SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – A bill creating protections from coal ash in Illinois has passed the Illinois Legislature.

The Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act (SB0009) passed on Monday. It’s meant to address issues created by waste pits filled with coal ash in Illinois by changing how cleanup efforts work and will now go to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk.

Coal ash pits have created an environmental threat at the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River near Danville, as I-TEAM reporter Doug Wolfe previously reported. The now-closed Vermilion Power State was using the pits.

Pam Richert of the Eco-Justice Collaborative told WAND-TV there are 3.3 million cubic yards of coal ash in three unlined leaking pits.

The bill takes the following steps:

  • Creates framework to ensure polluters pay for closure and cleanup instead of taxpayers
  • Establishes transparency and public participation in communities where cleanups are happening
  • Gives Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funds to oversee closure and cleanup
  • Requires state to create coal ash impoundment standards that match or surpass federal coal ash rule requirements, with added protection for dust and water pollution.

Illinois is the third U.S. state to pass coal ash protection legislation.

The full text of the bill is available in a PDF document attached to this story.