Jacksonville City Council has approved fully closing a landfill north of Jacksonville, a move that would save the city $100,000 in yearly fees.
Illinois’ Environmental Protection Agency approval of the full closure also is necessary, but it would allow the city to walk away from financial responsibility for the site. It also would mean the city no longer is responsible for ensuring there’s minimal wastewater and stormwater discharge from the landfill.
“It’s not on city property but we do pay over $100,000 a year,” Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard said.
The yearly fee covers testing for things like leachate — water that has percolated through solids and leached out some of the remnants — and other chemical waste that could become landfill runoff.
“We pay for (quarterly) testing on site,” Ezard said.
With city council approving the closure, Springfield-based Graham Engineering and Environmental will test the current quality of the landfill and advise the council on whether to move forward with seeking EPA approval for the closure.
“The property looks great, it’s just the testing,” Ezard said. “I think it’s safe.”
The city has tried before to gain EPA approval of a full closure, but a high count in a test of one of the landfill’s liquids led to the EPA denying the request.
“We just feel it’s appropriate to try again,” Ezard said.
There’s no timeline for the process.
“It may take a while,” he said.
If the closure is approved, the city no longer would be responsible for testing and maintaining the landfill.
People heading north on Illinois 78 toward Virginia don’t even realize there’s a landfill there, Ezard said.
“The property looks great,” he said.
According to the EPA, Illinois has 94 landfills, 19 of which are operational.
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June 18, 2021 at 02:01AM
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City trying again to close landfill, save testing costs - Jacksonville Journal-Courier
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