Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) is a non-profit organization (a registered
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
organization in the United States), located in
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...
. Their work goes on throughout Illinois as an independent, state affiliate of the
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (includin ...
. The organization describes its mission:
"Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. We protect water, heal land, and inspire change."
History
The organization was founded in 1967 by Bruce and Patricia Hannon under the name Committee on Allerton Park. Initially organized to stop a dam project by the
on the
Sangamon River
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...
near
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...
. The dam was opposed because the resulting reservoir would have flooded large parts of
Allerton Park and adjacent lands. The effort to stop that project, that would have created the Oakley Reservoir, was ultimately successful and it was federally deauthorized in 1985.
The organization changed its name in 1984 to Central States Education Center, and again in 1998 to Prairie Rivers Network.
PRN advocates for waterways and the health of
riparian
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...
ecosystems throughout Illinois. The key areas of the PRN's work include pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming, contamination from
coal ash
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when de ...
and coal mining, and working with communities and farmers on efforts to maintain and restore the health of soil and water.
Coal ash and the suit against Dynegy
In May 2018, PRN, represented by
Earthjustice
Earthjustice (originally Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) is a nonprofit public interest organization based in the United States dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Headquartered in San Francisco, it has 14 regional offices across the Un ...
, sued the company
Dynegy
Dynegy Inc. is an electric company based in Houston, Texas, in the United States. It owns and operates a number of power stations in the U.S., all of which are natural gas-fueled or coal-fueled. Dynegy was acquired by Vistra Corp on April 9, 20 ...
over violations of the
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...
resulting from coal ash piles along the
Middle Fork of the Vermilion River
The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River is a tributary of the Vermilion River (Wabash River) in Illinois. The Middle Fork rises in Ford County, Illinois, Ford County and flows southeast to join the Vermilion near Danville, Illinois, Danville.
I ...
. The coal ash piles are connected to the Vermilion Power Station, which was closed by Dynegy in 2011. The Power Station was built by Illinois Power along the west bank of the Vermilion River in 1956, and acquired by Dynegy in 2000. After the station's closure in 2011, Dynegy merged with Vistra Energy Corporation, and the new company now operates under the name Vistra.
References
{{reflist
External links
Prairie Rivers NetworkThe History of Allerton ParkEcojustice Collaborative
Accessed February 3, 2019.
*[https://will.illinois.edu/news/story/loose-regulations-allow-coal-ash-to-threaten-river Brighton, Jack, "Loose Regulations Allow Coal Ash To Threaten River," ''Illinois Public Media News'', September 7, 2018.] Accessed February 3, 2019.
"Coal Ash Threat Dead Ahead!," ''The Mike Nowak Show''
Accessed February 3, 2019.
Environmental organizations based in Illinois
Organizations established in 1967