The 21st Show

Cleaning Up Coal Ash In Illinois

 
Coal ash ponds at the Vermilion Power Plant, located in the floodplain of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River.

Coal ash ponds at the Vermilion Power Plant, located in the floodplain of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River. Darrell Hoemann/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

Energy company Dynegy agreed to remove the byproducts from its former coal-fired power plant near the Vermilion River, in east-central Illinois. Environmental advocates and regulators had been fighting the company about this for years. And while there are unique factors in this case, the problem of pollution from these ponds filled with coal ash exist in sites across Illinois.

To discuss the case more, The 21st spoke to three advocates. 

Guests:

Jenny Cassel, Senior Attorney, Coal Program, Earthjustice

Andrew Rehn, Water Resources Engineer, Prairie Rivers Network

Lan Richert, Co-Director, Eco-Justice Collaborative

 

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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