Locals meet to preserve forest

By: Erin McCarthy

Posted: 1/30/09

Approximately 60 people gathered at the Industry Elementary School for a public hearing regarding the fifth renewal of the Industry Coal Mine Permit #16 on Wednesday. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Mines and Minerals conducted the hearing and invited concerned citizens to present their comments and questions for review.

The area in question is the Great Chandler Timbers, one of the last remaining sections of old forests in the area, and is populated with ancient maples, ironwoods, black walnut trees and thorn apples. The forest has been declared a vital habitat for American bald eagles, great blue herons and American white pelicans, and the destruction of this forest has been a cause of major concern from several area citizens.

Kim Sedgwick, account technician for Western Illinois University Document and Publication Services, has been working for years to defend the remaining forest. She believes the IDNR has failed to consider the impact of the mine on the surrounding environment and that the Environmental Protection Agency has been too lax on enforcing regulations.

"This natural heritage should be protected and undisturbed, utilizing alternative clean energy methods such as wind power on the past lands they have turned into flat desolated lands," Sedgwick said. "We believe that citizens who value the Grindstone Creek, the Camp Creek, Willow Creek and Troublesome Creek … should be greatly outraged by these agencies' failure to follow rules intended to protect our natural resources."

According to Sedgwick, aquatic studies by the IDNR relating to the Grindstone Creek show a drastic decline in specimens, and many of the sediment ponds hold highly toxic chemicals, including sulfur, lead, mercury and arsenic.

Attendees in favor of the permit renewal included citizens concerned with the number of jobs at stake, as well as representatives from the McDonough County Cooperative and the Spoon River Electric Cooperative.

Bill Dodds, president and CEO of Spoon River Electric Cooperative in Canton, worked to persuade citizens of the necessity behind the renewal.

"We are proponents of the environment. We're in the process of looking at other methods of power, but we're several years away," Dodds said. "I'm very happy to see that our local coal mines are opening up for additional supply. Hopefully that will help stabilize the [electric] prices until we can implement some of these other technologies that would help us with burning clean coal."

Several members of the Western Illinois University community attended the meeting, including Dr. Eric Ribbins, associate professor of biological sciences.

"Coal mining is an obsolete technology. We could far better invest our dollars in other technologies than burning coal," Ribbins said. "Coal is an environmentally destructive technology. It inherently destroys land, pollutes water, and the air. As a biologist, I believe we should be promoting plant biodiversity."

Joyce Blumenshine, Sierra Club representative, also attended the meeting to propose a number of questions regarding the enforcement of IDNR and EPA regulations.

The record of the renewal hearing will be open until Feb. 9 for concerned citizens to submit written comments, either in support or opposition to the renewal of Industry Coal Mine Permit #16. The land reclamation staff will review all comments, and a decision will be made to issue, deny or require modifications to the application.

Citizens are encouraged to e-mail comments for review to scott.fowler@illinois.gov.