Tag Archives: hillsboro il

CALM Gets a Great Response at the Hillsboro Old Settler’s Celebration

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CALM Old Settlers Cathy Aug 2013 009The outside temperature went up to 90 degrees, but CALM volunteers had free iced-cool water for the public, a fan-cooled tent, and some pretty cool displays at the downtown Hillsboro Old Settler’s street fair and celebration, August 21st and 22nd.

Thanks to a Heartland Coalfield Alliance Grant, new brochures were available for handouts. Information included health concerns from coal and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) phone numbers to call to report air issues. To alert the public before the Old Settler’s event, CALM also had a day-glow lime green information page insert in the Hillsboro newspaper with coal dust air quality concerns and a form to file an environmental quality complaint to the state. The Heartland Coalfield Alliance grant provided funding for these special efforts.
CALM Old Settlers display Aug 2013 013At Old Settler’s, a three-panel display board showed longwall mining impacts on flat farm ground. There was information on homes destroyed and historic farm families uprooted because of longwall mining. Issues regarding harmful health affects of coal were also listed. Aerial photos of the Refuse Disposal Impoundment #1 at the Deer Run Mine and large-format maps and information about the second Refuse Disposal Impoundment currently under consideration were also on display. Several photos showed the proximity of the mine processing plant to the Hillsboro Hospital and downtown. Other photos showed the coal slurry refuse impoundment areas and pointed out nearby neighborhoods in Schram City. The coal slurry impoundments are all High Hazard Dams, meaning that loss of life and or property are possible if a breach occurred.
CALM Old Settlers Cathy and Map Aug 2013 011
Signs with “Water Is Life ! CALM Loves Clean Water, Too !” and other posters were around the tent. CALM had a Petition to the Mayor of Hillsboro to request an air monitor at the Hillsboro Hospital and one at the near-by nursing home, which gained a lot of interest and a very good response. Plans will be made in the next weeks to present the petition to the Mayor.

CALM Old Settlers Aug 22 2013 010

Special Thanks go to lead CALM volunteer in organizing the event, Mary Ellen DeClue. Her energy and enthusiasm kept everyone going. Many volunteers made this effort possible, with providing tables, chairs, and other support. In spite of the 10 p.m. finish on a very hot August 22nd, seven dedicated sets of volunteer hands made quick work of packing things up. Several CALM members stopped by the booth during the days to provide fans and support. Chocolate chip cookies were provided by Chair Cathy Edmiston, who helped staff the display and handed out water bottles. Cathy and volunteers handed out  cold water to over 200 people.

Do We Have Enough Water for Communities and Coal?

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The lack of rain and extreme temperatures has prompted cities of Hillsboro and Litchfield to encourage conservation and caution in water usage.  Hillsboro has even activated an existing city ordinance #1416 that regulates water usage to minimize evaporation and households’ watering distribution.  Offenders may be fined $50 to $500 for a water violation.

A definite warning sign came on July 3 when Glenn Shoals Lake, Hillsboro’s water supply, dropped 2 ½ feet below the normal level and that required Deer Run Mine to stop withdrawal of raw water on July 9, 2012.  (reported in The Hillsboro Journal-News, July 12, 2012)    The purchase agreement between the city and the mine stipulates that the mine must stop withdrawal of water when the lake level drops 2 ½ feet below normal. However, as reported in The Hillsboro Journal-News, August 2, 2012, Glenn Shoal Lake is 4 feet lower than pool level according to Roger Fath, the water superintendent.

Although Deer Run also has a purchase agreement with the city of Litchfield to withdraw raw water from Lake Lou Yaeger, the pipe installation has not yet been completed to transport the water over to Deer Run.  Litchfield’s contract will supply up to 2.5 million gallons per day from Lake Lou Yaeger to Deer Run during March through September provided that the water level does not drop more than 2 feet below the spillway.  Jim Cadwell, the Lake Lou Yaeger superintendent, reported on July 19, 2012 that the lake was dropping ½ inch per day and at that time was 13 inches lower than normal.  The level of water in Lake Lou Yaeger would obviously be much lower if water were removed for the mine.  With or without the drought, the problem for many lake homeowners on Lake Lou Yaeger is that there are several shallow areas and coves (5-inch depth in some areas) where residents cannot use their boats even though they have a contract for lake access.

Lake Lou Yaeger as well as Glenn Shoals has major siltation problems that are not addressed by either city. Both cities assured the residents before the mine was built that money from selling water to Deer Run Mine would be used to manage, maintain, and dredge the lake if needed.  Unfortunately, both cities placed the coal money in the general fund with no specific designation to be used for care of the lake. These two lakes are precious resources that must be cared for because no water translates into destroyed communities.

The real question is, “why community lake water is sold as an industrial commodity?” when it is so desperately needed by citizens.  Water contracts are made and fulfilled without consideration of present or future needs of the community.

Pastors’ Coalfields Tour of Macoupin and Montgomery Counties

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Pastors from a wide area, including Chicago, Central and Southern Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana toured various places in Macoupin and Montgomery County on  April 24-25 under the leadership of Rev. Brian Sauder, Champaign  and Rev. Dr. Claire Butterfield of “Faith in Place” in Chicago. They heard about the moral issues of coal mining and the way it is carried out in Illinois. Pastors heard from Citizens Against Longwall Mining (CALM) members in Montgomery County as well as listened to rural residents of Macoupin County who have been greatly affected by longwall mining. Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network and Heartland Coalfield Alliance members were also represented.

The tour began at Virden, Illinois where the group visited the Memorial built for miners. They then set off on the tour, which included sites of longwall mining damage, waste impoundments and streams that have been affected. Loss of farm neighbors is one of the great regrets of one Macoupin County farmer who said, “The Carlinville-Litchfield road has been rebuilt after seven years of closure, but I don’t drive it anymore because all of my neighbors are gone!”

Another farmer pointed out how the ground has dropped four or five feet from a railroad that runs through the land, which has been built up to its original height since the mining.  Large drainage ditches have been dug, in an effort to drain water, but farmers have to drive a long way around them to get to the fields they farm.  Empty farmhouses are often vandalized and have been burned down.

Jeff Biggers, author, and actor gave a program to the group at Hampton Inn following a dinner at Ruby Tuesdays in Litchfield Wednesday night. Biggers signed copies of his book, “Reckoning at Eagle Creek.” He has written a new book which is coming out in September, titled “State Out of the Union,” which he researched recently in Arizona. Biggers is also a writer for Huffington Post, and author of the book, “The United States of Appalachia.”

A Montgomery County farmer narrated a tour of Deer Run Mine area at Hillsboro on Thursday. The mine, and waste impoundment, with a high hazard dam, have been built within the city limit and within sight of Hillsboro Hospital, the prison, a nursing home, and meeting halls, as well as homes. CALM members told of permanent damage of farmland, water pollution, homes destroyed, IDNR favoring coal corporations over citizens rights, and the dragging out of law cases for years, which are some of the issues involved.

Can Hillsboro Afford the Money Drain of Deer Run Mine?

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Mining coal brings in millions of dollars in profits for out of state coal companies – but how much of that actually benefits the Illinois communities where coal is mined? The city of Hillsboro – where a West Virginia coal company has begun work on the massive new Deer Run mine – is concerned about the lack of funds available to manage its financial obligations. The city’s finance Commissioner, Richard Small has suggested possible ways to increase revenue including a sales tax increase, a telecommunication tax on cell phones and landlines, and phasing out extra benefit perks for employees and volunteers.

With Hillsboro’s obvious cash flow problem, it is puzzling why the city has paid over $1.6 million in 2011 for bills of Deer Run Mine. For example, at the December 13, 2011 City Council meeting, it was decided to borrow $52,000 for a scheduled water tower payment, but the commissioners voted to pay a $139,050 bill for the mine. In 2009, when the Hillsboro Zoning Board of Appeals amended the land use plan to allow underground coal mining, the stated reason for the zoning change was “… to promote economic growth of the community, conserve property values, and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City of Hillsboro, Illinois…” Instead, the mine has become a financial drain on the area, becoming a prime example of what should not be allowed to happen when a new coal mine comes into a community.

While the Hillsboro area is suffering financially,  billionaire Chris Cline, owner of Foresight Energy Partners and Deer Run Mine, has filed an initial public offering that is expected to bring in over $100 million. Meanwhile, the people of Montgomery County are being paid a pittance for the coal under their feet. The coal rights for over 200 million tons of coal reserves were sold by Montgomery County Board to an affiliate of the Cline Group, in December, 2004 for only $7.2 million, which then turned around and resold those coal rights to another Cline affiliate for $255 million. It is more than a tragedy that our community has been so misled.

The city and county leaders are promoting Deer Run Mine with the cooperation from the Office of Mines and Minerals and Office of Water Resources in the Department of Natural Resources. The mine has been given free range to make profits and grow. So citizens of Hillsboro, we must defend our community and quality of life for our children and grandchildren. Our government and regulatory agencies have not done their job to protect us.