FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 29, 2011
CONTACT: Claire Orphan, Sierra Club
312.251.1680 x146
Historic Win for
Clean Air as Chicago’s Fisk and Crawford Coal Plants Announce Retirement
Huge public
health victory comes after years of pressure from local residents and the
Sierra Club
Chicago –
Today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Midwest Generation announced the planned
retirement of the Fisk and Crawford coal plants, two of the oldest and dirtiest
coal-fired power plants in the nation located in the heart of Chicago’s
Southwest side. According to an agreement signed by Midwest Generation, the
Clean Power Coalition, and the City of Chicago, the Fisk coal plant in Pilsen
will retire in 2012 and the Crawford coal plant in Little Village will retire
by 2014. As part of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, Sierra
Club has worked with an incredible group of local community organizations to
retire these coal plants due to the dangerous health impacts on the families of
Chicago.
"Today’s announcement of the retirement of the Fisk and
Crawford coal plants is a triumph for Chicago families," said Sierra
Club’s Executive Director Michael Brune. "These old and dirty
plants have been polluting two thriving Chicago neighborhoods for over 100
years. The effort to end pollution from the plants has been an uphill battle
for a very long time. This announcement is the culmination of many years of
hard work by local families and concerned residents in Pilsen and Little
Village, and this victory belongs to them. Pollution from these coal plants has
been making local residents sick since 1903, contributing to asthma attacks,
respiratory illnesses and other health problems. This is giant leap in our work
to move America beyond coal."
Chicago
is the only major metropolitan area with not only one, but two polluting coal
plants within the city limits, and the Sierra Club, along with the Chicago
Clean Power Coalition, has been working with Mayor Emanuel to retire these two
Midwest Generation plants. The coal burned in these plants is brought in from
Wyoming, the power is sold out of state, and the profits go to a
California-based company, leaving Chicago to deal with the pollution. Today’s
announcement marks the end of a long and difficult battle led by the Chicago
Clean Power Coalition to protect the health of the Pilsen and Little Village residents.
“This is a grassroots victory for environmental justice. Over
the past year-and-a-half, hundreds of Chicagoans have logged calls to their
Aldermen, to the Mayor, to Midwest Generation, delivered thousands of postcards
and petitions, marched in the streets and demanded that every person,
regardless of who they are where they live, has the right to breathe clean air,”
said Tony Fuller, Volunteer for the Sierra Club. “This victory proves
that when communities and organizations work together, they can stop big
polluters in their tracks.”
According to a 2011 NAACP report, Crawford and Fisk were
ranked number one and number three respectively on a list of the top
environmental justice offenders national wide.
"This is a tremendous victory for our frontline communities
who are forced to breathe this air day in and day out," said Rosalie Mancera of Pilsen Alliance. “This is the first of many victories to come in Illinois, as
people from all different backgrounds will come together to move coal out of
their back yards and bring clean air and clean jobs to their neighborhoods.”
While this is a tremendous victory for the health of
Chicagoans, Midwest Generation still has four other major coal plants
throughout Illinois. Midwest Generation will be making critical decisions in
the next several months with whether to make risky investments in retrofitting
these old coal plants or choose to set retirement dates and invest in clean
energy.
"Chicagoans can breathe easier thanks to Mayor Emanuel's
leadership in closing these old, polluting coal plants, " said Jack Darin, Director of the Sierra Club,
Illinois Chapter. "Mayor
Emanuel knows that moving Chicago from coal to clean energy works for all of
us, and we applaud him for his efforts to bring cleaner air to Pilsen, Little
Village, and all of Chicago. Now, as America
transitions away from coal, we call on Midwest Generation and other power
companies to ensure that communities, workers and families will have a just and
stable transition from working with coal to becoming leaders in a clean energy
future."
Last
Year the Sierra Club joined forces with Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York
City, and his Bloomberg Philanthropies to combat the dangerous health effects
coal pollution has on children and families across the nation.
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City of Chicago have taken a big step
forward in building a healthier and environmentally sustainable city. Mayor
Emanuel is a leader who understands the need for immediate steps to improve
public health and make long-term investments in our urban infrastructures,” said
Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and mayor of New York City. “Today is
also a great step forward for the Beyond Coal Campaign that has been working
with Mayor Emanuel, residents, and local organizations. With today’s
development, Chicago joins the legion of cities across America who have
committed to putting our country on a new energy path."
Chicago has been a
key target for Sierra Club’s national Beyond Coal campaign, aimed at replacing
dirty, polluting coal-fired power plants with clean energy like wind and solar
power.
The Fisk and Crawford plants are the 98th and 99th
plants to be retired since the Beyond Coal campaign began. They join the ranks
of coal plants like Cane Run in Louisville, Kentucky and GenOn in Alexandria,
VA and a fleet of First Energy Plants in Ohio who announced their historic
retirements in recent months. The Beyond Coal Campaign aims to replace dirty,
polluting coal-fired power plants with clean energy like wind and solar power.
The campaign, in conjunction with allies around the country, have stopped more
than 150 coal plants from breaking ground, and the number of planned
retirements continues to grow as the nation transitions to a clean energy
future.
For more information about the Sierra Club’s campaign to move beyond
coal, please visit: http://www.beyondcoal.org
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