Full Text of HR0765 096th General Assembly
HR0765 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The links between coal production, economic | 3 |
| growth, prosperity, and energy security are unbreakable; and
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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.
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