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

ELPC is working to make green building practices the norm. Our new LEED Platinum eco-office puts our values into practice, combining innovative technology and forward-thinking design to create a workspace that protects the environment, is healthier for our staff and makes economic sense.

April 26, 2012

Contact:

David Jakubiak

(312) 795-3713

DJakubiak@elpc.org

ELPC Commends Senate Agriculture Committee Support of Homegrown Energy

WASHINGTON – The Senate Agriculture Committee took an important step to support America’s farmers, renewable homegrown energy, rural development and national security by funding core energy programs through a Farm Bill amendment passed today.

“We commend Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and the bipartisan group of 11 Senators who supported a bipartisan amendment supporting mandatory funding for programs that reduce dependence on polluting fossil fuels and help farmers cut energy costs and produce innovative renewable energy for America,” said Andy Olsen, Senior Policy Advocate with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

“The state of the economy and our continuing energy challenges underscore the need for programs like the REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) and  BCAP (Biomass Crop Assistance Program) which generate rural development and provide a safety net to farmers,” Olsen said.

“We thank the energy title supporters, Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) for their support of an Energy Title amendment that provides mandatory funding of these core energy programs,” Olsen added.

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The Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest’s leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.                    

“BCAP is an important and unique program that develops new biomass energy crops that can boost farmer income while providing a new energy source for the nation. It has potential across the country,” said Steve Falck, Senior Policy Advocate for the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC).

The USDA will review the proposals and select producers or biomass facilities for the BCAP Project Areas. The growers will qualify for establishment or annual payments.

BCAP was first created in the 2008 Farm Bill. In FY2011, USDA selected nine project areas, approving more than 860 grower contracts for camelina, hybrid poplar, warm season grasses and giant miscanthus on almost 50,000 acres. The total investment in those projects is estimated to be $55 million.

In November 2011, Congress passed appropriations for 2012 limiting the total amount of BCAP funding to $17 million, reducing the potential number of projects and investments.

The Request for Proposal and additional information can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap.

To apply for a BCAP grant:

1.    Go to www.grants.gov.

2.    On the left side of the page, click on “Apply for Grants.”

3.    Click on “Download a Grant Application Package.”

4.    Type “10.087” in the box with the heading “CFDA Number” and click on “Download Package.”

“Dexter and other critics say there’s no reason to spend another 17 years digging reservoirs when Chicago’s stormwater management challenges are growing more daunting by the year. If [the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP)] is to be the first line of defense against sewer overflows, the argument goes, it should be deployed much faster.

‘We need to finish what we started in 1972, and do it as quickly as we can,’ Dexter said.”

To read the full story, sign up for an E&Enews trial.

” Madeleine Weil, a senior policy advocate with the ELPC, says currently solar projects in Chicago require a lot of phone calls and trips to City Hall. Costs range between $3,000 and $8,000 with anywhere from a 45 to 75 day wait.

‘Obviously there’s a really big range in both of those numbers, which is an indicator that it’s not particularly consistent,’ says Weil.”

Read the full story.

ELPC’s webinar about Electric Car Trends and Policy Updates highlighted the challenges and opportunities ahead for electric cars to succeed on America’s roads and in America’s factories. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner, Edmunds.com Senior Green Car Editor John O’Dell, and ELPC Senior Policy Advocate Madeleine Weil presented and responded to questions. A podcast is available here.

Washington, D.C. – President Obama’s proposal to expand the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) beyond its current FY14 time frame was announced today while an invited group of the region’s leaders were in town for a briefing with senior White House officials.

Congress and the president have provided more than $1 billion for the GLRI since it first made history in 2009 as the largest commitment to Great Lakes restoration in a U.S. presidential budget. The sweeping initiative funds are designated to curb the influx of invasive species, clean beaches, remove toxic pollution and restore fish and wildlife habitat.

The announcement was made as some 80 of the Great Lakes region’s environmental, recreation, business and academic leaders met with senior White House officials today to discuss clean water, environmental and economic priorities in the region. Participants were invited to the briefing at the Executive Office Building, co-hosted by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Office of Public Engagement, during Great Lakes Day events in Washington this week.

“Millions of people rely on the Great Lakes for fresh drinking water, recreation and economic vitality,” said Howard A. Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “By expanding our investment in the Great Lakes, the Obama administration is protecting one of the nation’s — and the world’s — most valuable natural and economic assets.”

“A commitment to extending GLRI funding is critical to protecting our lakes, our national parks and our local economies,” said Lynn McClure, Midwest regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “In Michigan, one GLRI project alone has created 125 jobs and produced more than $66 million in economic benefits to the state.”

“This is an investment that will benefit the environment and the economy,” said Andy Buchsbaum, regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office. “Great Lakes programs are producing results — but there’s more to do. Today’s announcement signals that the Obama Administration is in this fight for the long haul.”

Economic recovery and environmental restoration were significant themes in the day’s discussion, which connected the goals of reducing nutrient pollution, cleaning up beaches and removing invasive species, to more tourism dollars for local communities and small businesses. Among the highlights:

Asian Carp/Chicago Waterway: The groups praise the administration’s effort to build up agency budgets to support short-term Asian carp deterrents, and say they are pleased to learn that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy believes it is possible to shorten the timeline for the corps’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS). The congressional-ordered study – requiring the corps to determine options available to stop the transfer of invasive species between the two watersheds — is currently scheduled for completion in 2015. Looking forward, the groups seek a better understanding of how the administration will compress the study timeline and focus the effort on analyzing how to permanently separate the Great Lakes and Mississippi River.

Ballast Water Discharge: The groups credit U.S. EPA for requiring treatment technology on board vessels for the first time, as well as for working to retain ballast water exchange for the Great Lakes. But they note that EPA’s new draft permit has weaknesses — particularly in terms of technology availability determinations and the timeline for implementation — that could compromise this modest progress.

Cleaner beaches: The groups say they are pleased to see a decrease in beach closings in Chicago and elsewhere. They urge the administration to continue supporting such progress in future years as beaches are a primary way people experience the Great Lakes, and serve as an economic engine for dozens of coastal communities.

Nutrient pollution: The groups praise the yeoman’s effort by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service and EPA to pool their resources and coordinate on the ground in the western Lake Erie basin to address the already-critical algae-bloom threat. The groups say they anticipate the agencies using every tool in the box to drive down phosphorus loads to western Lake Erie and other critical areas around the lakes.

Toxic cleanups: The groups applaud EPA’s tight focus and spending priority on cleaning up and delisting Areas of Concern, going way back to the early 2000s and passage of the Legacy Act. Such contamination holds Great Lakes communities back from revitalization and cleanups should continue as a priority for the administration, the groups say.

Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said that overall, “I was pleased and inspired to see and hear the highest levels of the Obama administration focused on restoring the Great Lakes in Washington this week. A healthy Great Lakes is a resource that everyone in the region can build on as we revitalize both our environment and economy. I look forward to continuing this collaborative work to restore the lakes and prevent threats from undermining our strong record of success.”

The briefing included opening remarks from U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson about business development and jobs in the Great Lakes region, and a panel discussion with USDA Deputy Under Secretary Ann Mills, DOI Deputy Secretary David Hayes, and Cameron Davis, EPA senior advisor to the Administrator for Great Lakes.

“The administration made unprecedented investments in restoring the Great Lakes and made it a priority to work with state, city, environmental, academic and business leaders toward lasting solutions,” said Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House CEQ. “Today’s gathering at the White House is another important step in advancing the partnership between federal agencies and community leaders that has fostered success for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and its goal of a healthy environment and a thriving economy for all Americans.”

The Great Lakes account for more than 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water, with more than 30 million people living in the Great Lakes Basin.

Contacts:

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Joel Brammeier, President and CEO, 773-590-6494 (cell), jbrammeier@greatlakes.org

Environmental Law & Policy Center: Howard Learner, Executive Director, 312-953-6841 (cell) HLearner@elpc.org; or Jill Geiger, Director of Communications and Marketing, 312-795-3703 (office)

National Parks Conservation Association: Lynn McClure, Midwest Regional Director, 312-343-7216 (cell), lmcclure@npca.org

National Wildlife Federation-Great Lakes office: Andy Buchsbaum, Regional Executive Director, 734-717-3665 (cell), buchsbaum@nwf.org

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.

Register today for this free webinar on Monday, March 5th, at 11 a.m. CST. Edmunds.com Senior Green Car Editor John O’Dell will join ELPC staff to detail current trends in electric car buying and electric car policies. Register today!