Livestock producers in Illinois oppose a regulation that would require feedlots to register with the state, but a legislative panel appears poised to approve the regulation. The proposal is part of a series of changes to how Illinois regulates confined animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered changes in […]
IEPA
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Coal ash ruling could mean new restrictions
A federal judge has ordered the United States Environmental Protection Agency to pass regulations on disposal of coal ash, which could have far-reaching implications for Illinois’ rebounding coal industry and coal plant operators like Springfield City Water, Light and Power. The Illinois-based environmental group Prairie Rivers Network participated in the lawsuit that prompted the decision […]
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IEPA withdraws Tenaska Taylorville permit
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency withdrew a pollution permit last week for a proposed power plant in Taylorville after federal regulators asked the state to allow a controversial “clean coal” technology. IEPA previously issued a permit to Nebraska-based power company Tenaska allowing the company to operate its Taylorville Energy Center project as a natural gas […]
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Manure rules
Large livestock farms would have to pay for pollution permits under legislation headed to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. The Clean Water Funding Fairness Act, which passed through the Illinois House and Senate on May 22, would force factory farms, commonly referred to as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), to pay an annual fee for permits […]
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Honor system for air pollution?
As state regulators prepare to issue a permit for a state-of-the-art “clean coal” plant planned for Taylorville, one environmental group criticizes the proposed permit for not specifically requiring carbon capture technology. The Taylorville Energy Center project, planned by Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska, Inc., would be the first power plant of its kind to capture a significant […]
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Coal ash disposal draws ire
Strolling along Macoupin Creek in October, environmentalists observed in the middle of the day flowing water the color of a moonless night sky. While the samples they grabbed weren’t analyzed at a lab, Mary Ellen DeClue, of Citizens Against Longwall Mining, is convinced she knows why the water was black – it had been contaminated […]
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Feds censure state on farm waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Illinois fails to regulate manure from certain livestock farms, calling on the state to completely revamp its system of oversight or risk losing its enforcement authority. In a report released in late September, the U.S. EPA says the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has not fully implemented a federally mandated […]
