulfur dioxide emissions from the Edwards coal-fired power plant,” said Robin Garlish, Pekin resident and mother of asthmatic children. “Clean air is a priority for every family, and protecting our air should be a priority for our state and national leaders.”
The Edwards coal-fired power plant is currently owned by Ameren, but part of Texas-based Dynegy’s planned purchase of five Illinois coal plants for no cash. The Edwards coal-fired power plant has been in operation for more than half a century, and currently operates without controlling its dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions. Pollution from the coal plant contributes to seven premature deaths, ten heart attacks, and more than 100 asthma attacks each year, according to a 2010 study by the Clean Air Task Force.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has indicated that they know the air in the Peoria area is some of the most dangerous air in the state, and they need to act on that,” said Joyce Blumenshine, Sierra Club Heart of Illinois Group Chair. “The nonattainment designation also is a loud signal that the air pollution from coal-fired power plants in the Peoria area has reached to a very real and serious threat to the health and well-being of local residents. There are exciting innovations and new jobs in Illinois’ clean energy sector, so we should be investing in clean energy rather than continuing to operate outdated and dangerous coal plants.”
“The League of Women Voters calls on the U.S. EPA to immediately fulfill its legal obligation to solve this air pollution problem,” said Cheryl Budzinski, President of the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria. “Our Central Illinois community has endured decades of pollution from the Edwards coal plant, and we are ready, and deserve, to leave toxic air in the past. Too many of our children have suffered from asthma as a result of this plant’s permission to pollute. Too many children have been forced to stay inside on bad air days, rather than enjoying the wonderful outdoor resources that Central Illinois has to offer. We urge the EPA to fulfill its legal obligation to solve this pollution problem, so that our children can literally breathe easier.”
With Dynegy poised to take over the plant, area residents are even more concerned that the company lacks a plan to clean up the plant. The Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) recently denied Ameren’s request to transfer permission to delay pollution controls to Dynegy. The IPCB decision, an active Clean Air Act lawsuit over excessive pollution, the pending EPA clean air non-attainment designation, and a recent reliability downgrade of Dynegy by financial experts has put Peoria’s clean air and future in jeopardy.
“In addition to this very serious pending designation by the EPA, the plant has had over 1,000 opacity violations of the Clean Air Act, and both the current and future owners of the plant have taken steps to evade complying with Illinois state air pollution laws,” said Brian Urbaszewski, Director of Environmental Health at Respiratory Health Association. “While Dynegy, a company that aims to soon be the operator of the Edwards coal plant, gets extra time to pollute, it’s simply passing that cost onto the community in the form of additional asthma attacks, heart attacks, lost days from work and school, more medical expenses, and for several unlucky people every year, a shorter life.”