Brockman I Landfill
Consent Orders
Fact Sheet #1
October 2003
What is the problem with the Brockman I landfill?
Brockman I is an 18-acre inactive landfill that is located in an area approximately
three miles southwest of Ottawa that had previously been strip-mined.
The landfill was operated by Wilmer Brockman, Jr., between 1970 and 1979,
accepting a wide range of hazardous and non-hazardous waste from industrial
and municipal sources. Waste included paint and plating sludges, organic
solvents and cyanides. Illinois EPA records show a history of mismanagement
at the site, and the landfill was not properly capped and closed when
it ceased operations in 1979. Without proper cover, melting snow and
rain enter the landfill, washing contaminants from the waste into the
groundwater below.
Ottawa, Illinois
On October 24, 2003, the State of Illinois filed two consent orders in LaSalle
County Circuit Court regarding the Brockman I landfill located three miles
southwest of Ottawa.
Who are parties of the consent orders? There are two consent orders. The parties
of the first consent order are the State of Illinois, the LaSalle County
State's Attorney and 19 corporations that sent waste to the landfill. The
parties of the second consent order are the State of Illinois, the LaSalle
County State's Attorney, Evelyn Muffler and Elsbeth Fullmer. Ms. Muffler
operates a gun range adjacent to the landfill, and Ms. Fullmer owns the
property on which the landfill is located.
What is the content of the first consent order? Nineteen parties
agreed to the work in the first consent order. Signing the order does not
constitute an admission of fault or liability. In this order, the settling
parties agreed to provide the following:
- $350,000 to the State of Illinois for reimbursement
of past costs and for future oversight costs,
- surface water and sediment
controls,
- a multi-layer cap,
- a passive landfill gas venting system,
- maintenance of the cap for ten years
and
- groundwater monitoring for 15 years.
What is the cap? The
cap is a covering over the landfill that will prevent precipitation from
entering the landfill and washing contaminants
in the waste into the groundwater below. The cap will consist of:
- a graded layer of 12 inches of clay, (Twenty companies,
that allegedly brought waste to
the site, constructed this layer in 1997.)
- a low permeability layer of
24 inches of processed, compacted clay,
- a rooting zone layer of 12 inches
of pH adjusted clay so it is less acidic and
- a layer of six inches of
top soil with vegetation.
What is the passive venting system? As waste decomposes, it generates
gas. When a cap is placed over the top of a landfill, the gas needs a route
to escape. Passive vents installed about three feet into the landfill waste
will allow this gas to escape. The vents will be far enough away from houses
that nearby residents should smell no odors. In addition, a system of three
shallow landfill gas probes will be placed along the northern boundary
of the site to monitor the possible migration of landfill gas off-site
through the soil.
What is the content of the second consent order? In the second
order, Evelyn Muffler and Elsbeth Fullmer give access for the work described
in the first consent order. Elsbeth Fullmer, who owns the property on which
the landfill is located, agrees to deed restrictions and institutional
controls to maintain the cap. These restrictions will include the prohibition
of installing, maintaining or operating wells or a water system at the
landfill with the exception of monitoring wells. Ms. Muffler also agrees
to cease operation of the gun range during the time work is being conducted.
When the cap is finished, Ms. Muffler agrees to operate the gun range in
a manner that does not threaten the integrity of the remedy.
Who will maintain the cap after 10 years? The landfill cap should
be stable after the first five years, but the settling parties will continue
to provide cap maintenance for an additional five years. The Illinois EPA
will also monitor the cap during and after the 10-year period.
Are area private wells endangered? The private wells in the area
are not in the path of the groundwater flowing out of Brockman I. The Illinois
EPA and the responsible parties have installed numerous monitoring wells
in and around the landfill. Information from these monitoring wells not
only shows contaminant levels but also establishes the direction of groundwater
flow. The consent decree requires responsible parties to monitor these
wells for 15 years to evaluate ongoing conditions.
When will work begin? The consent order requires the construction
of the cap and the gas ventilation system to be completed in 2004. Some
work may begin this year, but the cap will probably be constructed in the
spring of 2004 and vegetated and seeded in the fall of 2004.
For More information
| Media Contact: |
Other Questions: |
Maggie Carson
(217) 558-1536 |
Kurt Neibergall
Illinois EPA
Office of Community Relations
1021 North Grand Ave. East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Phone: (217) 785-3819 |
| |
Stan Komperda
Illinois EPA Project Manager
1021 North Grand Ave. East
P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Phone (217) 782-5504 |
| Repository of Information: Project documents
are in the Reddick Public Library at 1010 Canal Street, in Ottawa for public
review. |
Site and Regulatory History
1971. The Agency issued Wilmer Brockman a permit to establish and operate a solid
waste disposal landfill. Very few laws were in place at that time for
regulating disposal of industrial waste.
1981. The State of Illinois through the Illinois Attorney
General's Office brought suit for alleged violations of the permit. Many
of those allegations were contested.
1984. The Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted the Illinois
Contingency Plan (ICP), which was modeled after the National Contingency
Plan (NCP or Superfund program). The ICP called for the development of
a list of sites that did not qualify for the federal Superfund list but
were still a possible threat to human health and the environment. This
list was called the State Remedial Action Priority List (SRAPL).
The state initiated the Clean Illinois program, which provided
$20 million to identify and fund removals and remedies at state hazardous
waste sites. Clean Illinois carried authority to impose strict liability
for costs on potentially responsible parties (PRPs). If the PRPs did
not conduct the required work at a hazardous waste site, the state could
use money from the Clean Illinois program to conduct the work and then
recover up to three times the costs of the work from the PRPs. State
law defined PRPs as owners and operators of a site and parties who generated
or transported waste found at the site.
1985. Brockman I was placed on the SRAPL.
1985-86. With Clean Illinois dollars, the Illinois EPA conducted
a study of groundwater, surface water and geology of the site.
1987. The Illinois EPA sent potentially responsible parties
(PRPs) a notice to conduct work at Brockman I, including additional investigations
and construction of a cap over the landfill.
1988. The PRPs and the state of Illinois reached an agreement
for the PRPs to conduct at least some of the work described in the 1987
notice.
1990s. The state legislature did not renew the funding for
the Clean Illinois.
1992. The courts declared the SRAPL void.
1996 and 1997. The PRPs conducted additional investigations
and graded the site.
1997 to present. The state entered into negotiations with
PRPs to conduct the remainder of the work including construction of the
cap.
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