WHAT: On Tuesday May 13, community members from across the state of Illinois whose lives have been negatively impacted by coal ash waste contamination will join the Sierra Club, Environmental Law & Policy Center and Prairie Rivers Network for a telephone press conference to outline why the state must strengthen proposed rules to protect communities from coal ash disasters and ongoing threats to public health.
Adjacent to Illinois’ 22 coal-fired power plants are 91 coal ash ponds, and no matter the plant owner, outdated and cost-cutting disposal methods have led to the state’s discovery of contamination at each site it has tested. Coal ash is full of heavy metals, like mercury, lead and arsenic, which can cause cancer and brain damage in humans and are toxic to fish and wildlife.
The telepresser precedes two days of Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) hearings set in Chicago to discuss how and when power plants will be required to close and clean up dangerous coal ash pits in the state of Illinois. Hearings in Springfield in February yielded strong turnout from community members who fear their own drinking water may be contaminated from neighboring coal ash pits.
Community members from Peoria, Joliet, Vermillion and Waukegan will join the telepresser to offer personal testimony on how coal ash contamination affects them locally in vastly different communities across the state.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 11:00 AM CT
DIAL-IN: Phone: 866-952-7524 – Passcode: COAL (spoken to operator)
WHO:
- Jack Darin, Director, Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter
- Andrew Armstrong, Staff Attorney, Environmental Law & Policy Center
- Traci Barkley, Water Resources Scientist with Prairie Rivers Network
- Tracy Fox, Resident from Peoria County, Ill.
- Kristin Camp, Resident from Vermillion County, Ill.
- Tracy Panetino, Resident from Will County, Ill.
- Maryfran Troha, Resident from Lake County, Ill.