IL Environmental Groups Celebrate Defeat of Bulldog Mine
Friday, July 8, 2022
Environmental groups are celebrating the scrapping of plans for the proposed Bulldog Mine in eastern Illinois.
Indiana-based Sunrise Coal was issued a permit for the mine in 2019. The permit was only valid for three years and recently expired. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources rescinded the company's permission to move forward on the project after Sunrise failed to break ground on the mine.
Suzanne Smith, president of the advocacy group Stand Up to Coal, said it's a win for Illinois environmentalists and nearby communities in Vermilion County.
"The termination of the permit is everything we've been fighting for," Smith explained. "It's a great victory for clean water, clean air and for healthier communities nearby."
The mine would have occupied nearly 400 acres, and the Vermilion County First reports it would have created about 300 permanent jobs in the region. While Gov. JB Pritzker has made transitioning to clean energy a cornerstone of his administration, Illinois is still the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, according to the federal government.
Since the project's initial proposal in 2012, community members had raised concerns over air and water pollution, and the risk it could pose to the nearby Salt Fork of the Vermilion River.
Smith emphasized pollution from the Bulldog Mine could also have contaminated groundwater wells in the region.
"In this case, we know that clean water has been at the heart of the issue," Smith contended. "We're relieved to know that the coal mine is laid to rest, because landowners now know that their groundwater wells for drinking water are safe from potential coal contamination."
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, acidic water from mining operations can leak into surrounding rivers, streams and other bodies of water in a process known as "acid mine drainage." In a worst-case scenario, the organization reports the process can alter nearby water bodies to be as acidic as vinegar.
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