On 2/23/07, Peoria County received a copy of a letter from Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste and the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club stating in part “we have come to understand that even if PDC’s appeal and other attempts to prolong the operation of the landfill all failed---even if PDC’s hazardous waste landfill were to close its doors tomorrow—the landfill as it currently exists still presents a significant threat to the long-term health and safety of Peoria and it’s surrounding communities.” Attached to this letter was a document dated February 2007 proposing extending the operating life of the landfill in return for much of the “special criteria” offered by PDC in the aftermath of the first application hearings conducted at the ITOO Hall in the spring of last year. You may visit www.notoxicwaste.org to view the complete February 2007 proposal from the opposition to the application parties. An article titled “Landfill Compromise Offered” appeared in the JS on February 24, 07.
A document was mailed to all Peoria County Board members from our Administrator in February 2007, reading in full “Enclosed, please find a copy of the Peoria Families against Toxic Waste and the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club proposal regarding the PDC Hazardous Landfill. The Special Interest Groups held a press conference today and released this proposal to the public.
We have been and will continue to meet with PDC and are prepared to give you an update at the County Board meeting on March 8. While we have not reviewed the proposal (from PFATW and the Sierra Club) in great detail, there are elements that staff agrees with that staff have concerns with.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call.”
Signed Patrick Urich, Peoria County Administrator.
On March 08, 07 a report from our administration was delivered to the Peoria County full board in executive session for their review. It is now evident that at least one board member didn’t see the article in the JS or read the material submitted to all board members on February 23. 2007. I expect that our County Board Chairman will call a special “open to the public” meeting later this month perhaps offering a more detailed counter proposal.
In summation, community activists and perhaps some board members are realizing that the 28 year old PDC Hazardous Landfill is not going to go away and that the best solution might be to set up a perpetual maintenance fund, funded by PDC into perpetuity reaching billions of dollars. The proposal received from the PFATW and ISC, also asked for more local control and monitoring by the public. There are many reasons that I have stated before, that the Illinois Pollution Board might rule in favor of PDC and the perpetual maintenance fund and all the 30 special criteria added by the County and approved by PDC could go “out the window”. The opposition is now recognizing not only that but that litigation could go on for years costing the taxpayer, millions of dollars.
For those who didn’t read the testimony given by Dr.Gary Zwicky printed on Sunday March 04,07 titled “County left with the legacy of a landfill” in which he recognizes that that existing landfill is not going to go away, I have reprinted Dr. Zwicky’s testimony of 4/13/06. Be advised that Dr. Zwicky never visited the PDC Landfill even to this date. If you carefully read his opinions, you will note that he knows what toxic materials are; most lay people understand that also, but he doesn’t qualify himself to be making citizen scaring statements about future (and present) harm to the health of those in this and surrounding communities.
For those of you who may still want to review the approximately 10 articles I wrote pertaining to the “PDC Application for Expansion” starting on approximately 4/09/06, just dial down my archives sidebar to those dates.
For those of you I might send an email, you can find me on http://widmer-peoria-watch.blogspot.com
Stay tuned.
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