Environmental Progress - Winter 1999

Partnerships With Local Governments Leverage Abandoned Landfill Cleanups

Partnership approach stretches money available for cleanups

The abandoned Multi-County Landfill towered fifty feet above its surroundings.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is joining local governments and legislators to generate more resources for cleaning up abandoned landfills that pose ongoing threats to the environment.

The partnerships stretch the limited money available from the state's Hazardous Waste Fund and allow more and faster cleanups.

Two recent notable examples were the J&R Landfill near Belleville (St.Clair County) and Multi-County Landfill near Villa Grove in Douglas County.

The J&R Landfill was privately operated from 1969 to June of 1990, and was subsequently abandoned when its owner declared bankruptcy. Improperly closed, erosion of the landfill's minimal, inadequate cover allowed trash to resurface. Rain water that collected on the flat top of the landfill soaked down through the buried garbage and created leachate.

Numerous violations of environmental regulations including uncovered waste, erosion and odor problems were documented by the St. Clair County Health Department and the Illinois EPA in the years after the landfill was abandoned.

State trust fund inadequate for the job

Though a state mandated trust fund was established to provide funds to properly close the site, the money available was inadequate to the necessary closure work, even with additional monetary judgments obtained against the owners by the St. Clair County State's Attorney.

The St. Clair County Board decided to step in and provide $1.14 million from the county's tipping fee fund, allowing the $2.6 million remediation plan to get underway in July 1998. Grading of existing steep slopes at the landfill and moving additional fill to the site was completed in late fall 1998. Harza Environmental Engineers designed the remediation and Baxmayer Construction Inc. did the work.

The abandoned site was located near youth soccer fields and a Scout camp

County officials and Illinois EPA were particularly concerned that potentially hazardous leachate from the landfill could pose a threat to youth soccer fields and a Boy Scout camp bordering the site.

"The perseverance of St. Clair County officials and local Agency field staff has made this landfill remediation possible," said Gary King, manager of the Remedial Projects Management Section at the Illinois EPA. "Without their efforts, funding for this project may not have materialized for many years. This type of partnering between state and local governments provides a successful model for environmental problem solving."

Cleanup one of the most ambitious ever

The more than $4 million remediation of Multi-County Landfill in Douglas County is one of the most ambitious ever undertaken at an abandoned landfill in Illinois and included pumping out a 40-million gallon lake of storm water created within the site.

It moved forward to a successful completion in late 1998 as a result of intergovernmental cooperation.

At the urging of local officials, state Rep. Tim Johnson secured an additional $500,000 state general revenue fund appropriation for Villa Grove to add to the $3.5 million from the Hazardous Waste Fund, and $238,000 from financial assurance and post-closure funds.

"With a significant backlog of abandoned landfill sites, the state Hazardous Waste Fund does not provide enough resources to meet all of the needs, so the additional appropriation was needed to finish this project," noted King.

Landfill soared 50 feet above surrounding area

Rising 50 feet above the surrounding terrain, Multi-County Landfill posed major engineering challenges. Not the least of them was the flooded landfill cell lake that had swollen to four acres in size and 35 feet in depth, causing severe erosion. In 1997, 40 million gallons of water was pumped from the cell into Long Point Slough. The drained area is now being filled to shore up slope stability, prevent migration of leachate and provide control for the landfill gases that were discharging into the water.

Early in 1998, major stability problems occurred along the north landfill wall. A 400 foot long concrete barrier wall five feet wide and 20 feet deep was installed. The landfill clay cap was tied into this wall and a leachate collection trench was installed.

More than 120,000 cubic yards of silt for use as backfill material and for topsoil has been obtained from dredging at Patterson Springs Lake.

As capped and compacted areas are completed, silt was delivered, spread and seeded for a grassy vegetative cover.

"This project is a prime example of how important it is to properly close landfills, and if that does not occur, why we must act to protect our environment now and in the future," King said.