Some area lawmakers say they are thrilled that Governor JB Pritzker has signed legislation providing protection from coal ash pollution. ‘’This was about preventing coal ash waste from threatening our water and our communities throughout the state,’’ said Senator Scott Bennett of Champaign, who sponsored the bill.
State Representatives Mike Marron of Danville and Carol Ammons of Champaign carried the bill through the House.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce says the bill signed by the Governor Tuesday includes technical flaws that could delay cleaning up the coal ash ponds. Representative Marron admits the bill was rushed through as the General Assembly session was ending, so he says there may need to be a trailer bill…
{‘’I think that, you know, potentially that we’re going to look at maybe changing some of the financial assurance part of the bill to make it a little more pro-business. So it will allow for the clean-up, and mandate the clean-up so the environment is taken care of – and the taxpayers are taken care of, but it allows the companies a little more lee-way on actually putting the money up front,’’ said Representative Marron during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.}
The area lawmakers are particularly concerned about the coal ash stored in pits along the National Scenic Middle Fork River, north of Kickapoo State Park.
‘’Community calls to clean up pollution from coal ash dumped on dozens of power plant sites across the state, including the unlined, leaking pits along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion, Illinois’ National Scenic River, have been ignored for far too long,’’ said Pam Richart, Co-Director of Eco-Justice Collaborative.
[The photo above of Representative Marron was taken during his Town Hall forum Tuesday evening, July 30, 2019.]
