News Releases - 2001

Construction Begins at St. Clair County Landfill

Springfield, Ill. -- Repair work has begun on an abandoned landfill in St. Clair County to alleviate environmental problems at the site. The work is being conducted through the joint efforts of the Illinois EPA and St. Clair County.

Cover soil had eroded, exposing wastes and allowing rainwater and ponded water to infiltrate the landfill. This compromised the integrity of the cap and allowed further erosion. The landfill, Bi-State Disposal Co., Inc. (Bi-State), is located south of Belleville.

According to Governor George H. Ryan, "The Illinois EPA and St. Clair County are partnering to fund an appropriate cap for Bi-State landfill to remedy these problems." St. Clair County will contribute $250,000 toward the work. The majority of the Illinois EPA funding is from Governor Ryan's Illinois FIRST program.

The Illinois EPA had previously identified thirty-three landfills across Illinois as threats to public health and to adjacent properties. Priority was given to landfills with the greatest environmental and safety risks. A total of $50 million in Illinois FIRST funds, over five years, was appropriated in the 2000 spring legislative session to address these problem sites.

"New funding was critical because the $2 million per year previously available for the state's cleanup program was inadequate to address the significant environmental and potential health problems caused by these abandoned landfills," said Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano.

Bi-State landfill is located in a former strip mine south of Belleville and, although operated as a non-hazardous solid waste landfill, there are indications that it may have also accepted industrial wastes. It is a 40-acre site, 26-acres of which were filled with waste from 1978 until 1990. The former owners did not properly close the site by installing the proper controls including a final cap. The landfill currently has inadequate cover, which has eroded, allowing trash to resurface and methane gas created by the decomposition of the buried wastes to escape. Rainwater ponds on the top of the landfill and soaks down through the buried garbage, picking up contaminants as it goes. This creates "leachate," which can contaminate groundwater and area surface water.

Construction of the landfill improvements will require regrading the existing steep slopes, adding additional drainage ways, Heavy equipment and trucks will use local roadways to access the site but will bring fill dirt on site from an adjacent property, avoiding public roadways. The site work will be finished by spring 2002, weather permitting. A fence will be installed around the entire site upon completion of the cap. The topsoil will be seeded with grasses and wildflowers to hold the soil and provide wildlife habitat. The Illinois EPA will recommend no public use of the property in order to protect the integrity of the cap.