Late this morning representatives of Champaign and Vermilion county residents, including stakeholders along the Salt Fork of the Vermilion River  held a press conference at the Homer Village Hall.  This site was chosen because reports that the Village of Homer was talking to Sunrise Coal about using local water in the proposed coal mining and washing project had appeared in the Leader and News Gazette.

The speakers came with questions and essentially asked for a seat at the table when questions related to water and coal mining are discussed.  Speakers included community members Sue Smith, Peter Kuchinke each of whom described Homer as a great place to live, and called for protections for its drinking water and the water of the nearby Salt Fork River.

Expectation by citizens that governmental processes be transparent is reasonable.  “Citizens have a right to know what the officials they have chosen to serve them are doing.” said one speaker.  The supporting presence of citizens may also strengthen local officials as they talk with Sunrise.

Alan Kurtz from the Champaign County Board spoke about the need to protect the prime farmland of the county. The Board is waiting for an opinion from the Illinois Attorney about the authority of Champaign to regulate local mining activities.   He has no timeline for this opinion. Continue reading →

Old Murdock Mine is now a disposal site for coal ash, sewage sludge and other industrial waste

An excerpt of this commentary appeared in the Sidell Reporter on 7/7/2011.

In a recent commentary in the Danville Commercial News, a former coalmine subcontractor from Catlin, Illinois shared his perspective on Sunrise Coal, LLC’s (Sunrise) proposal to mine coal in the farm communities of Allerton, Homer, Fairmount, and Sidell (AHFS).

There is another perspective. Today, coal’s downsides – damage to local resources and harm to public health – are widely recognized. Cleaner and healthier sources of renewable energy are available now. When we know there is a better way, it’s time to move in that direction.

Although abandoning coal will not happen immediately, the transition to cleaner energy options is already underway. Old coal plants are being retired and many proposed new coal plants are being canceled because the benefits are not worth the risks.

States’ licensing of coal plants is slowing. In June 2007, Florida’s Public Service Commission refused to license a huge $5.7 billion, 1,960-megawatt coal plant because the utility proposing it could not prove that building the plant would be cheaper than investing in conservation, efficiency, or renewable energy.

Bank lending for coal plants is slowing. In February 2008, investment banks Morgan Stanley, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Bank of America announced that any future lending for coal-fired power would be contingent on the utilities demonstrating that the plants would be economically viable with the higher costs associated with future federal restrictions on carbon emissions.

The U.S. is also on the path away from coal by becoming more efficient. Increased efficiency is the most cost-effective new source of energy. Other countries, Denmark and Japan for example, enjoy services similar to ours, but use much less energy.

Mining and processing of coal usually bring long-term consequences to communities like ours that may outweigh benefits. Coal slurry – the used wastewater from washing coal – contains dangerous heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and selenium that contaminate local drinking water.  Coal dust blowing from processing plants increases asthma and respiratory disease. Undermined areas are weakened, and are less able to attract new construction because risk is higher. Illinois has no shortage of failed coal towns. Continue reading →