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Sierra Club Lawsuits

A Victory for Illinois Clean Air and National Tallgrass Prairie

Case Updates:

September 28, 2006

In a huge victory for clean air, on September 28th, 2006 the USEPA Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) overturned the air permit for Indeck Energy Services’ proposed 660 megawatt coal-fired plant near Chicago.  The EAB sided with the Sierra Club in finding the permit deficient in four ways, including its emissions control requirements and its environmental impact assessments.  Indeck planned to locate the pollution spewing plant in the Greater Chicago non-attainment area, a region home to eight million people.  In addition, it would also have been located immediately adjacent to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the nation’s first prairie preserve.  The Sierra Club has actively worked to oppose this plant for the past three years, engaging the community and forming important alliances, including with the City of Chicago and American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago.  The EAB’s decision serves as an excellent opportunity for the state of Illinois to move towards a clean-energy future that harnesses safe and affordable energy options, including new wind farms and large investments in energy efficiency.

October 7, 2005

The city of Chicago has now upped the ante in our bid to stop the dirty, polluting coal-fired power plant proposed by Indeck in the Elwood suburb. Although the city had sought modern pollution technology for the plant from the beginning, Indeck was initially given the green light without stringent pollution requirements. However, the city is now back in the game with a recent friend of the court filing arguing that if the plant moves forward without the modern pollution technology then Chicago will have an even harder time making sure its air meets public health requirements.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Appeals Board has reopened our case for consideration following the conclusion of a much needed environmental study of the impact of the dirty coal plant on the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie and sensitive wildlife in the area. As the next step, we are slated to file our latest brief in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for further updates

May 2, 2004

Good news! Following our double legal filings in late 2003, the Sierra Club has just learned that the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) has temporarily halted Indeck’s plans to construct a giant dirty coal-fired power plant near Chicago. In its ruling, the EAB requested a complete environmental study on the impact of the plant on endangered species and the neighboring Midewin Tallgrass Prairie. The EAB will reexamine the case on the merits after the study is completed.

November 1, 2003

The Club has now filed two legal challenges to a giant 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Elmwood, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. The plant would add an additional 9,600 tons of soot and smog to this region where 660,000 asthmatics already struggle to breathe. The Chicago Tribune has labeled this area the “Asthma Capital” of the United States because more residents die from asthma here than in any other area in the nation. Worse yet, the Indeck corporation plans to construct its power plant immediately adjacent to the 19,000-acre Midewin Tallgrass Prairie, the nation’s first national prairie reserve.

Details and Documents:

Read more about this plant at the Sierra Club's Stopping the Coal Rush Website!

Coal-burning power plant extinguished
January 4, 2008, by Kim Smith, The Herald News

Chicago says plant would be a polluter
October 13, 2005, by Jo Napolitano, The Chicago Tribune