Pekin, Ill. — Not everyone is eager about the possibility of Egypt-based Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) building a $1.6 billion fertilizer project in Illinois’ Peoria County. It’s far from a done deal since Iowa and possibly others have set out to capture the proposed plant, which would produce ammonia, urea, and other nitrogen fertilizers to sell to Midwestern farmers. Illinois has pitched an 1,800 acre location in Peoria as a good location, and to sweeten the deal, Illinois State Sen. Dave Koehler introduced legislation (GM June 4, p. 10) providing incentives to OCI. Last week Koehler’s bill was approved unanimously by the senate’s executive committee. Although the new project promises to bring 165 to 200 permanent jobs and 1,200 construction jobs to the area, the Illinois Heart of Sierra Club in Illinois has voiced some environmental concerns. “Orascom is looking at a specific site; however, no one really knows where it will end up,” Joyce Blumenshine, club chairwoman, told Green Markets. “We’re not really opposed to the new site, and we’re all for new jobs and opportunities. However, we want the issue to be included in early discussions about the plant. We hope that environmental impacts won’t be overlooked. We are hoping to raise public awareness.” Blumenshine said a key issue for the area is poor air quality. “The Peoria area has managed to avoid being in non-attainment for key pollutants,” she said. “However, at times we have come very close to ozone and other limits. Hopefully a plant like the Orascom project will not cause this county to jeopardize our air quality.” Air quality has been an issue for the Peoria area, which received a grade of “F” from the American Lung Association in 2009. It improved to a “D” in 2010, and was awarded an “A” in the latest report.
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