wetlands preservation

The company formerly known as Pacific Ethanol Pekin will fund a $125,000 environmental restoration project and pay a $75,000 civil penalty as part of a consent order ending legal proceedings over refinery pollution on the Illinois River.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision last year stripping wetlands of most federal protections is drawing more attention to the threatened ecosystems, and what states can do in response.

An investment Russ Gremel made 70 years ago has paid off for wetlands preservation in north-central Illinois.The 98-year-old Jefferson Park native has…