Environmental Groups, Illinois Power Resources Generating, LLC Propose Settlement Agreement to Retire Edwards Coal Plant and Fund Community Projects

PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Illinois Power Resources Generating, LLC (IPRG), an affiliate of Luminant, the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Respiratory Health Association (RHA) are seeking approval of a proposed settlement of a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by environmental organizations in 2013. The proposed settlement is subject to review and comment by the Department of Justice and USEPA, and review, approval and entry by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. If approved and entered by the Court, the proposed settlement would provide for retirement of the Edwards plant by the end of 2022 (subject to regulatory approval) and millions of dollars in funding for projects that benefit Peoria-area communities. 

In response, Sierra Club, NRDC, and RHA released the following joint statement:

"The proposed settlement announced today is an important milestone in improving air quality for families in Peoria and Central Illinois and allows an important period of time to support transition needs of the community and workers. We hope the Court will approve the settlement, and we look forward to working with the people of Peoria and surrounding communities to develop and implement the beneficial projects the settlement provides for."

In response, IPRG released the following statement:

"The proposed settlement resolves a long-running lawsuit while providing three years of certainty for the more than 70 employees working at the Edwards plant and, importantly, a transition period for the community to plan for the plant closure. IPRG and Edwards look forward to continuing to provide reliable power for Illinois for the next three years while supporting the communities where our employees live and work."

About Luminant
Luminant, a subsidiary of Vistra Energy (NYSE: VST), is a competitive power generation business, including mining, wholesale marketing and trading, and development operations. Luminant has approximately 41,000 megawatts of generation across 12 states, powered by a diverse portfolio of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery storage facilities. The company operates in six of the seven competitive markets in the U.S. Vistra Energy is a premier, integrated power company based in Texas, combining an innovative, customer-centric approach to retail with a focus on safe, reliable, and efficient power generation. Visit luminant.com and vistraenergy.com for additional information.

About Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

About Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

About Respiratory Health Association
Respiratory Health Association (RHA) has been a public health leader in Illinois since 1906. RHA is committed to preventing lung disease, promoting clean air and helping people live better through education, research and policy change. We are one of the state's leading experts on the health consequences of air pollution and strong advocates for clean air protection and management policies. For more information, visit www.resphealth.org.

Media Contacts:
Illinois Power Resources Generating: Meranda Cohn, [email protected], 214.875.8004
Sierra Club: Renner Barsella, [email protected], 217.390.9394
Natural Resources Defense Council: Ivan Moreno, [email protected], 312.651.7932
Respiratory Health Association: Erica Krutsch, [email protected], 312.628.0225

SOURCE Illinois Power Resources Generating, LLC