Illinois Coal Association

Illinois Coal Association

Background

The Illinois Coal Association (ICA) is a coal lobbying group based in Springfield and founded in 1878. According to their website, the group โ€œrepresents the coal industry in the state in governmental affairs, in public relations and in related matters. Through the Association, companies producing coal in Illinois deal with issues affecting their interests with a single unified voice.โ€1โ€œAbout the ICA,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/BRLZC

The ICA describes itself as a not-for-profit corporation that operates under policies set by its Board of Directors, a group made up of coal mining executives representing coal mining firms operating in the state of Illinois. Each year, a new Chairman is selected to help direct the ICA and its Board. 2014’s Board Chairman was Michael Carey, Vice President of Government Affairs, Murray Energy Corporation.2โ€œAbout the ICA,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/BRLZC

Day-to-day operations are directed by a full-time president, Phillip M. Gonet, whose duties include โ€œthe coordination of relations between the Illinois coal mining industry and the various state agencies regulating the industry or interacting with it in some other way.โ€ He has been President of the ICA since 2004. 3โ€œAbout the ICA,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/BRLZC

According to the Association, โ€œcoal is needed now more than ever. [โ€ฆ] Coal has been converted into a uniquely modern and versatile fuel – one mined through mechanization and by skilled workers and utilized in ways assuring the protection of the environment. [โ€ฆ] Aside from the importance of coal in the energy picture, coal mining itself is one of America’s traditionally basic industries.โ€4โ€œCoal In the Spotlight,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6Ipsr

Stance on Climate Change

While The Illinois Coal Association they don’t provide an official statement on climate change, The Illinois Coal Association is a sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change which brings together climate change skeptics who โ€œoppose global warming alarmism.โ€5โ€œHeartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Changeโ€ YouTube, Uploaded by user “HeartlandTube,” May 3, 2012. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Funding

The Illinois Coal Association is represented by members of all major coal companies in Illinois. See โ€œRelated Organizationsโ€ for a full list of member companies.

According to FollowTheMoney.org, the Illinois Coal Association has given $232,820 to 122 different filers over 18 years, and lists Phillip M Gonet (Full-Time President of ICA) as their lobbyist.6โ€œIllinois Coal Association,โ€ FollowTheMoney.org. Accessed October 24, 2015.

990 Tax Forms

Key People

According to the ICA’s most recent 990 tax forms (See above):

  • Phillip M. Gonet โ€” President & CEO
  • Donald E Coovert โ€” Treasurer (see most recent tax forms.
  • Michael Carey โ€” Chairman (2014). Vice President of Government Affairs, Murray Energy Corporation.

Past people

Actions

November 14, 2014 – July, 2015

In November, 2014, The Illinois Coal Association (ICA) opposed a proposed rule by the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would increase regulations and enhance protection for the nation’s public health and aquatic resources under the Clean Water Act (CWA).10โ€œDefinition of ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the Clean Water Act: A Proposed Rule by the Engineers Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency on 04/21/2014. Federal Register. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HdyQI

According to the Illinois Coal Associations’ statement (PDF), โ€œThe Proposed Rule would significantly impede daily operations and routine expansions at many of our members’ mine sites.โ€ They ask the EPA to reconsider their proposal.11โ€œRE: Comments on Definition of ‘Waters of the United Statesโ€ Under the Clean Water Act, Proposed Rule, 79 Fed. Reg. 22188 (April 21, 2014)โ€ (PDF), Illinois Coal Association. Archived.pdf on file at DeSmog.

in July, 2015, Murray Energy Corporation announced it would be suing the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to challenge the โ€œWaters of the United Statesโ€ rule, which they interpreted as saying any area โ€œthat is wet, or has the potential to be wet, would be subject to the Clean Water Act.โ€ Murray Energy was also suing the EPA for rulings that would further regulate emissions of coal-fired power plants.

According to The Southern Illinoisan, the Illinois Coal Association provided support for the lawsuits and was pitted against groups including the Seirra Club’s Shawnee Group.12โ€œMurray Energy Corporation suing EPA over new regulations,โ€ The Southern Illinoisan, July 9, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7APcp

July 7โ€“9, 2014

The Illinois Coal Association (ICA) as an official co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC9) in Las Vegas, Nevada.13โ€œICCC9 CoSponsors,โ€ International Conferences on Climate Change (The Heartland Institute). Archived July 27, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gclHF

May 21โ€“23, 2012

The Illinois Coal Association was an official co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC7) which has become a regular gathering of prominent climate change skeptics.14โ€œCosponsors,โ€ 7th International Conference on Climate Change. Archived May 10, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VAY3r

DeSmog researched co-sponsors behind the conference and discovered that they had received a total of over $67 Million from ExxonMobil, Koch, and Scaife family foundations.15โ€œA Closer Look at Heartland’s ICCC7 Denial-a-Palooza Speakers and Sponsors,โ€ DeSmog, May 23,ย 2012.ย 

Illinois Coal Association Contact & Location

As of June 2016, the Illinois Coal Association listed the following contact information on its website:16Illinois Coal Association homepage. Archived June 29, 2016. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LwGG7

Illinois Coal Association
212 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62701
(217) 528-2092 phone
(217) 523-5191 fax

Phillip M. Gonet, President
[email protected]

Kelly Spivey, Office Manager
[email protected]

Donald Coovert, Treasurer
[email protected]

Company Members17โ€œCompany Members,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XBpXs

Associate Members18โ€œAssociate Members,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived October 25, 2015. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ed3Cg

  • Assurance Agency
  • Aquatic Resources Management LLC
  • Bailey & Glasser LLP
  • BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.
  • Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
  • Custom Staffing Services
  • ECSI, Inc.
  • EMS Energy & Automation
  • Fabick Mining CAT
  • HMG Engineers, Inc.
  • Homeland Fuels Company
  • Illinois Eastern Community Colleges
  • J. Nelson Wood
  • Jackson Kelly PLLC
  • Martin Engineering
  • Midwest Reclamation Resources Inc.
  • MJ Insurance, Inc.
  • Progressive Rail Inc.
  • Rhine Ernest LLP Attorneys at Law
  • Sargas, Inc.
  • Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC
  • Sunrise Coal Company

Past Members (2012)

A number of additional companies, no longer listed, were members of the ICA as of 2012:19โ€œMembers,โ€ Illinois Coal Association. Archived February 17, 2012. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JrmFJ

Other Resources

Resources

Related Profiles

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