Cause for Celebration?

An article in the Tribune today may be cause for celebration.  Read about Leucadia throwing the towel in and moving on to other projects:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0815-leucadia-exit--20120815,0,7834384.story

“Yes, we’ve won the battle, but we haven’t won the war . . .”

By Sharon Rolek, Member SETF

Mid-afternoon Friday, August 10, Governor Quinn’s statement was released.  He vetoed SB3766 – which planned “to void any previously approved sourcing agreements by the ICC as it relates to the Chicago Clean Energy project, and seeks to address several contested issues including debt ratio, projected annual output, and cost recovery percentages” of Leucadia’s Gasification Plant. The environmental community bombarded the Gov. with 700 phone calls, 11,000 petitions and a 200-person rally at the Thompson Center. The trade unions and Alderman Pope put a lot of pressure on the Gov. with their pro-Leucadia efforts. 

While we are pleased the Gov. vetoed this bill, his reasons were purely economic.  Even after a recent visit from the Brian Urbaszewski, Director of Environmental Health Programs at the Respiratory Health Association of Metro. Chicago.  His letter included comments about protecting the ratepayers, but also that he wants a “bill to enable this project to move forward.”

The veto of SB 3766 is a big interim victory in our fight against Leucadia's coal plant, but the fight is not over yet. Leucadia still has guaranteed 84% funding of their project through a previously-passed bill. However, there are numerous hurdles Leucadia has in front of them before the plant can go forward. Leucadia must obtain pollution credits from the Illinois Pollution Control Board in order to operate on the site. They also must apply for air and water permits with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Leucadia doesn't even own the land that they want to develop. We will have further opportunities to engage in this process, and we'll need your help to succeed once again!  Anyone wanting to help, please contact kady.mcfadden@sierraclub.org  She is heading up our “Beyond Coal”/Environmental Justice Alliance of the Southeast Side of Chicago.

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Do They Mean It?

This past Friday, Governor Quinn exercised his veto power on the bill that would have forced natural gas facilities to purchase synthetic gas from the Leucadia coal gasification facility.  The General Assembly's bill locked utilities into purchasing the syn-gas at prices double the current market rate for the next 30 years. 

Quinn pointed out in his explanation for the veto that things had changed since he signed the original authorization bill into law.  In addition, the project faced stiff oppositon from an array of business, environmental (the Task Force being one), and consumer groups.

Though the veto was a serious blow to the project, SETF is not so sure that the project is dead.  A statement on Chicago Clean Energy's internet site would lead us to believe different however.  It clearly states that Leucadia plans to move on to their other projects in the country.  Fact or threat? 
Read their statement and decide for yourself here:

http://www.chicagocleanenergy.com/

Why You Should Ask Governor Quinn to Veto SB3766

For an explanation of why Governor Quinn should veto SB3766, see the following YouTube short:

Southeast Enviornmental Task Force Rallies with EJ Alliance

Hi again from John. I was with the taskforce again on Tuesday July 10^th for a rally to veto the Leucadia Bill. SETF was there to deliver over 11 thousand petitions from the residents of the Southeast Side to Governor Quinn’s representatives at the Thompson Center. Leucadia’s Coal Gasification Plant plans are being touted as “clean coal” but residents of the Calumet Region know firsthand that coal is a dirty business. Coal Gasification takes coal and a petroleum coke (a byproduct of oil refineries) and combines them under extreme pressure and temperatures to create synthetic natural gas. Hauling and storage of the raw materials produces particulates linked to Asthma rates and other health problems, not to mention soil quality and wildlife issues. The Southeast Side is the home to numerous protected and endangered bird species that make their nesting and migratory homes there, including a pair of bald eagles. Adding another dirty industry to the region would only compound the scarring. Leucadia wants the state to legislate the utility companies to buy their syngas at a fixed price for 30 years and force the consumer to use this product without even the option of using traditional natural gas.  They also want consumers and taxpayers to fund the almost $4 billion needed to build the plant.
John Rossi

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What Better Way to Spend a Saturday Afternoon

Saturday was the first time I took a tour with The Southeast Environmental Task Force. We rode a coach bus from the Chicago Cultural Center at 10am to check out the Energy and Industrial Areas in Chicago’s South Side. Making our way through Pilsen we stopped at a coal fired power plant and from there went to the Testa Produce facilities in the Stockyards. Personally I’d much rather see the giant wind turbine Testa owns spinning on a summer day then have to breathe in what comes out of those smokestacks, as most of those residents of the area have to do on a daily basis.

We moved on to West Pullman to City Solar, it’s the largest urban solar power generating facility in the country. The cool thing about the site is that it makes use of former Industrial property deemed that has been polluted. They call these lands ‘brownfields’ and developers are required to remediate these properties based on what they plan on reusing them.

The rest of the tour focused on the Calumet Region. Waste Management has a methane turbine generating electricity that a representative gave us a tour of. As you can probably guess the gas is a by-product of the rotting contents of their landfill. Dumps used to burn it off into the air with no benefit at all. Inside it looked like a jet engine housed in a very smelly garage. The site is closed to new dumping but the company is fighting to change that. SETF and other groups are already opposing that in their community.

Lunch was great; they sat us all down at La Hacienda restaurant in the Slag Valley neighborhood. We got to talk, network, and exchange quick little life stories. It’s a social as well as educational tour. I met people who owned their own green business, politicians, and students. So much is packed into this four-hour tour.  Our guide Tom is a board member of SETF. He’s funny and pretty knowledgeable on the neighborhoods and history of the region too. Crossing the border into Indiana, the tour included the BP refinery as part of the story of where our energy comes from. We drove through the Southeast Side which is dotted with brownfields from old steel industry, coal stockpiles, and abandoned grain silos. The community is zoned for heavy industry so they are trying to balance the need for employment, energy demands, and quality of the environment-- all things for a balanced and healthy life. This tour gave me a snapshot of life in these neighborhoods as well the variety of energy technologies.

Tom Shepherd starts the group off with basic information about SETF

Testa Produce is LEED Platinum Certified

Excelon Urban Solar Farm

Rows and Rows of Solar Panels

Tom shares facts about the Solar Farm.

Tour group inside Waste Management's landfill gas to electricity facility.

Waste Management's Methane to Electric Generator

Tim, a WM staffer explains the process of converting landfill gas to electricity.

Mountains of coal stored for further transport.

Future site of the proposed Leucadia coal gasification platn.  A stack from the coke ovens still stands.

Tom points out all the industries located on the River and how they impact the environment.

EJ ALLIANCE HAS FACEBOOK PAGE

Stop by the Environmental Justice Alliance's Facebook page to catch up with current information regarding the landfill issue and the opposition to the Leucadia Coal Gasification plant.

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