Aldermen Earmark $1.2 Million to Deliver More Coal-Generated Geneva Electricity to an Area Where the Ground Water is Not Potable and Where PM2.5 Will Make the Air Unbreathable

The City of Geneva already has the largest per capita carbon emissions footprint in Kane County. Geneva, Illinois – Kane County’s Per Capita Leader in Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Rod’s Ramblings and Ruminations (genevanotes.com)

The Venture Park proposal (Venture Park | Geneva, IL – Official Website) is within the area where the groundwater has been contaminated by 1-4 Dioxane. City of Geneva water is now being provided to residents in this area. These residents will now be subjected to another health threat: PM2.5 air pollution from the heavy influx of truck traffic, plus idling diesel engines. The location within the 1-4 Dioxane area could not be worse since the whole area will be downwind, as the wind rose shows prevailing winds blow from the SW. Poor land planning inflicted the well water disaster on these residents – the siting of two landfills. One of these landfills is not engineered and received waste before the segregation of industrial waste from residential. The landfill time bomb continues to tick.

Now, the City of Geneva wants to encourage more development in a brownfield area. The groundwater in the area seeps from west to east. Contaminant plumes move at various speeds. 1-4 Dioxane is one of the racehorses in the stable of cancer-causing landfill toxic plumes. 1-4 Dioxane is considered a “forever” chemical.

The City of Geneva, under the current administration, was duped into signing a disastrous long-term contract with Prairie State Power, a coal-fired generator owned by Peabody Coal (which subsequently declared bankruptcy). Prairie State Energy Campus – Global Energy Monitor (gem.wiki) The $1.2 million Geneva investment in an electric transformer to service growth in a brownfield could help modestly to lower average electric rates in Geneva. At the same time, Geneva awaits the expiration of the long-term Praire State disaster many years from now. But the transformer is a speculative investment from both a fiscal and environmental perspective. In some ways, the transformer investment doubles down on the Prairie State Power lousy bet.