​Environmental groups are hailing passage of a bill (SB9) to regulate the cleanup of coal ash pits at Illinois power plant sites. The Illinois House passed the measure on Monday 77-35 with one member voting Present (following Senate passage on May 9), and it now goes to Governor Pritzker’s desk.

Coal ash is one of the largest types of industrial waste generated in the U.S., according to the EPA. And some Illinois lawmakers say the state has a coal ash problem. 

At a public hearing Tuesday night in Danville the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency took comments from Central Illinois citizens, public officials, engineering and science experts, and environmentalists on Dynegy’s proposal to wall off the Middle Fork River near its coal ash ponds at the Vermilion Power Station.

The Illinois Environmental Agency will hold a public hearing Tuesday, March 26, 2019 to take comments on a proposal by Dynegy Midwest Generation to construct a wall of rock along the Middle Fork River near the company’s coal ash ponds at the Vermilion Power Station near Danville. For those interested, here's what you need to know.

Illinois State Representative Mike Marron of Fithian has filed a bipartisan resolution to create a Task Force to study the impact of coal ash across Illinois. The Coal Ash Task Force would look at coal ash pollution throughout Illinois, including the impact of the retired Dynegy coal plant on the Middle Fork River near Danville. Marron filed the resolution with three other republicans and two democrats.