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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 8:53 PM CDT
Officials quiet after FutureGen board meeting

By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com

The FutureGen Alliance Board of Directors met in Washington, D.C. this week to continue the “slow process” of getting the near-zero emissions coal plant back on track.

“The board of directors is getting updates on the status of projects and the efforts in Congress to bring FutureGen to Mattoon,” said FutureGen Alliance spokesman Lawrence Pacheco. The board had not offered a public comment on its meetings this week by press time Wednesday.

The Illinois congressional delegation and state leaders have been working to reverse the decision to end federal support for the FutureGen project that would build a power plant near Mattoon.

“Coles Together is working hand in hand with the alliance board,” said Mayor Dave Cline during Tuesday’s Mattoon City Council meeting. “Everything is moving ahead, but it is a bit of a slow process. But we have every belief and hope it will go through.”

The alliance board includes executives from energy corporations in North America and several other continents. This is the first meeting for the board since it came to Mattoon in early February to reaffirm its commitment to building a coal-fired electrical plant west of Mattoon. That meeting came several days after the U.S. Department of Energy ended its support for the project that focused on testing of near-zero emissions and long-term underground storage of greenhouse gases.

Since the DOE’s decision, local, state and federal officials have come out in support to bring the $1.8-billion project back to Illinois. DOE has claimed a scaled-back program with multiple sites would save money in the long run.

Under the original plan, construction for the FutureGen plant would have started in 2009 with production starting in late 2012 or early 2013.

That FutureGen project could produce 3,000 jobs through construction and work related to plant operations. Mattoon was chosen by FutureGen Alliance in December after a nationwide selection process that stretched nearly two years.

Lawmakers from Illinois have contacted the White House to express their outrage with the decision to scrap the plan that named Mattoon as the sole site. They have also talked with other members of Congress to seek funding to continue with the alliance plan until a new president is elected this fall.

The DOE has started a new process to draw offers from companies for the multi-site plan, but Mattoon would not have priority in the new effort. Essentially, Mattoon would have to re-apply to qualify for the new program.

Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.

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krusayda wrote on Apr 3, 2008 8:35 AM:

" Yeah, i would be quiet to, after getting the hopes up for an economic boost for the area and then pulling it out from under. Oh well,.until the politians stop eating from the oily hands of the petro companies, no other energy sources will get off the ground. Nice job, George W. you smirkin' jerk. "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 3, 2008 9:41 AM:

" Herb, I'm still waiting for the story telling us Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have taken a strong stand in support of FutureGen in Illinois. Unless I'm mistaken, both have ties to Illinois. Just wondering why neither one of them is standing up for Illinois, in particular, southern Illinois. If they witness a 'crime' and say nothing, aren't they just as guilty as the DOE and Bush? "

The Question wrote on Apr 3, 2008 11:58 AM:

" Herb, I'm still waiting for the story telling us Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have taken a strong stand in support of FutureGen in Illinois. Unless I'm mistaken, both have ties to Illinois.
-----
Unless I'm mistaken, Tom, Bush is president of the United States, and therefore the boss of the Energy Department — you know, the federal agency that KILLED FUTUREGEN.
Of course, I may be mistaken. Bush does seem far too stupid to be president of the United States. "

jolene wrote on Apr 3, 2008 7:47 PM:

" Am I the only one here who is thinking this through?! I was THRILLED to see FutureGen fall through for several reasons, some of which are: Years ago when coal was first burned for energy, there was never any thought that the emissions would be a problem - they were going up into the vastness of space - never to be seen or heard from again. That is until it was discovered that there were pollutants which have, as we all know, come back to bite us in the behind! Flash forward to current times. We are now going to pump these emissions underground. Knowing that gases will rise (toward the surface)...where does our drinking water come from? Tell me that these gases will NEVER move from underground. This is something that has not been tried. We, as a community, are begging to be labratory rats - guinea pigs, to see what the long range impact is of these gases being pumped underground. If it sounds too good to be true - IT IS!!!! Second: do we really think that the jobs created are going to go to locals (especially after the construction phase is completed). This is a specialized plant, and I'm sure that it will take a specialized person to work in the majority of the jobs. Don't you think that these jobs have already been "filled"? GO TO TEXAS FUTUREGEN! Kill their environment! Good ridence! I want my family to be safe. "

Early Bird wrote on Apr 4, 2008 5:14 AM:

" Leave it to our friend Tom Andres to turn a Bush decision into a slam at the Democrats. That was so lame, Tom, the best I would give you is a C minus. "

warrior wrote on Apr 4, 2008 8:32 AM:

" Forget Bush, where is Blago at?????? "

father bob wrote on Apr 4, 2008 10:26 AM:

" not to worry Tommie....FutureGen is alive and well in the Permian Basin, just a stones throw from the chimp's ranch. a token "thank you" to boys back home. "

Becky wrote on Apr 4, 2008 12:30 PM:

" Personally, I tend to side with Joline and the DOE. Instead of one extremely huge plant concentrating millions of tons of poisons in one area on an EXPERIMENT no less, it would be better to break it up into several smaller plants with less local damage until we KNOW it truly is safe. With the current call backs of all of the medicines that we were told were safe that have been proven to be deadly, I would much rather bow to the side of caution than run head long into a barreling fright train. "

Rotty wrote on Apr 4, 2008 1:29 PM:

" FutureGen is dead, end of story, & thank goodness for that!
Another good post, jolene, right on target!
"

HisChild wrote on Apr 4, 2008 2:18 PM:

" THANK YOU JOLENE, GOD BLESS YOU!
Very well put, and we agree 100% with you.
Thank you for speaking out, safety should be the biggest importance and it has been being overlooked. "

medic57 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 3:54 PM:

" Tom Andres ----- Problem is, no CRIME was committed. "

Late Bird wrote on Apr 5, 2008 5:34 PM:

" JOLENE & BECKY & ROTTY & HISCHILD....

AMEN AMEN AMEN!!! "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:02 PM:

" NOT SO FAST, ALL YOU NAYSAYERS!!!! I haven't heard so much belly aching since my Army days. After all the work our local leaders have done, and after all the taxpayer money we've already spent on this project, and you so easily adopt this sour grapes attitude? Surely we can do better than this, Mattoon. Instead of crying over spilt milk, why not ask what we can do to reopen the opportunity for FutureGen right here in Mattoon? For cryin out loud, FutureGen will be built somewhere - and Mattoon is already the number one choice. Get up, dust off, suck it up, and move on. You folks need to be more positive! "

Equalizer wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:24 PM:

" Late Bird wrote on Apr 5, 2008 5:34 PM:
" JOLENE & BECKY & ROTTY & HISCHILD....

AMEN AMEN AMEN!!! "

I ditto that!

Tom, the number one choice for what?
For being stupid enough to volunteer to be lab rats? Probably Mattoon was chosen because they had the least amount of questions and skepticism about it. Therefore it's assumed that we don't have the brains to sue when the poisons leak out and start slowly killing people since we didn't have the brains to ask the pertinent questions ahead of time. "

The Question wrote on Apr 5, 2008 7:11 PM:

" Instead of crying over spilt milk, why not ask what we can do to reopen the opportunity for FutureGen right here in Mattoon?
-----
Right, Tom. And then we can all take a trip to moon on gossamer wings.
I suggest you devote all your Tom to reviving FutureGen, Tommy. That will keep you busy (and blissfully quiet) for the rest of your existence on earth. "

Rotty wrote on Apr 5, 2008 9:44 PM:

" How this?

Fast forward to the future!
Fast forward to fatality!
Fast forward to FutureGen!

Better?
LOL! "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 6, 2008 12:59 PM:

" Say what you want (to counter what you consider a snub by the DOE), but FutureGen is coming to Mattoon - no matter how you protest. With $100+ oil, and the bad guys owning most of it, we are forced to pursue alternative energy sources. Obviously, rigt or wrong, coal is the primary alternative. If you don't like the idea, you should have been supporting nuclear! By the time 2012 rolls around, FutureGen will be on-line! "

jolene wrote on Apr 7, 2008 7:16 PM:

" THANK YOU TO YOU BLOGGERS WHO ARE INDEPENDENT THINKERS!!!
Mr. Andres - I'm so happy to see that you are saving your brain for other things, and letting others do your thinking for you! You are adopting the attitude of the lemmings - following blindly to the sea of destruction! Mattoon representatives/leaders are so he** bent on "growing Mattoon", bringing big business to Mattoon, that they are doing so at ALL cost. (I chose to live in a smaller city so that I could raise my children in a safe environment - where I could keep my car unlocked, etc. I like it that way!) Mattoon leaders are blinded by the dollar signs! They have a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude. Did your parents not ever teach you "If all of your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you?" They were trying to get you to be an independent thinker - to weigh the pros and the cons and make an informed decision. You obviously missed out on that lesson. You are blindly following FutureGen to OUR demise...and acting like the playground bully at the same time ("FutureGen is coming to Mattoon - no matter how you protest"). Just because the local leaders decided on it, doesn't mean it's in our best interest. Since when do politicians look out for the best interest of their constituents?! I am all for looking into alternative forms of energy, but we need to do so in an informed manner, with research to back us. Maybe we should all have windmills on our rooftops! And Becky, I appreciate your support, but I don't want even a small FutureGen plant here. It takes so little to be so destructive. We could wipe out thousands with one small plant (that would pollute an entire city's drinking water). It's all or none - just like you can't be "a little pregnant". Scrap the idea of pumping emissions underground - when you are gambling with human lives - it is simply too risky. My prayer is that FutureGen dies a quick death (everywhere in the USA, not just in Mattoon). "