News Releases - 1998

Corrective Efforts Underway at Abandoned Landfill Site

Belleville, Ill. -- Efforts to correct problems from odor, erosion and uncovered waste at an abandoned landfill site south of Belleville are well under way. Work was begun in July to properly cap and cover the J&R Landfill site, and is expected to be completed, weather permitting, by mid-October.

Today, state and county officials were at the landfill to view progress of the corrective work at the site, which was not properly closed when it ceased operations and was subsequently abandoned when its owner declared bankruptcy in 1994.

The $2.6 million remediation is being funded under a unique arrangement between the Illinois EPA and the St. Clair County Board, with the county providing $1.14 million from the St. Clair County Landfill Surcharge Tipping Fee Fund and a trust fund established with the monetary judgements against the former owner/operator. The remainder of the funds will be provided by the state's Hazardous Waste Fund and another state-controlled trust fund.

The J&R Landfill was privately operated from 1969 to June of 1990. Improperly closed, the landfill currently has only minimal, inadequate cover which has been damaged by erosion allowing trash to resurface. Rain water ponds on the flat top of the landfill and soaks down through the buried garbage creating leachate.

Over the years since the landfill was abandoned, the St. Clair County Health Department and the Illinois EPA have documented numerous violations of environmental regulations including uncovered waste, erosion and odor problems.

Though a state mandated trust fund was established to provide funds to properly close the site, the money available was inadequate to do the necessary closure work. The St. Clair County State's Attorney filed suit against the owner resulting in several monetary judgements which were used to establish a second interest-bearing trust fund, but the two funds combined were only sufficient to pay for a small part of the needed work. The innovative joint funding by the county and the Illinois EPA was developed to enable the corrective work to proceed.

"The perseverance of St. Clair County officials and local Agency field office 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."

Harza Environmental Engineers, a contractor for the Illinois EPA, developed designs for the corrective work and under the supervision of Illinois EPA and the St. Clair County Health Department, will oversee work by Baxmayer Construction Inc., which was awarded the contract in May.

As the work continues, neighbors may observe on-site workers wearing protective clothing. This equipment is required to prevent exposure to any potential sources of contamination discovered during any environmental restoration work.

Environmental contractors investigate and remediate many different types of contaminants during the course of their careers, so every effort is made to prevent the potential for exposures at every job site.

Construction of the cap will require grading of existing steep slopes at the landfill site and moving additional fill dirt to the site. Trucks bringing fill dirt and large equipment probably will generate dust on site and along the roadways leading to the site. The contractor will control dust so that it does not become a nuisance for neighbors and any damage to roads caused by heavy equipment and the hauling of fill dirt will be repaired by the contractor. The roads will be restored to their pre-project condition when work ends.