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Citizens Against Ruining the Environment - CARE
PO Box 536, Lockport IL 60441
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 29, 2012
Since 1995 Citizens Against Ruining the Environment (CARE), a grass roots organization has fought for cleaner air from Midwest Generation's coal fired power plants. Today's announcement of the closing of two of their facilities, Fisk & Crawford, is a Victory for all.
CARE would like to thank all of our environmental friends and the attorneys who worked so diligently for many years to force these facilities to clean up or shut down so that we can breathe cleaner air.
We are pleased battles have been won but the war still continues as Will County is still home to two of Midwest Generation's most polluting facilities in the nation, Will County/Romeoville and Joliet. CARE has chosen to remain a Plaintiff along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of IL in the case against Midwest Generation for over 1,000 pollution exceedances. .
In 1999 when Midwest Generation purchased 6 Commonwealth Edison coal fired facilities they knew that these plants along with, Will County/Romeoville, Joliet and Waukegan, were grandfathered from the Clean Air Act. Rather than modify these facilities they choose corporate greed. That Corporate Greed has cost premature deaths, respiratory illness and other health and environmental problems. Midwest Generation will now have to decide whether to make risky investments in retrofitting their remaining antiquated coal plants or choose to close them and invest in clean energy.
Finally, since 1972 when the U.S.EPA determined that coal pollution endangered our health and the environment's, with the combined efforts of environmental groups our voices are being heard. Rather than retrofit to abide by the Clean Air Act, Midwest Generation choose to shut down a total of 6 units - 2 at Will County/Romeoville, Waukegan, Fisk and Crawford. Two additional coal-fired plants at the State Line facility in Indiana will be closed this Spring.
The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) reports: coal is being replaced with clean energy sources such as hydropower and biomass; overall electricity demand growth is expected to remain below one percent annually, they expect more coal retirements will be driven by rising coal prices, state renewable energy standards and EPA clean air standards. All these signs point to reduced market share for coal and expanded market share for clean energy. http://sc.org/w9SrLV
We request that Midwest Generation do the right thing and transition their employees into the clean energy sector.
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment ~ CARE
emrrealty@comcast.net
Directors:
Ellen Rendulich, 815.834.1611
Carol Stark, 815.793.4678
Sandy Burcenski, 815.838.1442
Mary Burnitz, 815.838.5604
Lorna Paisley, 815.727.7230
Melissa Lin Perrella's Blog
NRDC Sues Railroads Over Diesel Pollution
Posted October 21, 2011 in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
Tags:
BNSF, cancerrisk, CARB, dieselexhaust, dieselpollution, environmentaljustice, goodsmovement, longbeach, losangeles, rail, railyard, RCRA, resourceconservationandrecoveryact, UnionPacific
This week, NRDC and two of our environmental justice allies-East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice-filed a lawsuit against BNSF and Union Pacific, the two largest freight moving railroad companies in the country. This lawsuit targets diesel pollution created by seventeen yards in the state. Our lawsuit has received significant coverage, including in the LA Times and Associated Press.
We brought this lawsuit because there is a better way to move freight in this country. Millions of Californians are exposed to toxic levels of pollution from BNSF and UP's operations. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has found that communities even 8 miles away from some of BNSF and UP's rail yards suffer from increased cancer risk. These health impacts are created by diesel exhaust emitted by the trucks, trains, and other vehicles and equipment that are used to move cargo in and out of BNSF and UP's facilities. Almost every week, the scientific community releases new studies showing the toxicity of diesel exhaust, which is associated with premature death, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and even obesity and diabetes. Some researchers have even found a correlation between diesel exhaust and premature birth and lower IQ in children. Communities closest to rail yards, and particularly kids and the elderly, are the most susceptible.
Our lawsuit is precedent setting because it asks a court to recognize that diesel particulate matter is a hazardous waste under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. RCRA provides for comprehensive regulation of solid and hazardous waste, and protects public health and the environment from "imminent and substantial endangerment."
BNSF and UP do not deny that they are making people sick. Instead, the railroads have stated in response to our lawsuit that our case unreasonably attacks the goods movement industry, and that the railroads are in compliance with existing regulations. They even play the victim and say that we fail to acknowledge everything they have done to clean-up their operations.
First, despite any clean-up initiatives the railroads have adopted, CARB data reveals that the health risks for communities near rail yards still remain unacceptably high. Neither BNSF nor UP can deny this. Let's take BNSF's San Bernardino rail yard as an example. This is one of the yards that BNSF will say it is working with the state to clean-up. However, data from the state indicates that even after all of BNSF's mitigation measures are implemented, communities close to that yard still face a cancer risk in 2015 that is nearly 50 times greater than what the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach say is acceptable for freight projects. And in 2020, that risk remains high-nearly 30 times greater than what the ports deem tolerable. So, let's be serious. BNSF can't expect to be congratulated when their "best efforts" yield these levels of toxic pollution.
Second, the railroads have a menu of pollution-control solutions at their fingertips. For starters, the railroads should be expeditiously modernizing their locomotives and equipment. Older locomotives and equipment are extremely polluting and need to be replaced with cleaner models. We are asking the court to require BNSF and UP to invest in cleaner equipment and bring those replacements into urban rail yards immediately to provide relief to fence line communities. The railroads continue to use old, inefficient, polluting equipment as a cost-cutting measure, moving the health costs of their operations onto communities. That's unacceptable. Let me be clear: we are NOT asking the court to shut the rail yards down. We're asking for clean-up measures that have already been demonstrated at many rail yards (even by BNSF and UP) without disruption.
Third, BNSF and UP say that they are already complying with environmental regulations. This is misleading. Rail yards as "facilities" are not regulated. There is zero oversight over them. The railroads don't need a permit to emit pollution the way a refinery or power plant does. As a result, no one is looking at the totality of emissions from all the trains, all the trucks, and all the equipment at each facility. That's the problem and that's what this lawsuit targets.
Fourth, our "attack" on BNSF and UP is warranted. One of UP's yards is just 350 feet from Stevens Middle School in Long Beach. Communities close to rail yards are needlessly subsidizing the costs of shipping TVs and tennis shoes with their health. CARB has concluded that for every $1 spent to clean-up pollution from this industry, the state gets up to $8 back in health impacts avoided. So, when people ask if now is the right time to bring this lawsuit given our country's economic turmoil, my response is that it's the perfect time and it's long overdue.
Every day we hear about new environmental hazards-risks from using cell phones, mercury in fish, and BPA in baby bottles. Sometimes I feel like my world is caving in and that that there is no safe space to hide. I often feel like I don't know what hazard I should deploy my resources towards first in order to protect my family. With that said, what's particularly sad for families in San Bernardino, Commerce, West Long Beach and the multitude of other communities near rail yards is that while they can use earpieces to talk on their phones, avoid eating fish and buy glass bottles, they can't avoid breathing. They inhale toxic diesel fumes as they walk to the bus stop, play at school, and sit on their porch on a hot summer's night. There is no safe space for these families to hide. That is why this mess needs to be cleaned up, and cleaned up now.
http://sc.org/w9SrLV
New Report - Coal Use Shrinks while Clean Energy Expands
A new report today from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) confirms that America is moving beyond coal, though the EIA understates how dim coal's prospects are. According to the 2012 energy outlook released today, coal-fired electricity will continue its steady decline in 2012, opening market space for clean energy.
For many years the Energy Information Agency has exaggerated coal's prospects for the future, and every year has had to downgrade its projections. Today EIA again downgraded coal's future.
In the 2012 Annual Energy Outlook presentation about new coal generation they stated that no new coal generation is added "beyond that which is under construction," and that coal's percent of electricity generation will shrink from the current 44 percent to 39 percent between 2010 and 2035. This is noteworthy, since in its 2010 Outlook (released in 2011) the EIA projected that coal would drop to 44% of electricity generation by 2035, but just one year later the country already hit 44%.
Some key projections from the EIA's 2010-2035 report:
*At least 33,000 megawatts worth of existing coal-fired power plants are expected to retire in the coming decades, not including any retirements due to the recently-finalized mercury and air toxics standard from the Environmental Protection Agency. (For reference, an average-sized coal-burning power plant is approximately 500 megawatts).
*The biggest difference from last year's EIA projection is that more coal retirements will be driven by rising coal prices, state renewable energy standards and EPA clean air standards. All these signs point to reduced market share for coal and expanded market share for clean energy.
*Coal's market share of U.S. electricity production is expected to continue to drop, from 44 to 39 percent.
*No new coal plants are predicted to be constructed in the time period, beyond those few that are already under construction.
*The share of electricity production from clean energy sources (including hydropower and biomass) should increase from 10 to 16 percent during the time period.
*Overall electricity demand growth is expected to remain below one percent annually.
As I noted before, EIA has frequently overstated coal's place in our electricity needs. Here is a sampling of what EIA said in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
2006 Annual Energy Outlook:
The coal share is projected to decline slightly, from 50 percent in 2004 to 49 percent in 2020, before increasing to 57 percent in 2030. Additions to coal-fired generating capacity in the AEO-2006 reference case are projected to total 102 gigawatts between 2004 and 2025, as compared with 86 gigawatts in AEO2005. Over the entire period from 2004 to 2030, 174 gigawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity is projected to be added in the AEO2006 reference case, including 19 gigawatts at CTL plants."
2008 Annual Energy Outlook:
"the coal share increases from 49 to 54 percent" between 2008 and 2030. They further state that the US will need to install 263GW of new generating capacity in this period and 40 percent will be coal."
2010 Annual Energy Outlook:
In the Reference case, without (greenhouse gas) regulations, coal accounts for the largest share of total electricity generation (Figure 61). With slow growth in electricity demand, little new coal-fired capacity is added, and the coal share falls from 48 percent in 2008 to 44 percent in 2035.
Even today, EIA's projections remain far too rosy for coal, though. While the EIA estimates that over the next 25 years approximately 33,000 megawatts of existing coal power will retire, the Sierra Club has identified over 38,000 megawatts of existing coal power that has retired or announced an upcoming retirement since January 2010 - and more are expected soon. There are about 340,000 megawatts of coal in the United States as of January 2010.
The data paint a brighter future where coal mining, burning and coal ash disposal does not threaten thousands of communities across the United States. Coal is being replaced with cleaner energy choices. Here at the Sierra Club we are working overtime to help accelerate this trend by preventing the construction of new coal plants, retiring and replacing existing coal plants with clean energy, and keeping the large U.S. coal reserves out of world markets.
--Bruce Nilles, Senior Director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign.
The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign works in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and a nationwide coalition of allies to retire one-third of the nation's aging coal plants by 2020, replacing them with clean energy like wind and solar by 2030. Coal plants are the largest sources of climate disruption and toxic air pollution like mercury, soot and carbon pollution.
Posted on January 23, 2012 at 12:56 PM in Coal, Energy Solutions, Safe and Healthy
--
Oliver Bernstein
National Communications Strategist
Sierra Club
Phone: 512.477.2152 x102
Cell: 512.289.8618
DON
CoGent Energy is proposing a 24/7 Rail Facility on the Texaco property
Do you want this??
- - 24/7 Thousands more freight & tank cars per year through your community?
- - 9 more chemical &/or oil storage tanks?
- - 24/7 noise & pollution from barge traffic?
- - More pipelines?
- - Potential water issues?
- - Potential increased future truck traffic?
- - More hazardous materials & pollution?
- - All this for 35 local jobs? (CoGent states 70 but admitted ½ are outside management jobs.)
Attend the Planning Commission Meeting
Tuesday, Jan 10, 2012 - 7 p.m.
Lockport City Hall, 3rd Floor, 222 E. 9th Street
Contact the Alderpersons & Mayor @815.838.0549
Tentative City Council voting Wednesday Jan. 18th 7pm City Hall 3rd floor
For more info contact:
Sandy Burcenski 815.838.1442, Ellen Rendulich 815.834.1611, Mary Burnitz 815.838.5604, or Carol Stark 815-838-1483
HANSON QUARRY EXPANSION
Hanson quarry is still proposing to expand their operations. Putting our families in greater risk of health issues related to blasting.
We need a show of solidarity from everyone. Voice your concerns to our elected Mayor and Trustees and help prevent this expansion. Attend the:
Zoning & Planning Meeting
February 14th at 7 pm
Romeoville High School Auditorium
100 N. Independence Blvd.
Po informacje w jezyku Polskim dzwon:
Tomasz 815-685-9303
Para información en Espanol:
David 815-931-0159
PLEASE JOIN US, WE'RE NOT DONE FIGHTING YET
Take a minute to watch this ABC News clip video to the end and please keep it going....
Stop CORPORATE GREED
Say NO to local coal polluting industrial giant seeking tax break
WHO: Midwest Generation - Joliet & Romeoville facilities
WHEN: NOW!!!
WHAT: Midwest Generation & DesPlaines Valley Enterprise Zone
- - Inclusion into the enterprise zone may allow them to receive tax breaks for 2- 20 years!
- - Total impact of Local & State sales tax exemptions thru 2018 alone is estimated to be $1.2 Billion
- o - IL is broke how can we afford to give them a tax break?
- - They want IL taxpayers to help them pay for upgrading their polluting coal facilities but neglect to mention that we have been paying for these upgrades for years.
- o - Like the tollways we are still paying for something that should have been paid off years ago.
HOW: Joliet & Romeoville will be voting on this for more info & how to make your voice heard:
- 1. Contact your local politicans including:
Mayor Tom Giarrante, 815.724.3700, tgiarrante@jolietcity.org
Mayor John Noak, 815.866.7200, jnoak@romeoville.org
- 2. sign the petition @ http://signon.org/sign/contact-your-local-politicia?source=c.fwd&r_by=265143
- 3. spread the word - enough is enough!!
- 4. visit www.willcountycare.org for more info.
10.13.2011
"Above all - the protection of human health and the environment should always be considered first."
SOOT - SMOG - MERCURY !.
This year Governor Blagojevich will decide whether to set new power plant emission standards for Mercury, Sulfur Dioxide & Nitrogen Oxide. It is possible to cut Mercury by 90% by 2010 with your help.
Call Governor Blagojevich @ 217-782-0244
e-mail http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
Request IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MOST STRINGENT POLLUTION CONTROLS AVAILABLE & UPDATING OF COAL FIRED POWER PLANT FACILITIES!!
-Will County's (3) Coal Fired Plants are
Ranked #1 & #6 for Pollution & #1 for NOX!!!
-North Carolina is suing IL because pollution is seeping across its borders from power plants.
- The USEPA states that these Hazardous Chemicals kill - Over 1,300 premature deaths in IL alone!
- 2,746,764 children in IL live within 30 miles of coal-fired power plants! 157,659 have asthma. (CTA 6/02)
-Will County Ranked in the top 10% for the
Dirtiest Counties in the United States! (epa)
-502,266 people in Will County face a cancer risk more than 100 times the goal of the Clean Air Act!
- Increased healthcare costs: Each year, 70,000 Chicago-area residents are rushed to the emergency room with respiratory related illnesses & 19,000 are hospitalized at a cost of between $5,000-$10,000 per visit. This means higher health insurance and higher taxes for all of us.
Energy & Employment
- "Illinois has a surplus of electricity, and this surplus comes from the very utilities that jeopardize our health and environment! ComEd had contracts to cover a "one in ten year" hot summer. (Sierra)
- This is an excellent time to reduce our reliance on coal & nuclear power by having the coal industry investing in training their employees for careers in the wind and solar energy fields. (CARE)
- 100 Wind turbines would add "5 - 7 million to the tax base. Turbine mfgs estimate $1.5 million in maintained work income would produce an additional $5.25 million in ecomomic activity in the country. (ELPC)
- IL can create 57,000 new jobs in the Clean Energy field & 200,000 in the 10 State Midwest Region by 2020.
- $3.6 billion of increased economic output by 2010 and $6.2 billion by 2020, mostly from manufacturing, construction, and service related sectors.
- $1 billion in annual net electricity cost savings by 2020 from investments in energy efficiency. These saving will be re-spent by businesses and residential consumers to bolster Illinois' economy. (cows)
- Now is the time for the coal industry to consider forms of energy that would benefit all.
- Say No to the Bush administration's new proposal "Clear Skies" - It virtually allows perpetual "grandfathering" for power plants- as it waters down the Clean Air Act & it will allow 42 million tons more air pollutants!!!!
Ellen Rendulich, 834-1611 Carol Stark, 838-1418 Sandy Burcenski, 838-1442 Wendy Vlasak, 838-0622
Hot issue.. Midwest Generation & Des Plaines Valley Enterprise Zone.
Voting taking place immediately in Lockport October 5, Joliet & Romeoville may be soon so we have to get this information to the taxpayers & politicans prior to their voting.
Midwest Generation has already given the same presentation to Lockport & Will County; of course, their presentation sounds great - they want a tax break. To save taxpayers money before this is voted on everyone should know -
Simply stated:
- Midwest Generation purchased these facilities in 1999 from ComEd knowing they were acquiring plants that did not abide by the Clean Air Act & have profited & polluted extensively since that time.
- Now, they're bragging that they're being "good guys" & spending millions of dollars to upgrade their facilites when in fact they are in litigation & have to upgrade by law.
- Good news - they'll be hiring workers to upgrade their facility. They will have to hire them "regardless" as to whether they receive tax breaks.
- Although we don't know how much tax revenue they will not be paying - it has to be substantial or they wouldn't be requesting these tax breaks.
- MG states it won't cost taxpayers - then where will this tax money come from?
- MG sells their electricity to the highest bidder & only approximately 10% is being distributed in IL -
- MG is stating they're only requesting a tax break until 2013 but they can then ask for an extension.
- MG is stating that other industries are already getting this tax break.
Taxpayers are saying "enough is enough"
- They're owned by Edison, a $36 Billion company whose shareholders made 15% profit last year. Do they need a tax break?
- This affects all taxpayers -
Page one 9/28/2011
Page two
Should a $36 billion dollar company in Will County who touted a shareholders 15.1% profit in 2010 get a tax break?
While Midwest Generation is bragging they're more profitable than other like industry Will County and the Desplaines Valley Enterprise Zone is voting to give them a "taxbreak!" This company states their assets total more than $36 billion. This $36 billion company will not have to pay any state sales tax on purchases, including upgrades to its facility or equipment for 20 years.
I'm not an expert on the stockmarket but their website states a profit of 7.1% over 2009 and overall shareholders return of 15.1% increase in 2010.
While Will County has private industry and small businesses struggling to survive and residential real estate taxes so high many are losing their homes they're giving this billion dollar profitable company a tax break.
The two Midwest Generation coal fired power plants located in Will County have profited extensively over the last 50 years at your expense. Having been grandfathered from the Clean Air Act and refusing to update their antiquated equipment, toxic pollutants such as arsenic and mercury has been contaminating our air and groundwater. Although, housed in our backyards, only 10% of the energy they produce supplies residents of IL.
Due to environmental groups such as Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, C.A.R.E. Midwest Generation will now have to add pollution controls and update their antiquated equipment to abide by the same Environmental Protection regulations as other similar industries. Now, they want the taxpayers to flip the bill for cleaning up the areas they have contaminated.
Will they move or close down if they don't get their tax break? Who would accept a toxic industry in their neighborhood?
To prevent your taxes from increasing at this industry's profit you must contact your elected officials immediately and request that they stop Midwest Generation from being included in the Des Plaines Valley Enterprise Zone.
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment ~ C.A.R.E.
Ellen Rendulich, Sandy Burcenski
A Closer View: Don't pass buck on pipeline safety in Will County
June 27, 2011 4:36PM
- Reprints
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Updated: June 28, 2011 2:17AM
Have you ever wondered how the crude oil transported from Canadian pipelines to the United States makes it to your local gas station and then into your gas tank? Most people don't give it a second thought, unless of course they have been directly impacted by a leak in one of those pipelines. C.A.R.E., Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, has had this issue presented to us several times this year. Since last fall, four breaches and leaks have occurred along several different pipelines in our area. One in Romeoville traveled along a busy intersection and created traffic, safety and health issues.
This type of breach or leak will occur more often as the pipeline infrastructure is antiquated and corroding at an alarming rate, and the majority of these companies that were supposed to maintain and update their property have not done so. Then there is the question of oversight and enforcement. This is a major area of concern as there are numerous agencies involved but it's "pass the buck" time once again in the great state of Illinois and the land of the free. The U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Pipeline Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration and Illinois Commerce Commission are involved.
What's alarming is if you start investigating what has or is being done, it opens up an even larger can of worms, a can that most people wish to close and bury.
Once I started Googling some of these issues, a huge catastrophe popped up from September 2010. A massive gas pipeline fire in a mainly residential area in San Bruno, Calif., killed eight people and destroyed three dozen homes. But that was California, everything is different in California, right? Wrong!
Some of that particular pipeline was built in 1956. It was determined that "stress corrosion cracking" was the culprit for that explosion and fire, the same reason usually given when our local pipeline breaks have occurred.
Another alarming issue is "The Nine Elements of Effective Damage Prevention Programs" listed on the Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration website. In Illinois, we are below par in three major areas, public education, enforcement agencies role to help resolve issues, and fair and consistent enforcement of the law.
How can we effectively improve this situation?
Get involved! Call the legislators you elected, start your own investigation into some of the above-mentioned agencies, call, send e-mails and articles.
Get off your BlackBerry or Facebook, and re-claim America for your children and grandchildren, or the legacy you leave behind will be questioned by all who are left to clean up the mess, the one we were too "busy" to bother correcting.
E-mail Carol Stark, director of Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, at carolecare@comcast.net. Visit willcountycare.org.
May 13, 2011
Will County is a Non Attainment Area.
This means that our daily Air Pollution exceeds the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency
Attend this Public Meeting for cleaner Air Quality in
Will, DuPage & Cook Counties!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 @6:30
Lemont Township Community Center
16300 Alba Street, Lemont IL 60439
Let your voice be heard!
In United States environmental law, a non-attainment area is an area considered to have air quality and pollution worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards "NAAQS," as defined in the Clean Air Act & Amendments of 1990.
The IL Environmental Protection Agency's Bureau of Air is holding a public meeting in our area to discuss the air quality for Will, Cook & DuPage Counties. They will recommend to the United States Environmental Protection Agency our area be designated nonattainment while requesting more stringent federal Sulphur Dioxide Standards.
For more information: www.epa.state.il.us/air/ Or Brad Frost @ 217.782.7027
Ellen Rendulich, 815.834.1611, Sandy Burcenski, 815.838.1442, Carol Stark, 815.838.1483,
Mary Burnitz, 815.838.5604, Lorna Paisley, 815.727.1046, Marsha Marshall, 815.603.1025
5.13.2011
Although, IL passed a Mercury Ruling it was not passed "nationwide"
This is your opportunity to be heard!
EPA to Hold Public Hearing in Chicago on National Standard for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants
Chicago (May 3, 2011) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing on May 24, 2011 on the proposed mercury and air toxics standards. The new power plant mercury and air toxics standards would require many power plants to install widely available, proven pollution control technologies to cut harmful emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases, while preventing as many as 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks a year.
WHAT: Public hearing on proposed mercury and air toxics standards
WHEN: May 24, 2011
The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 8 p.m. CDT
WHERE: Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro
799 W. Madison St.
Chicago, Ill. 60611
The public may register to speak at a specific time at a hearing by contacting Pamela Garrett at 919-541-7966 or garrett.pamela@epa.gov or registering in person on the day of a hearing. EPA also will accept written comments on the proposed standards until July 5, 2011. EPA will finalize the rule by November 2011.
More information on the hearings and instructions for submitting written comments: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/powerplanttoxics/.
If you haven't seen it already, here's a piece that details an impressive new study on the true costs of using coal to produce electricity. regards. paul w.
January is National Radon Action Month and EPA is encouraging everyone to have their homes tested for radon. Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste, and its presence in your home can pose a danger to you and your family's health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America. One in 15 American homes contain high levels of radon, and due to underlying geology and population, Region 5 has a higher population living in counties with elevated radon levels than any other EPA Region. By taking simple steps to test your home for radon, and, if necessary, have a system installed by a state approved mitigator, this health hazard can be avoided.
EPA recommends that homes be tested every two years. Testing your home consists of placing a small collection device in the lowest level of your home for several days and then sending the sample media to a laboratory for analysis. Results of the test are typically available within a few weeks. The device, analysis and results typically cost less than $20. Contact your State radon office for information about how to obtain a qualified test kit or identify state approved radon testers and mitigators. For those who reside in Illinois, contact the Illinois Emergency Management Agency radon information hotline (1-800-325-1245) or go to their website ( http://www.radon.illinois.gov/ ). If you live outside Illinois, the following website contains links to each State's radon office ( http://www.epa.gov/radon/whereyoulive.html ). Additionally, you can find more information about radon at EPA’s Radon Program website ( http://www.epa.gov/radon/index.html ).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 10-OPA152
EPA Issues Order For Cleanup Of Oil Spill Near Lockport, Illinois
Chicago (Dec. 17, 2010) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has issued an order setting deadlines for completion of cleanup and restoration work at a site near Lockport, Illinois, where an oil pipeline spill was discovered Tuesday.
The pipeline is owned by West Shore Pipe Line Co., and is operated by Buckeye Pipe Line Co., L.P. Approximately 21,000 gallons of oil were released in the vicinity of New Avenue in Lockport and Romeoville.
The EPA order requires West Shore and Buckeye to establish a work plan to complete cleanup and restoration of the spill area. The affected area is near wetlands that are home to several endangered species. EPA also is monitoring air quality to assess any potential impacts on the health and safety of workers and residents.
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 designates EPA as the lead agency responsible for responding to inland oil spills. EPA is working closely with local and state responders, including local fire and police departments, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The spill was discovered at approximately 7 a.m. Dec. 14, when local fire officials received a complaint about petroleum odors. Buckeye shut down the pipeline within the hour.
To view the order and other updates on EPA’s involvement in cleanup of this spill, go to http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/lockport/ online.
Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.
'T TURN LOCKPORT INTO A FREIGHT YARD!
SPEAK YOUR PIECE ON COAL ASH &
VISIT A COAL ASH POND IN JOLIET
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment agrees with Sierra Club and others that it’s time the coal industry take responsibility and start protecting our groundwaters from toxic coal waste which includes toxins such as arsenic, mercury, selenium, chromium, and cadmium.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a public hearing on September 16, 2010 in Chicago to determine whether Coal Ash should be regulated as toxic waste. Coal Ash consists of residual toxic pollutants that don’t go into our air.
There are 4 coal fired facilities in our immediate area, Joliet, Romeoville & 2 in Chicago currently owned by Midwest Generation. Residents near their Joliet Lincoln Quarry coal ash landfill report that local school water has been contaminated with “arsenic.”
You can help by speaking, writing, signing postcards and spreading the word out about this public hearing. You can pre-register via phone or email. This is your opportunity to express your opinion at the USEPA public hearing in Chicago.
Date: September 16, 2010
Time: Morning session from 10am to 12pm, afternoon session from 1pm to 5pm, evening session from 6:30pm to 9pm or later.
Location: Hilton Chicago, 720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605, Phone: (312) 922–4400.
Pre-Register: If you’d like - Pre-register to present oral testimony at the hearing.
Note: The last day to preregister will be September 13, 2010 by 5pm EDT
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/ccr-form.htm
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment
PO Box 536
Lockport, IL 60441
Ellen Rendulich, 815.834.1611 Sandy Burcenski, 815.838.1442
Mary Burnitz, 815.838.5604 Lorna Paisley, 815.827.7230 Carol Stark, 815.838.1483
INVITATION TO CARE's 8th Annual ~ Free "2010 WILL COUNTY EARTH DAY FEST!"
Sunday, April 18th, 10-4 at the
Lewis University, Romeoville, Will County, IL
Join us for this Free, Family event for all ages - "Live" - entertainment includes: Speakers, Music, Wolf & Reptile presentations, Exhibits & of course Food. Exhibitors, Volunteers & Attendees Welcome!
Will County acknowledged Citizens Against Ruining the Environment - C.A.R.E.'s 2008 & 2009
Earth Day Event as its "official" Earth Day ~
What more effective way to explain a carbon footprint, solutions for clean energy, conservation, preservation or local environmental issue than at an Earth Day Fest? Bring your Ecology, nature, water, air, school, scout, science, horticulture, energy saving, educational, or health related project or exhibit.
Educational events such as Earth Day unites the various environmental groups, eco-friendly businesses and the general public of all ages to work toward a healthier, cleaner and safer environment.
Sponsors include: Times Weekly, Lewis University, Lockport Township High School
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment is an all volunteer, non profit 501c3 organization established in 1995. We are dedicated toward conservation, health & safety of humanity & the environment.
For more info or to become a Sponsor contact:
carelockport@usa.com http://www.willcountycare.org (formerly held @Dellwood Park)
Jeri Gray 708.214.2980, Marsha Marshall 815.603.0025 or Ellen Rendulich 815.834.1611
Environmentalists call Will County to probe
Exxon chemical spill
Will County environmentalists are calling on county officials to probe into a recent chemical spill at the Exxon refinery in Joliet and to force companies to cut public health hazards.
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment (CARE) wants a public meeting in the wake of an Aug. 11 fire at the refinery, when propane and hydrogen fluoride, or hydroflouric acid, spilled into the surrounding environment. Hydrofluoric acid can cause severe burns and extreme heart, lung and bone damage.
The Joliet area near the refinery has one of the largest at-risk populations of any urban facility in the US, according to company and federal Risk Management Plan data. The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigations Board is looking into the August fire because any incident involving a potentially disastrous hydrogen fluoride release in an urban area is "a serious wake-up call," CARE says.
"There shouldn't be any hesitation, including money, for industry to do the right thing & convert from extremely dangerous chemicals such as hydrogen fluoride to safer chemicals," said Ellen Meeks Rendulich, CARE Director.
Investigators also examining a hydrofluoric acid discharge during a July 19 fire at Citgo Petroleum Corp's Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery, are looking into the Joliet refinery fire, board spokesman Daniel Horowitz told Reuters.
"There's a general concern that there have been a number of these alkylation unit accidents," he said. "Any time hydrofluoric acid is released, it's a cause for concern."
Congress is now debating a Chemical Security bill that would require companies to study, and adopt safer chemicals and processes, especially in urban areas. There have been other recent chemical releases involving disaster-potential chemical processes, including Hydrogen fluoride in other cities
CARE, based in Lockport, is asking the Will County Board to direct an investigation of the Exxon incident and hold a "lessons-learned" meeting to inform the public. It's calling for a review of all the disaster potential facilities and transportation flows in the county, and recommendations on ways to reduce risks.
CARE wants the county to require facilities to report to the County annually on risk reduction efforts, and to adopt safer technologies. It's asking the county to include chemical risk information on its web site.
Suit: sooty coal plants spew death, asthma
Illinois health and environmental groups slapped a lawsuit on Midwest Generation's coal plants in Joliet and Romeoville for releasing illegally high amounts of dust and soot shown to cause hundreds of fatal lung problems in people who live...
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines ENVIROMENTALIST as:
"a person who seeks to protect the natural environment, as from air and water pollution, wasteful use of resources, and excessive human encroachments."
"a person who believes that environment is more important than heredity in influencing intellectual growth and development."
This is what CARE is.
Why Do We Need an Environmental Group?
Will County is a Non Attainment Area.
This means that our daily Air Pollution exceeds the standards set by the IEPA
Is this why Asthma is so prevalent in our area?
CITIZENS AGAINST RUINING THE ENVIRONMENT ~ C.A.R.E.
Is a 501©3 Non-Profit Organization, dedicated to maintaining the environmental integrity of not only Lockport & Will County but of "Mother Earth." C.A.R.E.'s mission is to research, educate & assist in all areas that may have detrimental effects.
Purpose of Organization. The purposes for which the corporation is organized are to encourage the preservation of our earth and environment within the State of Illinois.
To facilitate, promote, assist, coordinate and assist in the community and public service, conduct seminars and other educational programs concerning preservations, revitalization and improvement to the environment;
To provide a forum for members of the Corporation and concerned citizens to share knowledge, common experience and problems; and to promote and encourage implementation of more effective, comprehensive legal and financing techniques and devices that will further the preservations, revitalization and improvement of the environment.
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