Pollution board dismisses FutureGen objection

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Pollution Control Board has rejected a Sierra Club claim that the $1.65 billion FutureGen clean-coal project will not meet federal clean air standards.

According to The State Journal-Register in Springfield , the board released a decision Thursday in which it said the air permit for the project in western Illinois was properly approved.

The Sierra Club says it plans to appeal the decision.

The long-running FutureGen project plans to refit a coal-fired power plant in Meredosia (mair-uh-DOH'-shuh) to capture carbon dioxide before it's released and store it underground. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas linked to climate change.

The project is being built by a group of coal companies but includes $1 billion in federal government funding.