For as long as it has been in existence as a focused subcommittee of Piasa Palisades Group, Metro East Green Alliance has pledged to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable to the communities they have harmed and to support the buildout of clean renewable energy across Illinois, the US and the world. What began in 2016 as small group of local neighbors meeting quietly to address the impacts and implications of the eminent closure of the Wood River Power Station in East Alton, has grown into a still small but far mightier team of activists that push clean energy policy, fight for local communities to own and drive their own wealth, and hold polluters and legislators accountable for their actions and their votes. In the words of cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: ““Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Well, okay, maybe we’ve lost a little ground in the humility category, but as a tiny member of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition that won the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act last September, we are still on a high. Yes, heads still in the clouds but boots planted firmly on the ground and marching ever onward.
Because guess what happens when you help pass one of the most comprehensive, forward thinking, environmentally progressive, equitable pieces of legislation in Illinois history? You have to go to work; you have to do lots of work, hard work, critical work. As we speak, natural gas is seeing a dirty window of opportunity to sneak in and collect the last remains of rotting profits as the carcasses of coal plants close. Proposed carbon capture storage pipelines threaten our land, food supply, air and water...not to mention these “greenwashers” take more fossil fuel to run than they can ever capture. Any success for these fossil fuel powerplays will be a backward step to all we’ve achieved. And while coal plants may be shutting down, their ash ponds remain, leaching toxins into groundwater and surface water across the state, as polluters try to skirt regulations and ignore public outcry. So while we celebrate, we—to quote Fossil Fuel Mama Sarah Palin—reload.
Locally, our main target remains the now-demolished Wood River Power Station site, where four unlined ash impoundments cover acres of brown fields, just feet from Wood River Creek that flows directly into the Mississippi River. At both the federal level (where much progress is being made thanks to the Biden EPA) and the state level (with the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act supporting us) we continue to hold those polluters accountable. Our work is supported by the amazing people at Earthjustice and Prairie Rivers Network.
But our scope of work for 2022 far exceeds this one site and the ash pond threat. MEGA’s 2022 goals include:
We are working with others to strengthen coal plant closure regulations. We want a robust public engagement component, communities affected by closures to remain safe and have fair warning of demolition and stack implosions. We demand the opportunity to weigh in on how such demotion takes place—if it does at all, with protections for onsite workers. We want community power and voice regarding future use of decommissioned coal plant sites. We’ve been at this work since 2019, when Vistra Corp. sold the Wood River Power Station to Commercial Liability Partners and shut their doors to public discourse and regulatory oversight. While a bill was passed in 2021 that created a requirement of public notice, it is an ineffective piece of legislation—yes, companies have to tell you in advance if they plan to poison you, but they can still poison you with near impunity.
We will stand by our members and their neighbors who are forced to get their power from major polluter Prairie State Energy (PSE)—the worst polluting coal plant in Illinois and the seventh worst in the nation, responsible for one death every five days. PSE will take every advantage of carve-outs in CEJA that will allow it to continue when other coal plants close, and we need to be there to challenge their arrogance and shut down their pollution.
We will stand with United Congregations of Metro East, working to ban the terrible forever chemical PFAS and shutting down big polluters like Veolia that threaten environmental justice communities in Sauget, IL.
We are just stepping into mining, having joined a “mining team” made up of other environmentalists from organizations around the state. We are learning everyday how this losing industry continues to pollute land and water, destroy farmland and residential areas, endanger fragile species and ecosystems, and remains unchecked by a weak and industry-accommodating Illinois DNR. Mining, we see, is another fossil fuel polluter, another threat to the progress we can make with the passage of CEJA. Never give up.
It’s not all confrontation in 2022, however. There's positive outreach with incredibly good news and great opportunities. To make sure the people in our communities understand the benefits and take full advantage of CEJA’s promises, some of our members will be heading out to hold learning sessions and answer your questions about what the passage of CEJA means for your neighborhoods and town: What are the economic opportunities to come for your local tax base? What training is available if you are looking to retool your professional skills in renewable energy or a related field? Does your community qualify for a community solar installation? How can your local school district benefit—your churches—your nonprofits? What opportunities exist for small businesses? All these questions can be answered and more! Our CEJA Ambassadors will be stepping out soon to help you get the most out of clean energy legislation.
Just one last thing...we could always use another set of boots on the ground. If you are a Sierra Club member who loves this beautiful Earth that sustains us, if you have joined with your neighbors to go bird watching, hike a big bluff, kayak down a river or just enjoy a sunset, you belong with us—where it is more than just talk...where actions are taken, and voices are heard. We commit every day to preserving what we love, not as much for ourselves but for the seven generations beyond.