Ethanol Refinery Ordered to Pay for Wetland Restoration at Illinois Wildlife Refuge
A major ethanol refinery near Peoria has been ordered to fund wetland restoration efforts at Emiquon wildlife refuge after an eight-year legal battle over alleged water discharges that threatened aquatic life.
The Alto Pekin, LLC corn milling plant broke down corn kernels and converted the starch into ethanol for transportation fuels. Between January 2012 and October 2017, the facility allegedly discharged thermal pollution into the Illinois River, with temperatures up to 40 degrees hotter than permitted.
The state claimed that incoming hot water could dissolve oxygen and stress fish and other aquatic wildlife. A consent order filed in August requires Alto to pay a $75,000 civil penalty and fund a $125,000 wetland restoration project at the refuge.
The project will replace a water control structure on 320 acres of wetlands by the end of November next year. While the agreement resolves some water claims, Prairie Rivers Network said it 'does not resolve the facility's overall pollution problem.'