A southern Illinois lawmaker is part of a newly established task force that will try to increase the use of Illinois coal.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin appointed Representative Dave Severin of Benton to the group that will study the costs and benefits of using the latest scrubber technology to allow Illinois coal mined in the state to be burned in the state as well.
The primary responsibility of this newly formed bipartisan task force is to study the costs and benefits of the construction of new stacks or conversion of existing stacks at coal-fired power plants.
The vast majority of Illinois coal is being sold and burned out of state because of the sulfur content, which burns off at a higher rate than federal and state air quality standards allow.
The task force's work begins immediately and it will be reporting its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly.