By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – State officials are boosting efforts to build a $2 billion coal-fired power plant in southern Illinois.
The Illinois EPA has approved another in a series of permits for the proposed 1,500 megawatt Prairie State Energy Campus in Washington County. And the state's Clean Coal Review Board has committed $2 million to the project.
The state EPA approved the latest permit Monday.
Environmentalists have expressed concerns that waste from the plant could seep into local water supplies. But a spokeswoman for the Prairie State plan says the project will have strict standards to protect the environment.
St. Louis-based Peabody Energy wants to build the plant. Construction could begin late next year.