Rep. Johnson Dismayed over Dept. of Energy Futuregen Decision

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Timothy V. Johnson today expressed extreme disappointment in the aftermath of a meeting between the Illinois Congressional Delegation and the Department of Energy over the fate of FutureGen, the state-of-the-art clean coal project that had been slated for Mattoon.

DOE Secretary Bodman informed the delegation that the Energy Department planned to disband the FutureGen Alliance and was taking the clean coal initiative in another direction. This announcement from DOE comes less than two months since the same officials pledged to release a record of decision on the final site before the end of 2007.

"To say I am extremely disappointed in the outcome of this meeting is an understatement," Rep. Johnson said. "But let me stress that this battle is not over. I have requested a meeting with the White House and have commitments from the Congressional Delegation to continue this fight through the legislative process. The people of Coles County, the people of Illinois, along with lawmakers at every level and of both political parties pulled together to put our best foot forward based on the faith and trust of the DOE's promise.

"After a marathon of scientific analysis and professional assessment, after obtaining hard-won commitments from some of the world's leading energy companies, after endorsements from states across the country, the city of Mattoon prevailed when the FutureGen Alliance announced Dec. 18 that Mattoon was the preferred site.

"Now the DOE has turned its back on us. We played by their rules. This was the DOE's initiative, undertaken at the President's directive in 2003, with the goal of clean-coal energy that was underscored again Monday night in the President's State of the Union address. Mattoon responded with all the right answers, every step of the way.

"Secretary Bodman's response this morning was a slap in the face. This is the worst form of bureaucratic arrogance and insensitivity that I have seen in all my years in government. One can only speculate where we'd be today if a Texas site had been chosen.

"From the world's experts in clean coal technology to congressmen to your average citizen, this unfortunate development shakes our faith in the very foundations of our government. I want to thank Sen. Durbin, Reps. Jerry Costello, John Shimkus, state Rep. Chapin Rose, state Sen. Dale Righter, Angela Griffin and most of all the citizens of Coles County for their outstanding efforts. There is nothing more we could ask of any of those people and I am humbled to serve as their public servant.

"I plan to continue working with the delegation and through the White House to correct this wrong. This battle is not over."

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