Tom Edwards, in his letter sent to the Governor of the State of Illinois claimed to have thousands of signatures by concerned citizens who did not want the proposed landfill expansion. A petition dated 2/21/04 and circulated by Mr. Edwards reads as follows: “PDC is seeking a permit from the county board to triple the size of its hazardous waste landfill and to operate it for 30 years.”
This is a misleading statement. The application asks for 15 more years of accepting toxic waste that is treated to be acceptable by the State of Illinois to be buried in the landfill. PDC would then be responsible for closure of this site over the following 15 years.
Triple the size is also misleading. The application clearly states the portion of the existing landfill acreage where the applicant is seeking a permit. No where close to tripling the size.
“A recent joint 5 country study in Europe found that babies born of mother living within two miles of hazardous waste landfills had 40% more birth defects and 33% more of other abnormalities" (The Lancet 1/26/02). I suggest readers get a copy of this document and read it. Mr. Edwards intentionally left out a lot of information. How old are these landfills? Were they dumps before Love Canal when environmentalists and BEFORE just plain citizens and doctors became aware of potential problems? Were they dumps before new strict environmental laws were passed in Europe? Is Europe as strict as our governments are today? Were these landfills under strict regulations as is the site managed by PDC? Were they managed at all? Did people build new house OVER closed and topped landfills like they did at Love Canal? Were they organic waste landfills that certainly do emit a lot of toxic pollution such as methane? Did they incinerate at these dumps? (PDC does not and will not accept waste that needs to be incinerated.)
Organic landfills have for the past number of years mined methane gas and recycled it like they have done in Tazewell County for the past twenty years and Peoria City/County for the past ten years. Either mine it or flare it as all of you have seen flares at organic waste landfills all over the country.
The siting application is for solid waste that is treated and goes into the landfill as solid material and emits not enough gas for the IEPA be even concerned. (See my blog copying the letter from the IPEA to Mr. Edwards.)
Mr. Edwards, doctors and almost everybody know that that toxic waste is a SERIOUS PROBLEM TO OUR HEALTH. That’s why it is treated and disposed of in hazardous waste landfills. That’s why you can die and do from drugs prescribed to you by your own doctors. Isn’t that why there are so many malpractice suits against doctors and why doctors insurance is so high. (I recognize the high cost is also due to “tort” attorneys.) Do any of you use pesticides, how about rat and mole killer tablets? Aren’t the bottles marked dangerous? Where do you dump your excess toxics? Try to be honest, there is highly toxic and pollutants in every home that should be properly disposed or treated and isolated. These legally sold drugs can and have hastened many peoples demise. Whatever happens to them from your home; they do not wind up at the PDC hazardous landfill.
Can you drink water from a tile out in the county? I advise not, just as I would suggest you not eat or drink waste of any kind, even on your own properties. A lot of country water has been chemically polluted by the farmers for years. What about the pollution coming from many of the un-inspected or un-regulated septic tanks in the county? I’ve been attacking that problem but without much help from some board members or from environmentalists, many of who have septic tanks. Where do you think that toxic goes? To the Greater Peoria Sanitary district, the same place that the stuff you flush down your stools and the treated leachate water from PDC. Director Stan Browning testified that the Sanitary District could handle all legal liquid waste in Peoria including from PDC. (Treated leachate water)
Why did Mr. Edwards not submit information about studies made in Peoria County about birth defects and diseases caused by the current landfill has caused? Because there aren’t any problem’s from that area being reported and studies to find the source. Are they from the numerous privately owned abandoned wells around the PDC? Are they from the numerous abandoned ammunition dumps directly adjacent to PDC property? Yes, these closed and tightly sealed dumps are there and the whole area around I SPECULATE is polluted. These abandoned dumps have been there since WW2. Have the zealous environmentalist looked into that probably seven acre site for possible air and water pollution?
Mr. Edwards is such a virtual fountain of half truths that on the petitions so many of you signed, he called the aquifer the “San Koty”. Maybe that was an old Indian name.
Why haven’t you looked more closely into unsubstantiated source of pollution in that area?? Is it because American East Explosives is not a local company and not as easy to attack as PDC? Those of you who SPECULATE on the source of the slight polution, tell me why not? Also what about the shingles, tires, garbage, cars, oil, and paint all dumped just outside the land owned by PDC? Want to check it out for yourself? Just ask Mr. Edwards to take you and show you. He knows they are there. He was able to walk all around the undeveloped areas south and southwest of PDC LOCALLY OWNED and MAINTAINED landfill.
Adding to the panic, Mr. Edwards claims the PDC’s permit expires in 2005. I believe today’s date is April 2006 and the landfill is still legally operating.
So now some of you who were panicked into signing Mr. Edwards “River Rescue” petitions may realize that you were misled. You say you still don’t want this expansion? Of course not, but don’t let the facts get in your way before you say “shame on me” which many have said in emails to me. I say “shame on those" for not doing more homework before they attack me for doing mine.
Keep reading and passing on my blog site to others. Let’s get the facts circulated to people who can think and interpret what they hear and read.
People may not admit they signed a petition with misleading information on it but I believe some don’t care. They were against it from the beginning and they didn’t want any facts to get in the way.
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