Environmental Progress - Summer 2003

IEPA Joins "Team Illinois" Kickoff Efforts

New approach targets poverty-stricken small communities

In late July, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich's "Team Illinois" kicked off its new initiative to provide assistance for poverty-stricken small communities with a festival in Hopkins Park, in Kankakee County.

As part of the Team, the IEPA has been working with other state agencies to provide assistance to depressed areas of Illinois.

Part of the Agency's role at Hopkins Park, a small community in Pembroke Township, was to remove more than 60,000 waste tires from three large and numerous smaller dumps in Pembroke Township. A mobile tire shredder cut the discarded tires into large pieces for transportation to a processing facility. Ultimately, the shredded tires are burned for fuel.

In addition to the Pembroke Township area, Team Illinois has targeted the eastside of Aurora, the community of Savanna in Carroll County, and three communities in Alexander County (Cairo, Tamms and Thebes) for assistance. The goal of Team Illinois is to link concerned local citizens with the experience of state agencies to generate a fresh perspective on what residents need in their communities.

Tire dumping longtime Pembroke problem

The presence of illegal tire dumps has become a serious environmental health issue in Pembroke Township, one of the worst areas in the state for tire dumping. The dumps not only lead to unlawful disposal of other trash, but are a recognized breeding ground for mosquitoes since they collect dead leaves and retain rainfall in stagnant pools that are ideal breeding sites for several species of mosquitoes. Some of these, in turn, are carriers of serious diseases that threaten both humans and animals.

The Illinois EPA is continuing the tire cleanup in the area and expects eventually to remove more than 650 tons of scrap tires. At the kickoff event, the agency hosted a public tire collection for area residents, and collected more than 1,800 tires.

The agency is working with the Illinois Rural Water Association to address problems with Hopkins Park's wastewater treatment facility.

The Agency participated in an informational display during the three day Hopkins Park event, providing dissecting scopes that allowed attendees to view mosquito larvae at 30 times their actual size. The Agency handed out information on the health hazards resulting when tires are improperly disposed of.

The Illinois EPA's Environmental Justice Officer will continue to work with community officials and other members of Team Illinois to improve the quality of life in communities such as Hopkins Park; the staff of the Used Tire Program will continue to monitor the area. It is expected that surveillance conducted after the leaves have fallen will reveal additional tire dumps requiring removal.