Protesters speak out against pollution from power plantsAug 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rebecca Lurye Journal Star, Peoria, Ill.
When Robin Garlish spoke out against pollution in the Illinois River on Wednesday morning, she came armed not with numbers and names of toxic metals, but with pictures. Her poster was filled with images she shot of men and women fishing, boating and playing in the Illinois River, the Ameren Energy Resources Generating Company coal-fired power plant looming just behind them. Garlish, who drove from her Pekin home to Liberty Park on Wednesday, wanted to show that many in her community are unaware 5 million gallons of water gushes from the Bartonville plant's coal ash pond each day, seeping lead, mercury, arsenic and other harmful metals into the river. Wednesday at 6 p.m., some of the dozen protesters who took to Peoria's riverfront were to gather at the Pekin Public Library, 301 S. Fourth St., to attend a public hearing on the issue. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will be taking public comment on its drafted permit of a pollutant discharge elimination system for Ameren, which at this time would not limit the toxic metals discharged from the plant's 89-acre coal ash pond. "Many of these power plants have gotten away, for decades, with not making common sense pollution control decisions," said Traci Barkley, water resource scientist with the Prairie Rivers Network. "And the IEPA is about to issue a permit that is business as usual." Ameren did not have a representative at the news conference, but a spokeswoman later said the company is committed to keeping dangerous metals out of the river. "The discharged water is significantly cleaner than the river water we take in," Brianne Vaught said. "We're speaking on all toxins or pollution. We've always complied with any guidelines that have come from the EPA, and we're confident that we'll be able to comply with future guidelines." The plant's water was last tested for mercury in 2010, Vaught said. In April, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Peoria against Ameren, citing more than 1000 Clean Air Act violations. Ameren was required to monitor for mercury once a month for one year before stopping indefinitely, according to Central Illinois Health Community Alliance, which hosted Wednesday's news conference. The IEPA's draft permit requires twice yearly monitoring for metal pollutants. Exposure to high levels of the toxic materials present in the water has been known to cause birth defects and a range of illnesses. Garlish, 54, whose family grew up jet skiing on the river and camping out on its banks, said she was recently diagnosed with bronchial asthma, her 15-year-old daughter was born with chronic asthma, her husband's aunt died from cancer and her mother just finished her first round of chemotherapy. "I was appalled at what I exposed my children to," she said. "I know there are a lot of factors, but it really just makes us wonder. Is this what made us really sick?" Rebecca Lurye can be reached at 686-3251 or rlurye@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @beccalurye. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=29574349 |