Read more about the article Inconsistent garbage pickup angers Champaign residentsDarrell Hoemann
Republic Services exterior at 2801 N Willow Rd, Urbana, IL 61802) on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Photo by Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess

Inconsistent garbage pickup angers Champaign residents

The inconsistent pick up by some commercial garbage-hauling companies has been sharply criticized residents in the Champaign area. Despite an increase in complaints, no companies have received a fine from the city. The city also has no employee in the city’s public works department who is dedicated to dealing with complaints about waste haulers. 

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Read more about the article Community members, businesses rally to clean littered fields in business areaDarrell Hoemann
Litter in a field by Interstate Drive in north Champaign, IL on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Community members, businesses rally to clean littered fields in business area

In response to uncontrolled trash piling up in the North Prospect business area, community members rallied together to pick up 29 bags of litter…

Continue ReadingCommunity members, businesses rally to clean littered fields in business area
Read more about the article Champaign residents seek litter solutions after delayed city cleanup efforts, untracked complaints
Trash lines the bus stop next to Walmart on North Prospect Ave. in Champaign on April 5, 2021. Photo by Dylan Tiger.

Champaign residents seek litter solutions after delayed city cleanup efforts, untracked complaints

Champaign residents erupted on social media in early March about the excess litter in the Champaign area, especially North Prospect, with some claiming they have never seen the city so polluted before. In late spring this year, resident Michael Chrasta expects “a revival” of the Loving Our City cleanup initiative that was cancelled in March 2020 as COVID-19 entered the community.

Continue ReadingChampaign residents seek litter solutions after delayed city cleanup efforts, untracked complaints
Read more about the article County Forest Preserve says tax referendum is “not a partisan issue”Champaign County Forest Preserve District
Museum of the Grand Prairie in Mahomet's Lake of the Woods preserve, one of the six forest preserves run by CCFPD.

County Forest Preserve says tax referendum is “not a partisan issue”

The Champaign County Forest Preserve District is a week away from learning if voters will support its plea for an increase in taxes to support catching up on more than $4 million in backlogged capital projects. The referendum proposes an increased tax levy of 0.0160 to 0.1033 percent. The district decided not to increase its tax levy before a tax cap implementation in 1996.

Continue ReadingCounty Forest Preserve says tax referendum is “not a partisan issue”
Read more about the article Climate change and poverty contribute to local flooding
Photo by Tiffany Jolley. Roads in SW Champaign were closed for hours due to flooding. Photo taken July 12, 2014.

Climate change and poverty contribute to local flooding

On-going flooding still plagues the Champaign area, despite multi-million-dollar changes made to local water areas over a decade ago. Based on observations from Champaign’s COOP weather station, not only have water levels in Illinois have been increasing about 0.6-inches every decade since 1899, but the daily precipitation has also grown in the same time span. Over the last 20 years, Champaign has been doused with the highest rate of precipitation on record.

Continue ReadingClimate change and poverty contribute to local flooding
Read more about the article Illinois EPA seeks public input on Dynegy plan to stabilize Middle ForkIllinois EPA via Public Records Request
The banks of the Middle Fork River near Dynegy's coal ash ponds at the Vermilion Power Station are eroding at a rate of 2.3 feet per year. The company is applying for a permit to install more than 22,000 cubic years of rock to prevent the river from breaching the ash ponds.

Illinois EPA seeks public input on Dynegy plan to stabilize Middle Fork

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will have a public hearing on a proposal by Dynegy Midwest Generation, LLC to stabilize the Middle Fork River…

Continue ReadingIllinois EPA seeks public input on Dynegy plan to stabilize Middle Fork
Read more about the article Report shows toxic contamination at coal ash sites throughout IllinoisJack Brighton/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Andrew Rehn of the Prairie Rivers Network presents the report "Cap and Run: Toxic Coal Ash Left Behind by Big Polluters Threatens Illinois Water" in a packed room at the Illinois state capitol building in Springfield.

Report shows toxic contamination at coal ash sites throughout Illinois

A new report published by several state environmental groups shows severe pollution of groundwater at nearly every known coal ash storage site in Illinois.

Continue ReadingReport shows toxic contamination at coal ash sites throughout Illinois
Read more about the article Public comments now open on Dynegy plan to stabilize the Middle Fork River near coal ash ponds
Dynegy proposes to build wall of rock for more than a third of a mile along the Middle Fork River to stop riverbank erosion near two of the company’s coal ash ponds near Oakwood, Illinois. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment on the proposal until December 28. (SCI Engineering/from open records request)

Public comments now open on Dynegy plan to stabilize the Middle Fork River near coal ash ponds

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking comment on a proposal by Dynegy Midwest, LLC to install a rock wall to prevent millions of gallons of coal ash from polluting the Middle Fork River in Vermilion County.

Continue ReadingPublic comments now open on Dynegy plan to stabilize the Middle Fork River near coal ash ponds
Read more about the article Riverbank near coal ash ponds found unstablePhoto courtesy of the Eco-Justice Collaborative
Erosion of the riverbank below three coal ash ponds at the Vermilion Power Station has been accelerating, requiring corrective action to prevent a potentially massive toxic spill.

Riverbank near coal ash ponds found unstable

Environmentalists and community members in Vermilion County have expressed deep concern over the pollution from toxic chemicals seeping from large coal ash ponds into the Middle Fork River in Vermilion County. But engineering experts warn there may be a greater risk posed by the collapse of the riverbank holding back more than 600 million of gallons of toxic coal ash. A 2017 engineering study paid for by Dynegy Corp., the previous owner of the site, shows that the river is rapidly undermining the riverbanks near the ash ponds. The company has made a least two attempts to harden the riverbank against further erosion, but the banks remain unstable. The study was obtained through an Freedom of Information Act request by the Eco-Justice Collaborative, a non-profit environmental group in Champaign, that has shared it with news outlets. Since the report, the riverbank has continued to erode, according to environmentalists, community leaders and Dynegy itself.

Continue ReadingRiverbank near coal ash ponds found unstable
Read more about the article Loose regulations allow coal ash to threaten riverDarrell Hoemann/The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Since 1955 the Vermilion Power Plant has been storing toxic coal ash in three ponds next to the Middle Fork Vermilion River near Oakwood, Illinois. The river runs through Kickapoo State Park, which is visited by more than a million people each year.

Loose regulations allow coal ash to threaten river

Each year thousands of families boat down the Middle Fork branch of the Illinois Vermilion River below an embankment that holds back 3.3 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash sludge stored in three large ponds. Coal ash pollution is leaching into the river, and the riverbank is eroding under the ponds. We examine what's a stake in this investigative report.

Continue ReadingLoose regulations allow coal ash to threaten river