Tentative Date Set for ILPCB Public Hearing

On June 29^th during a status conference Waste Management Inc of Illinois requested more time to prepare for the appeal case filed by a group of DeKalb citizens. Thus the public hearing on the case has been set tentatively for October 18^th thru October 20^th. The decision will then be handed down by the Illinois Pollution Control Board by December 16^th.

The public hearing will be held at a DeKalb County location yet to be named by the ILPCB. During the hearing witnesses will be called and testimony given regarding the fundamental unfairness on the part of DeKalb County Board members and administration in their handling of the process of WMI application for expansion of the existing landfill. The appeal by the Stop the Mega-Dump citizens’ group states that members of the county board were biased, that ex parte contacts were made and citizens did not have ready access to WMI application.

“We want the citizens of DeKalb County to know that this expansion is not a done deal.” Dan Kenney, Chair of the citizens’ group said. “A large majority of the county citizens missed an opportunity to voice their concerns about the proposed landfill expansion at the 1^st public hearing in March. In fact most citizens didn’t know about the expansion plan until after the hearing and many are under the false understanding that it is over because the county board voted yes 16 to 8 for the expansion. We want citizens to mark their calendars and plan to attend this hearing. It will be an opportunity for them to voice their frustration with the way the county went about this expansion process and to express their concerns about the planned expansion.”

Now is the time for everyone to write and let the Illinois Pollution Control Board know what you think about the landfill expansion. Specifically your concerns about the hydrogen sulfide, the traffic related issues, the earthquake impact concerns, all that were not adequately addressed in the Waste Management Application. Also let them know if you had an experience related to the first public hearing by the County Board that you feel was not fair, and let them know about any exchanges you had with a county board member about this issue. This can still be stopped. We have an excellent chance of beating this on appeal. We need everyone’s support. Visit our website for the address for sending donations.

Here is a link to the IPCB web site

Here is the address for writing to the IPCB:
IPCB
James Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph Suite 11-500
Chicago IL 60601

Put the case number on your letter: PCB2010-103