Illinois EPA begins clean up of Lake County environmental hazard

Illinois.Gov, Jun 18, 2007

WAUKEGAN— Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director Doug Scott announced that the Agency will begin cleanup of an illegal dump site in Lake County.   The site is located north of Amstutz Highway and Greenwood Avenue in Waukegan.  The clean up will begin today, Monday, June 18.  Weather permitting, work on will finish Wednesday, June 20.   The cleanups are being conducted as part of the recently enacted I-RID (Illinois Removes Illegal Dumps) Program.

It is estimated that there are approximately 200 cubic yards of illegally disposed waste.  Among the waste to be removed are discarded household appliances, household waste, and general construction or demolition debris.

The I-RID Program became law in 2005 to give the Illinois EPA additional authority to combat open dumping and clean up existing dumps.  These dumps often become a magnet to fly dumpers, and frequently become health and safety hazards.  The program uses part of existing landfill fee revenues to cover costs of additional IEPA inspection staff and cleanups.

“Illegal open dumping continues to be a chronic problem in Illinois and elsewhere and has a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of a community,” said Director Scott. “I am grateful to Governor Blagojevich and the General Assembly for providing additional funding and authority to Illinois EPA to clean up more of these messes while we continue our enforcement efforts against those who cause them.”

Since cleanups were launched, the program has conducted approximately 60 open dump cleanups throughout the state, in both rural and urban areas.  Approximately 9,500 tons of solid waste has been collected and sent to regulated landfills for disposal, 150 tons of recyclable metal waste has been sent to salvage and recycling facilities and 85 tons of tires have been collected and recycled.

Illinois legislators approved Governor Blagojevich's I-RID initiative to give the IEPA additional authority to make sure solid waste disposal facilities are properly operated and provide the Agency additional resources to combat open dumping.  Another component of I-RID is additional inspection authority to make sure solid waste disposal facilities are properly operated.

With the funding, the Illinois EPA can hire contractors to clean up open dumps where responsible parties can not be located or where various specific imminent threats, such as fire, are present. The new law also provides for permitting and regulation of the disposal of clean construction and demolition debris, such as in former quarries, and gives the Illinois EPA Director additional authority to seal sites where there is a potential risk for harm to human health or the environment.

The Illinois EPA will periodically inspect the sites to ensure that the problem does not recur, and has the authority to issue administrative citations to violators of this and other provisions of the Environmental Protection Act.