Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Republican candidate Kathy
Salvi attended the event separately, which was hosted by the
Illinois Farm Bureau at a farm near Lexington.
Renewable energy was addressed by the candidates. Duckworth said
biofuels have to be in the same conversation as wind and solar
energy.
“We just can’t be supporting wind and solar, and not supporting
biofuels,” Duckworth said. “That's not right because that leads
to an imbalance in the system and we’re not going to get to
carbon neutral faster.”
Salvi said putting up windmills all over Illinois may not be
profitable if you make $250,000 over 25 years.
“It takes about $250,000 to disassemble one aged, obsolete wind
turbine,” Salvi said. “This is a net zero gain, so based upon
the productivity of the land, long term it doesn't make sense.”
According to the American Wind Energy Association, Illinois
ranks sixth nationwide with nearly 2,800 operational wind
turbines.
Agricultural groups are closely watching a U.S. Supreme Court
case involving Waters of the U.S., or WOTUS.
The case centers on homeowners who were ordered to stop building
on a piece of property they owned in Idaho because the wetlands
on the property were determined to fall under waters of the U.S.
and were protected by the Clean Water Act.
Duckworth urged protecting the environment from farm chemical
runoff, but she said there must be trust in farmers.
“Half of them use well water for their own homes, if they poison
the ground, they are poisoning their own water. They’re not
going to do that,” Duckworth said.
Salvi said water does not need to fall under federal regulation.
“To expand the definition of a field that can be EPA regulated
to that particular farm parcel, it puts a vice over that
farmer’s ability to run their business,” Salvi said.
Oral arguments in the case are set for Oct. 3, with a court
ruling coming possibly in the first half of next year.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois
for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio
news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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