Environmental Progress - Spring 2001

Unique Approach Diverts Potential Disaster -- For Now

Acid water at abandoned plant still requires a long term solution

The top of the gypsum pile resembles a moonscape

This scenic view is actually a nearly lifeless pond of highly acidic water seen through scrub brush

In an unusual emergency measure last fall, approximately 12 million gallons of water was pumped from a highly acid pond at a Livingston County site and relocated atop a huge gypsum stack to form new acid ponds. The unique action may well have averted a catastrophic release to the Vermilion River, but the basic problem remains and a permanent long-term solution is still to be determined.

The unusual corrective measure was taken to relieve, at least temporarily, pressure from as much as 70 million gallons of acid water on a narrow and failing berm. The berm was the only thing keeping the acid water out of Phillips Creek, tributary to the Vermilion River. Failure of the berm could have raised water levels as much as 10 feet for several miles downstream and killed fish and other aquatic life as far as 10 miles below the release. Earlier, more conventional attempts to shore up the berm proved unsuccessful when heavy rains washed out the repairs just months after they were made and left the berm weaker than it had been. The water in the pond, known as Fresh Pond, has a pH of 3, making it comparable to vinegar.

Coal, clay and fertilizer

An aerial view of the gypsum pile and the surrounding acid ponds.

The 124 acre Smith-Douglass site near Streator was initially a surface coal mining operation, and early in the 1900s was mined for clay used in a tile manufacturing operation on the property. The combined mining resulted in a large strip mine pond. In 1945 the site was sold and a fertilizer manufacturing plant was built there, using phosphate ore mined in Florida and phosphoric acid produced at the Livingston County plant.

The process generated tons of waste gypsum slurry that was discharged into the strip mine pond and eventually rose to be a 60 foot high 40 acre gypsum pile surrounded by two large ponds. The pond water shines an iridescent green due to single-celled algae that are the only life in the pools.

The wind blows swirls of gypsum dust behind a sheriff's deputy responding to a complaint about trespassers at the site.

A sample is collected to measure pH of water seeping from the gypsum stack, The low pH water has collected into a small pool before draining into Fresh Pond.

Site ownership changed several times until 1985 when the final owner declared bankruptcy and was allowed by the courts to abandon the property and leave tons of hazardous waste on site.

The Illinois EPA in 1989 removed thousands of gallons of hazardous waste. In 1993 Livingston County demolished some of the ramshackle buildings. A site investigation by the Borden Company, one of the former owners, was completed in 1999, and documented the weakened condition of the berm.

The Borden Company agreed to make temporary berm repairs while long term solutions were developed. Tons of dirt and boulders were installed to shore up the bank in 1999 but heavy rains the following spring washed out the repairs and left the berm further weakened.

In the fall of 2000, Borden again repaired the berm and also performed the unusual step of pumping the acid water into shallow holding ponds atop the gypsum stack. Over the winter, much of the water seeped through the stack back into Fresh Pond, which by April 2001 had risen to within four feet of the top of the berm. No water remains in the shallow ponds on top of the stack. This migration of the acid water back to the lower pond area was anticipated. Heavy spring rains could push the pond closer to its earlier level at the berm's lip. Only permanent remediation will remove the threat but the interim actions have given those involved a little more time to develop a solution and explore ways to fund it.

This heap of rocks piled over a drainage pipe failed to keep it in place; heavy rains the next spring washed out the repairs.

Because of the risks presented by the acidic water and low radioactivity of the gypsum pile, the site has been sealed by the IEPA since 1988. However, trespassers regularly use the site to ride ATVs and motorcycles, and have reportedly tried to intimidate workers. Remedial work has also been hampered by

vandals. Funding has been obtained for an IEPA contractor to perform a feasibility study examining possible long term solutions and their costs, but funding for long term remedies has not been determined.

(The cover photo, and most other Smith-Douglass photos, were taken by project manager Sue Doubet, IEPA Bureau of Land.)

Heavy rains washed away tons of cover soil, tumbled the rocks down-stream and bared the drain pipe, further weakening the fragile berm.