MARISSA, Ill. – Prairie State Generating Company (PSGC) issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois accepted a joint stipulation to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club, which falsely challenged the legality of Prairie State’s operating status:
“We are pleased this frivolous lawsuit has not only been dismissed but dismissed with prejudice, which means the Sierra Club cannot bring this matter back to court. Today’s action recognizes what we have argued from the start – this legal challenge was wholly without merit, as Prairie State has at all times been lawfully permitted to operate under Illinois law, which has been reaffirmed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Pollution Control Board,” said Alyssa Harre, Vice President of External Affairs and Organizational Strategy for Prairie State Generating Company. “As the Sierra Club focuses on attacks that undermine regulators, increases costs for rate payers, and needlessly burdens the court systems, we remain dedicated to providing value to the communities we serve through the continued production of reliable and affordable baseload power while providing jobs and maintaining economic prosperity across downstate Illinois.”
PERMITTING BACKGROUND:
- Prairie State is, and has always, operated its facility in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, including a major source air construction permit (the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)Permit) that established stringent emission limits and requires Prairie State to operate state-of-the-art pollution controls at its facility.
- The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) first issued Prairie State a PSD permit in April 2005. To comply with the emissions limits in the PSD permit, Prairie State installed and has maintained more than $1 billion in best available emissions control technology. Consistent with Illinois law, the PSD permit allows Prairie State to provide affordable and reliable power to millions of families while the IEPA works through the process of issuing a Clean Air Act Title V operating permit (known in Illinois as a Clean Air Act Permit Program permit or “CAAPP”).
- Prairie State is not an outlier: historically, power plants and industrial facilities across Illinois have operated legally for decades under construction permits before receiving a CAAPP permit from the IEPA.
- In December 2024, the Illinois Pollution Control Board acknowledged that PSGC has been lawfully operating under its PSD permit and ordered the IEPA to issue a final CAAPP within two years.
ABOUT PRAIRIE STATE GENERATING COMPANY
Located in Washington County, Illinois, the Prairie State Energy Campus is a technologically advanced
electric generation facility utilizing domestic Illinois coal resources from its adjacent underground mine to
power its 1600-megawatt power plant. Prairie State Generating Company is the operating company of
the Prairie State Energy Campus. Since 2012, Prairie State has been providing dispatchable, baseload
electricity on behalf of its not-for-profit owners to nearly 2.5 million families and businesses across Illinois
and seven other Midwestern states. Prairie State is proud to contribute more than $785 million a year to the state’s economy, while utilizing the skills of more than 1,000 trades men and women and providing 650 full time jobs.
MEDIA CONTACT: Monique Garcia, 217-502-4832, monique@macstrategiesgroup.com