Community Relations - Fact Sheets

Chicago Heights Refuse Depot Landfill Site

Fact Sheet #3
May 2004

• View Larger Image
  (GIF, 29K file)
• View Printable Map
  (PDF, 125K file)

Chicago Heights, Illinois

Purpose of this fact sheet

The purpose of this third Fact Sheet is to provide information to the community about the recent work at the Chicago Heights Refuse Depot landfill site. Other than routine maintenance and inspections, the construction work at the site is complete and has accomplished placing a complete cover on the landfill along with other improvements listed below.

Background

The Chicago Heights Refuse Depot Landfill is a 29-acre inactive municipal landfill located in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is bordered to the east and south by two other solid waste landfills. Residential homes are to the north on East 26th Street with businesses located to the west. The Refuse Depot landfill operated from June 1979 until May 1988.

In 1988, the site owner installed a clay cover. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) issued a Certificate of Closure in 1994, however, the owner was unable to accomplish post-closure care requirements, financial assurance criteria, or monitoring obligations. The site had several areas of erosion and lacked adequate soil cover. Additional environmental concerns included vegetative stress, exposed surficial waste, leachate seeps, and inadequate landfill gas ventilation.

Site Update

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency tasked a consulting firm (Mactec, formerly known as Harding ESE) to address these environmental concerns. Corrective actions at the site began in July 2003 and ended later that year in November. The State of Illinois’ Abandoned Landfill Program provided $1.3 million for these construction activities.

A gas venting system and monitoring network were also installed in the landfill to monitor and release in a safe manner migrating landfill gas. Additional construction activities that occurred on the landfill included repairing the existing clay cap and seeding activities necessary to produce a properly vegetated cover.

There will be routine visits to the site in Spring 2004 to verify that vegetation in the new topsoil layer has begun growing and to identify any maintenance activities that need to be accomplished while the landfill cover is becoming established. Periodic visits will also be scheduled to monitor the drainage, the gas vents, and the groundwater in the area. It is important to note that additional work may occur related to the other landfills in the immediate area, similar to the Refuse Depot landfill. It is expected the residents and businesses in the surrounding area will be made aware of when and where work is planned. Your cooperation during the active construction at this site was greatly appreciated.

For more information, you may contact:

Other Fact Sheets by the Office of Community Relations are available by request .