TAYLORVILLE — A public hearing was held Tuesday night, March 26 jointly presented by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Ameren Illinois was initially invited to participate, but they refused.
The hearing was related to the former Central Illinois Public Service (CIPS) manufactured gas plant (MGP) site, which has been under scrutiny by the public since four Taylorville-based children were diagnosed with the rare cancer neuroblastoma, which attacks the adrenal glands and the nervous system, between 1987 and 1989.
The neuroblastoma incidents have been the focus of a 1997 Washington Post article, a 2018 book by private investigator Bill Clutter, and further scrutiny of the cleanup efforts. Currently, the pump-and-treat method takes 100 years to remediate fully. Efforts to expedite this cleanup process are also under scrutiny by the public, especially as other health ailments have emerged throughout the past four decades since the neuroblastoma diagnoses from 1987 to 1989.
The facility was closed by CIPS in 1932, but it remained a part of their assets even after CIPS, the Central Illinois Light Company, and Illinois Power merged with St. Louis-based Union Electric to form what is now known as Ameren Corporation (aka Ameren Illinois and Ameren Missouri) in 1997.
This hearing particularly focused on the five-year review and action items in the future with the MGP site.
Public comments are being accepted via email (and during additional public hearings) through June 1, 2024.
Present on the panel from IEPA were legal counsel Michelle Ryan, environmental protection specialist Greggory Miller, presenter Paul Lake, and Chris Hill. Also present from the USEPA was David Linnear. Moderating the hearing was community relations manager Brad Frost.
There were five speakers slated to speak, with one person not present and one opting out. The speakers asking the panel questions were Keith Boston, Scott Perry, and Stacia Perry.
A master archive of all documentation relating to the MGP site is located at Taylorville Public Library, 121 W Vine St. Additional documentation that we have found, including previous non-local media coverage, will be included below:
Washington Post, 1997: Families allege coal tar cleanup caused children’s cancer
State Journal-Register, 2014: Superfund legacy remains in Taylorville and beyond
WCIA, 2023: These are the contaminated Superfund sites in Illinois
Ameren Illinois: Taylorville MGP Site Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Taylorville MGP Site Information
Nearby Superfund sites:
Eagle Zinc Co, Hillsboro: Superfund Site Information
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