Action Alert:  Re-open Public Comment Process on Indeck Power Plant

Submitted by Dee Huie, Legislative Committee Member

New information about the emissions from the Indeck power plant in Will County  has been made public since the permit was issued in 2003. This information suggests that the harm  being done to the surrounding areas by the emissions is much worse than previously thought.

SAMPLE LETTER

Governor Blagojevich
Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

Director Doug Scott
Illinois EPA
1021 North Grand Avenue East
PO Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794

Dear Governor Blagojevich / Director Scott:

{Your group} respectfully request(s) that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency reopen the air permit for the Indeck coal-burning power plant that is proposed in Elwood, Will County, and provide the public with an opportunity to review and comment on all the new information that has come to light since the permit was issued nearly two years ago. The air permit was issued in October 2003 and since that time the IEPA, the US EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Indeck have continued to study the impacts of siting a giant coal-burning power plant immediately adjacent to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and downwind residents. All this new information, including over 300-pages of additional studies, have never been made available to the public for its review and comment.

The new studies indicate that Indeck will result in rain falling on the Midewin and the surrounding communities that is contaminated with acid, mercury and other dangerous pollutants at much higher levels than ever imagined. For example, Indeck's own consultants estimate that on certain days the rain will be as acidic as lemon juice, with a pH as low as 2.6. In addition, Indeck recently announced that they would be using treated sewage from Joliet at its proposed power plant for cooling purposes. There has been no analysis or public review of the air impacts of using treated sewage on area residents or the Midewin.

More than 8 million Illinoisans live directly downwind of Indeck's proposed coal plant. For the health of these residents and protection of the Midewin it is critical that there be a thorough review of the air impacts of this project that is based on the best available scientific information. We urge you to reopen the Indeck air permit and afford the public the opportunity to review and comment on this new information that has come to light since the permit was first issued and then to adjust the permit to mitigate the impacts on the Midewin and downwind residents as necessary.

Respectfully,