Lawmakers walk a thin line on coal issue
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Printable FormatSOUTHERN ILLINOISAN
By Nicole Sack
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - In Southern Illinois, supporting coal miners is a political no-brainer. While most all talk the talk of helping the coal industry, it is the follow-through that voters curiously watch.
Shy of a time machine, there is little that can be done to return to days when Illinois coal was king.
The future of coal is in technology, Illinois politicos from the state to federal level agree.
"It is good politics in Southern Illinois to take a hard-edge stand in favor of coal - that is like being for motherhood - it resonates with many people in our region," said Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. "It has been sad and unsettling to see the decline in the coal industry.
"There is no question the passage of the Clean Air Act during the first Bush administration was a
substantial blow to the economy, but that was the past and I think we need to look to the future. The future key to Illinois coal is technology."
Efforts are being made to change the way coal is used to provide energy. The problem with Illinois coal is it high-sulfur content. Sulfur is the main ingredient for acid rain.
The Illinois delegation is unified behind the effort to bring the proposed $1 billion FutureGen project to the state. FutureGen would be an emissions-free plant that would sequester pollutants underground. The 275-megawatt plant would be able to tap Illinois' reserve of coal, which lies beneath 65 percent of Illinois' surface.
Southern Illinois legislators in Washington wasted no time bending the ear of the incoming U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Sam Bodman about locating the plant in the region. In January, Reps. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, and John Shimkus, R, Collinsville, joined Sen. Barrack Obama, D-Chicago, in a letter to Bodman. They argued that is Illinois geology is suited for the carbon-trapping plant, which would once again make Illinois' high-sulfur coal desirable.
While many stand under the banner of promoting the states coal interests, Obama was pushed into the forefront this week as he helped decide the fate of Clear Skies Act.
The controversial bill went before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public works committee for a vote on Wednesday after three weeks of delays. While multiple groups in Illinois argued the bill would revitalize the coal industry, environmentalists said the legislation would not only hurt public health but would also promote more use of western, low-sulfur coal.
Obama said he could find no evidence the legislation would bring jobs. Obama was one the nine committee members who stalled the measure from moving to the senate floor.
Lawrence said he did not think people should insist Obama take a pro-coal stand with no consideration for the environment.
"Policy makers like senator Obama are sincerely trying to find a way that we can balance concerns for the environment and concerns for the future of Illinois coal," Lawrence said. "We ought not to say to Sen. Obama that if you do anything less than what we expect you to do, that we think you broke your promise."
When Obama was running for Senate, he made a stop in Carbondale on Sept. 4, vowing to help coal miners. He did not offer jobs, however, and instead discussed bankruptcy reform to help 3,000 retired and active Horizon miners recoup health care benefits revoked when the company backed out of its obligations.
As Clear Skies grabbed headlines, the Senate was simultaneously discussing the Bankruptcy Reform bill. Obama opposed the overhaul. Remembering the pleas from the Horizon miners, Obama co-sponsored the Rockefeller Amendment which would help workers get more of the pay owed to them after a company declares bankruptcy than what they currently receive. The amendment would require corporations to compensate for healthcare benefits losses.
While the amendment was rejected, the bankruptcy bill was passed with a 74-25-1 vote, Obama opposed it. Obama's staff maintained the freshman senator was staying true to the changes he called congress to make six months ago.
Illinois leaders are trying to have their say at the federal level.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich sent Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin to Washington to testify Thursday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at the "Future of Coal Conference," discussion on using coal in an environmentally friendly way to meet growing electricity demands.
Lavin discussed coal gasification and FutureGen.
"We are looking for innovative ways to invest in technology which is really going to help us in the future of coal," Lavin said.
Blagojevich has provided $5.5 million to two coal gasification projects. The DCEO has invested $3 million in the East Dubuque-Rentech project that seeks to supplant natural gas with coal as feed stock for fertilizer production.
The governor also invested $2.5 million in the Steelhead Energy Company to develop the Southern Illinois Clean Energy Center, which will be a coal gasification production facility for electricity and substitute natural gas in Williamson County.
Lavin said the state needs help with promoting these new projects.
"The system is set up to perpetuate old-coal plants, which are the dirtiest burning coal plants," Lavin said. "We need to change the way we operate to make sure that we put the kind of incentives out there to have long-term effects on the new plants that are going to use clean coal technology and burn a lot cleaner than these old plants. The state and federal government need to step up and provide the incentives that are going to provide these investments."
nicole.sack@;thesouthern.com
618-529-5454x 15816