Illinois EPA Denies Permits for Community Landfill in Morris
For Immediate Release
Sept. 3, 1999
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Contact: Dennis McMurray
217-785-1871
TDD: 217-782-9143 |
Springfield, Ill. -- The Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency has denied two permit applications for Community Landfill in Morris. It
is the position of the Illinois EPA the facility may not accept waste at this
time. The landfill is operated by Community Landfill Company and is owned by the
city of Morris.
The Illinois EPA denied the applications to continue to operate because of
failure to provide adequate financial assurance to cover closure and post
closure care activities at the landfill. The applicants had originally proposed
$17 million in financial assurance, but as of August 13, 1999, they were only
willing to pledge $7 million. Financial assurance is required under the law in
an amount adequate for the Illinois EPA to hire a third party to perform proper
closure and future care activities in the event the operator/owner fails to do
so.
"The history of bankrupt and abandoned landfills in Illinois
demonstrates the importance of insuring adequate financial resources to correct
potential problems after a landfill closes," said Illinois EPA Director
Thomas Skinner.
In addition, Parcel A of the landfill did not pass the groundwater impact
assessment, a computer modeling method demonstrating whether groundwater will be
impacted within 100 years.
The Illinois EPA previously referred an enforcement action to the Attorney
General's Office against the landfill for various violations, including placing
waste above its permitted height.
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