CHICAGO — Supporters of high-volume oil and gas drilling said Wednesday they hope for a quick vote on a bill to regulate the practice in Illinois after reaching agreements on hiring and environmental concerns.
House Bill 2615 — drafted with the help of industry and some environmental groups — was introduced in February with strong bipartisan support. But it became stalled over an amendment requiring energy companies to hire Illinois-licensed water well drillers, which... Read More »
Plans for a controversial coal mine in Eastern Illinois farm country ground to an unexpected halt Monday evening when the village of Homer, Illinois, voted not to provide the coal company with water it needs to operate the mine.
Although the mine’s fate is still undecided, the vote was an important victory for activists trying to stop the mine.
It “represents a sea change,” said Traci Barkley, a water resources scientist at Prairie Rivers Network, a Champaign, Illinois,... Read More »
Many area communities have water supplies provided from groundwater sources and Canton officials will be checking with some of them to find out how they deal with problems Canton residents have been experiencing ever since the city stopped drawing water from Canton Lake.
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