Bill Text: IL HR0560 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Illinois Department of Revenue to take action to implement the use of Illinois coal; urges all agencies and stakeholders developing strategies to comply with new federal carbon emissions requirements to utilize Illinois coal to reduce carbon emissions.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-03 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0560 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HR0560-Introduced.html

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HR0560 LRB099 12657 MST 36348 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Illinois has been a leader in energy production
within the United States, in large part due to Illinois' vast
coal resources; and
WHEREAS, Illinois has the largest recoverable bituminous
coal reserves in the United States, a reserve base larger than
all but 6 countries in the world, and the ability to produce
all of America's electricity needs for 50 years; and
WHEREAS, Illinois is a net exporter of electricity, the
largest electricity exporter in the Midwest, and one of the
largest in the United States; nearly 45% of Illinois' energy
comes from coal-burning plants within the State; and
WHEREAS, Coal power plants in the United States have met
the environmental challenges of the past 4 decades while
meeting the low-cost energy needs of the nation; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry is currently
responsible for over $2,500,000,000 in annual economic
activity within the State, including employing approximately
5,000 miners with an average salary of $85,000 a year, higher
than both the United States and Illinois median household
incomes; and

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WHEREAS, The Illinois coal industry has faced increased
environmental regulations in the last 2 decades that resulted
in coal production going from 62 million tons of mined coal in
1990 to a low of 31 million tons in 2003 and a loss of 6,500
direct jobs during this time period; and
WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 imposed
strict sulfur dioxide (S02) emission standards, making coal
mined in Illinois unusable without flue gas desulfurization
(FGD) equipment, often referred to as "scrubbers"; and
WHEREAS, Technology can be deployed that allows
high-sulfur Illinois coal to be burned efficiently while
meeting strict State and federal air emission standards;
specifically, the State of Illinois should be encouraging the
retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies such
as flue gas desulfurization, wet electro-static precipitators
(wet ESPs), and oxy-combustion; and
WHEREAS, Illinois currently exports coal to 18 states that
utilize advanced clean coal technologies; and
WHEREAS, Illinois power plants currently use Wyoming coal
despite the fact that advanced clean coal technology would
allow the utilization of Illinois coal, saving Illinois

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consumers hundreds of millions of dollars; and
WHEREAS, It is costing Illinois consumers more than
$1,000,000,000 annually to import coal from other states,
primarily from Wyoming; and
WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois would lead to
substantial economic benefits by saving $1,000,000,000 in
transportation costs and creating thousands of new jobs in
mining and ancillary industries in currently economically
depressed counties in central and southern Illinois while
creating more State and local tax revenue; and
WHEREAS, Using Illinois coal within Illinois benefits the
environment as well as the economy by reducing C02 emissions
through the use of higher rank coals; and
WHEREAS, Switching to Illinois coal through the
retrofitting and use of advanced clean coal technologies would
reduce CO2 emissions by at least 4% annually because Illinois
Basin Coal has a lower CO2 content than Wyoming coal, and an
additional 20% reduction in CO2 emissions would result from the
reduction in transportation related emissions annually; and
WHEREAS, The recent growth in Illinois coal production has
been due to approximately $10 billion in new investment in the

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past 10 years in the Illinois coal fields producing low-cost
coal and the retrofitting of pollution control technology in
power plants throughout the United States in response to
changes in the Clean Air Act mandating reduced air emissions;
and
WHEREAS, The switch to Illinois coal will improve the
competitiveness of Illinois power generation as Illinois coal
has a lower delivered cost, stable pricing, and higher heat
content; once retrofitted with advanced technology, Illinois
power plants fired with Illinois coal should be more
competitive in electricity markets, thereby helping to insure
the continued generation of competitive power for both in-state
customers and the out-of-state electricity market; and
WHEREAS, Much of the State of Illinois overlays the Mount
Simon Sandstone, a saline-filled, porous, deep geological
formation of enormous capacity that has been determined to be
one of the most significant carbon resources in the United
States, and its development could result in expanded use of
Illinois coal in a carbon-constrained world; and
WHEREAS, It is vital that Illinois coal be considered part
of an "All of the Above" approach to energy production in order
to keep Illinois as a leader in energy production, job
creation, economic growth, and environmental protection; and

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WHEREAS, Illinois coal must be part of the solution to
reducing the State's carbon emissions and complying with
federal carbon emission requirements; and
WHEREAS, Sufficient studies have taken place, and the data
is clear that Illinois power plants should be using Illinois
coal; and
WHEREAS, Dynegy should offer to the people of the State of
Illinois an explanation of its plans for its 10 coal-fired
plants in Illinois; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the
Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Power Agency, the
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and
the Illinois Department of Revenue to take action to implement
the use of Illinois coal; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge all agencies and stakeholders
developing strategies to comply with new federal carbon
emissions requirements to utilize Illinois coal to reduce
carbon emissions; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That we urge Dynegy to provide an explanation of
its plans for its 10 coal-fired plants in Illinois to the
General Assembly and Governor Rauner prior to June 14, 2015;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Congressional
delegation, and all the members of the General Assembly.