IPA to urge permit denial for Broadwing Energy plant at Illinois EPA meeting

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Members of the Illinois People's Action (IPA) will attend the Illinois EPA's hearing Thursday night demanding permit denial for Broadwing Energy's proposed natural gas plant.

The hearing will take place at 7 p.m. at the Macon County Fairgrounds Pride of the Prairie Center in Decatur.

Broadwing Energy's plant will be located at ADM's Decatur facility along Brush College Road, and will produce electricity and steam for ADM and Google.

IPA said the proposal project will inject approximately 2 million tons of CO2 beneath Lake Decatur.

IPA leaders stated that the community deserves "stronger protections for their air, water and health" before permits are approved.

"We don’t need a 400mw gas plant for Google, and we don’t want it. The plant will provide power equivalent to 300,000 homes. It’s not for us, it’s for Google. We simply won’t be a sacrifice zone for big-tech while risking our water source," said IPA leader Verlyn Rosenberger in a press release.

The Decatur City Council approved the development agreement for the billion-dollar plant in February.