Sunday, April 20, 2008; Posted: 04:07 AM
The two Democrats, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin, issued a joint statement to Environmental Protection Agency officials in response to a petition to store waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls -- PCBs -- at the Area Disposal Co. site.
"We are troubled that the targeted Illinois landfill is situated directly above the Mahomet Aquifer, which underlies 15 counties and serves as a significant source of drinking water for the residents of east central Illinois," the letter said. "Recently, local residents signaled their concern with this proposal in a February referendum, where almost 75 percent of DeWitt County voters expressed opposition to EPA approval of designating this site as a chemical waste landfill."
The letter, released late Friday night, was sent to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and Mary Gade, regional administrator of the U.S. EPA's Chicago office.
Peoria Disposal Co., parent company of Area Disposal, recently applied to the EPA for a permit to store wastes with a concentration of greater than 50 parts per million of PCBs. PCBs are a group of toxic, carcinogenic organic compounds used in a variety of industrial processes.
The EPA's decision is expected to be several months away.
Obama and Durbin asked Johnson to keep them informed of the status of the issue. They also asked the EPA to respond with a timeline associated with its evaluation process and information on any preliminary findings or decisions determined to date.
They also asked for an assurance there will be a public hearing on the matter before any decision is made.
Matt Varble of Clinton, the president of a community group formed to oppose the storage of chemical wastes at the landfill, says the show of support is a victory for his group.
"WATCH (We're Against Toxic Chemicals) hopes that this strongly worded letter focuses everyone's attention on the health risks that the proposed chemical waste landfill poses, particularly for our groundwater," Varble said. "With the senators' letter, we again see that when time is spent actually evaluating the risks that this PCB landfill poses to the public's health and our water resources, it clearly demonstrates that locating the landfill at this site is a ridiculous and unnecessary risk."
Officials with the DeWitt County Board have stated they prefer to withhold comment on the matter because they have no say in the permitting process.
Last fall, the DeWitt County Board approved an amendment to the host agreement with Peoria Disposal to permit the chemical storage.
In a countywide, nonbinding referendum on Feb. 5, about 74 percent of DeWitt County voters said they did not favor the waste storage plan. The County Board has not changed its position on the landfill, and efforts to get townships to hold referendums are under way.
Representatives for Area Disposal also are withholding comment, but they have asked to speak at the quarterly meeting of DeWitt County township officials on April 28.
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