Earlier this year, the company agreed to retire the Chicago coal plants in response to a 10 year grassroots campaign by a coalition of community, health, and environmental organizations. According to agreements signed by Midwest Generation, the Clean Power Coalition, and the City of Chicago, the Fisk coal plant must shut down in 2012 and the Crawford coal plant by 2014.

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The Chicago Clean Power Coalition released the following statement in response to the news.

For Immediate Release

May 2, 2012

Chicago’s Fisk and Crawford Coal Plants to Close in September

Midwest Generation is accelerating the closure of two of the nation’s oldest and dirtiest coal plants, saying both the Fisk plant in Pilsen and the Crawford plant in Little Village will close in September 2012.

On today’s first quarter investor call, Ted Craver, CEO of parent-company Edison International, announced that the Fisk and Crawford coal plants in Chicago will shut ahead of schedule.

Earlier this year, Edison International agreed to retire the Chicago coal plants in response to a 10 year grassroots campaign by a coalition of community, health, and environmental organizations. According to agreements signed by Midwest Generation, the Clean Power Coalition, and the City of Chicago, the Fisk coal plant must shut down in 2012 and the Crawford coal plant by 2014.

Today’s announcement confirms that economic pressures and grassroots opposition present a real challenge to the long term viability of Edison’s coal fleet. Energy producers are recognizing the need to move towards cleaner, more cost effective energy sources

In response to today’s decision, members of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition said:

“We welcome the news that both plants will close earlier than expected. Midwest Generation made this decision independently based on an economic analysis. Coal is not just harmful to public health and air quality; it’s no longer a working business model. Clean energy is where the jobs are now.” – Faith Bugel, senior attorney with Environmental Law & Policy Center.

“There’s no future in coal. Edison International executives can protect Illinois families and their own investors by retiring the remaining Midwest Generation coal plants and committing future investments to renewable energy,” – Kelly Mitchell, Greenpeace Coal Campaigner

“It’s amazing to see the economic times finally catch up with what our communities have known all along – coal is a dirty investment. We are excited to hear that our communities will not have to wait until 2014 for a breath of clean air. In our hearts, we know that Midwest Generation will do right by its employees and invest in them like they have invested in clean energy.” Kimberly Wasserman, Executive Director, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

“In the neighborhoods surrounding the plants tonight, tiny and older lungs especially will breathe a little easier knowing that 100% of the deadly coal pollution generated in Chicago will end in just 4 short months. This news couldn’t be better and will inspire residents as they work together to gather and construct proposals for how future uses of the sites can benefit the community.” – Jerry Mead-Lucero, local resident and organizer for PERRO, the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization.

“Midwest Generation is doing what it needs to do by shutting the plants early. Now we need to move forward toward clean air and a worthy replacement for the plants.” – Nelson Soza, Pilsen Alliance

“Chicago still has a long term air pollution problem and finally closing the last several ancient, inefficient and dirty coal power plants in the Chicago area would improve the health of all area residents by reducing asthma attacks, heart attacks, hospitalizations and deaths.” – Brian Urbaszewski, Director of Environmental Health for Respiratory health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.

“Today we won two more years of cleaner, safer air for the children of Little Village, culminating the many years of hard work by local families and concerned residents. We are now calling on Midwest Generation to protect their employees and asking for investments in energy efficiency that will create new jobs to assist the workers and community with a smooth transition to a clean energy future. We we look forward to continuing our work with the Chicago Clean Power Coalition and Mayor Emanuel to ensure new productive uses of these sites and a cleaner future our city.” -Jack Darin, Sierra Club Illinois Chapter Director

Howard A. Learner speaks to E&ETV about the EPA's proposed power plant pollution standard

As news spread Tuesday that the U.S. Environmental Protection was proposing the first-ever carbon dioxide limits on power plants, Howard A. Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, sat down with E&ETV.

“EPA’s action today is obviously a huge step forward and it tracks the Clean Air Act and the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision Massachusetts v. EPA.,” he said. “It’s also a fairly measured action by EPA. The administrators made clear that it isn’t applying to existing power plants and there’s, in effect, a phase-in, in terms of when it applies to future power plants. So it’s a big action, but it’s been a very measured approach and, in the short term, we don’t think it will have very significant impacts on the way the market is functioning this year or next year and probably the year after.”

Watch the interview.

After more than a decade of advocacy by ELPC and our many allies in the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, two of the oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the nation will close. The Fisk plant in Pilsen will shut down later this year and the Crawford plant in Little Village will shut down in 2014.

For more than 10 years, ELPC has provided the legal counsel to the effort to shut down these damaging plants. This effort has included active participation in the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, a ground-breaking grassroots campaign to make Chicago coal-free.

For more information, please see the Chicago Clean Power Coalition Press Release, some victory celebration photos on our Flickr page, and media coverage from:

• Associated Press: Deal to Shut Chicago’s 2 Coal-Fired Plants Reached
• Crain’s Chicago Business: City’s Last 2 Coal-Fired Power Plants to Close; Waukegan Could Be Next
• Chicago Tribune: 2 Coal-Burning Plants to Power Down Early
• ABC7 Chicago: Chicago’s 2 Coal-Fired Plants to Close
• Chicago Sun-Times: Editorial – Credit Grass-Roots Effort for Victory Over Pollution
• NBC5 Chicago: Residents Rejoice Closure of Fisk, Crawford Coal Plants

Also, you can listen to a podcast of our March 2nd webinar here.

On Thursday, March 1st, hundreds of Pilsen and Little Village residents, along with supporters from the Chicago Clean Power Coalition will gather at Dvorak Park in Pilsen to take part in a press conference and historical celebration in reaction to the retirement of the Fisk and Crawford coal plants. Community members have been waiting for years to see an end to the pollution from Midwest Generation’s Fisk and Crawford coal plants that contribute to over 42 premature deaths, 720 asthma attacks, and $120 million in health costs every year.  Children and families from the neighborhood will gather to celebrate this enormous victory for clean air and the health of Chicago residents.

What: Press Conference and “Retirement Party” for Midwest Generations Fisk and Crawford coal plants.

When: Thursday, March 1^st – 11:00 am

Where: Dvorak Park,  1100 W. Cermak (corner of Cermak & May St.) Chicago, IL 60608

Who: Members of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition and local community residents

Speakers:

Kim Wasserman, LVEJO — Little Village Community

Leila Mendez, PERRO — Pilsen Community

Rosalie Mancera, Pilsen Alliance — Pilsen Community

Brian Urbaszewski, Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago

Faith Bugel, Environmental Law and Policy Center

Exciting Visuals: Hundreds of Pilsen and Little Village residents will gather with environmental leaders in a public park, in the shadow of a coal plant that has been retired. Large colorful signs and banners, children and celebratory chants will feature prominently in the celebration.

B-Roll Package

Print Quality Photos

Chicago Clean Power Coalition Press Release

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“These standards mean power plants will invest in modern pollution controls, and that investment will create jobs, cleaner air and better public health,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Illinois adopted mercury pollution reduction standards in 2006 and modern control equipment has been installed at almost all coal plants in the state.  The technology works, the lights have stayed on, mercury pollution has been reduced and children’s health is better protected.  It’s time for the holdout utilities to stop crying wolf, stop stalling and clean up their pollution to protect children’s health and our rivers and lakes.”

“Illinois and other states have led the way and shown that these federal standards are reasonable and attainable,” said Learner. “With federal standards in place, all Americans will gain the benefits of better health and cleaner and safer water.”

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can harm fetal brain development, reducing children’s IQ and their ability to learn.  According to EPA estimates, about 300,000 babies are born in the U.S. every year at risk of neurological damage because of mercury.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards set a 3-5 year timeline for power plant owners to install widely available modern technology to reduce mercury pollution by 91% and drastically reduce arsenic, chromium, acid gases and other toxic air pollutants which are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects. The new standards will create thousands of jobs around the country as power plant owners hire people to build, install and operate modern pollution control equipment needed to reduce mercury and other toxics from their plants.