HR0765 LRB096 15794 KXB 31035 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The links between coal production, economic
3 growth, prosperity, and energy security are unbreakable; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Coal is the main source of energy throughout the
5 world, provides half of the electricity used in the United
6 States, and is a considerable amount of the electricity
7 generated in the midwest and Illinois; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The Illinois Coal Association reports that of all
9 the states, Illinois has the largest reported bituminous coal
10 resources with almost 255 of our nation's reserves; coal
11 bearing rocks underlie about 65% of Illinois (36,806 out of a
12 total of 56,500 square miles), including all or parts of at
13 least 86 of the 102 counties in the State; and
 
14     WHEREAS, According to the Illinois State Geological Survey
15 (ISGS) there are 100 billion tons of recoverable coal beneath
16 the surface of Illinois, enough coal to meet the country's need
17 for coal for the next 100 years; there is more energy content
18 in the coal in Illinois than in the oil in Saudi Arabia and
19 Kuwait combined; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The industry that mines coal is a highly
21 mechanized one; at the start of 2008, there were 17 mines

 

 

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1 operating in central and southern Illinois; the bulk of these
2 mines are operated by leading companies in American coal
3 mining; Illinois coal mines produced 32.4 million tons of coal
4 in 2007; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Coal mine lands are being restored, as part of the
6 reclamation process, to meet ongoing, economic, recreational,
7 educational, transportation, and housing needs of local
8 communities and the State; and
 
9     WHEREAS, The backlog of permit approvals and the lack of
10 transparency in the federal permitting process are
11 jeopardizing jobs, economic opportunity, and coal production
12 throughout Illinois and the region; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15 the Illinois General Assembly call upon the U.S. Army Corps of
16 Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the
17 President's Council on Environmental Quality, and the Illinois
18 congressional delegation and other State government officials
19 to support coal production and the jobs, economic growth, and
20 energy security provided by coal mining by fixing a regulatory
21 system that is frustrating these vital objectives; and be it
22 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be sent
2 to the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S.
3 Environmental Protection Agency, the President's Council on
4 Environmental Quality, and the members of the Illinois
5 congressional delegation.