Community Corner

Residents Concerned with Air Quality and Odors from Landfill

"This stinks!" said County Board Member Melinda Bush about Countryside Landfill's application to increase their emissions of sulfur dioxide.

"It's not just a rotten egg smell. It's a dead cat who had eaten rotten eggs smell," said Grayslake resident and Trustee Jeff Werfel, describing the smells from Countryside Landfill that infiltrate his neighborhood in the Prairie Crossing subdivision.

The smells are bad enough, said Werfel and about two dozen other residents. They spoke out for nearly three hours Tuesday night to urge the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to deny granting revised air pollution control construction permits to increase the levels of carbon dioxide emissions from the facility.

The revised permits are sought by, 31725 N. Route 83, Grayslake, and by Countryside Genco, LLC, a private company adjacent to the landfill which burns landfill gas to generate electricity.

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IEPA respresentatives - Dean Studer, hearing officer, Kunj Patel, permit engineer, and Chris Romaine, construction permits unit manager - listened as one person after the next spoke out against the request to increase the emissions from the landfill. The IEPA had granted a preliminary approval to the request, but sought input from the public before making a final decision.

State Representative Sandy Cole (R-62nd) spoke against the plan. "People who suffer from asthma, as I do, face significant respiratory distress when the odor levels rise," Cole said.

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Kimberly Thoede of Incinerator Free Lake County spoke against the plan. "I live next to the landfill," she said. "The data shows that profit is their driving force. Why isn't the IEPA protecting us? Don't reward them if they exceed the existing permit (by raising the accepted levels) - fine them."

Barbara Klipp, also of Incinerator Free Lake County, spoke against the plan. "This hearing is about pollution and emissions," Klipp said. "They are asking to more than double the current levels of sulfur dioxide."

Klipp said when Countryside Landfill applied for this permit, their sulfur levels were at 550 parts per million (ppm), and she was told they are now at 900 ppm.

"We find ourselves very frustrated that the IEPA would raise the accepted levels instead of insisting on compliance," Klipp said. She stated that the landfill has not been in compliance for the last two years.

She requested instead that Countryside Landfill: keep its sulfur dioxide emissions at or under its current permitted levels or face stiff fines; install a "scrubber" to clean up the hydrogen sulfide gas; agree to not accept construction materials containing gypsum-based drywall---which is the main cause of the hydrogen sulfide gas; and
install a backup generator at the facility to keep the "flare" operating at all times.

Mike Hey, district manager of Countryside Landfill, said they have decreased the amount of odors since it was elevated in 2008. He said that the request to increase their emissions is warranted, and that they still want to be good neighbors.

"The landfill gas is generated by the natural decomposition of waste," said Hey. "This is a reasonable request we are asking for."

He admitted the problems in 2008 and said the company had taken "aggressive measures" to mitigate the sulfur dioxide levels.

"I mean to be a good neighbor and this is a process that we go through," Hay said, offering to give anyone a tour of his facility.

Ann Ise was not swayed, and spoke against the request. "As a healthcare provider, I'm concerned about the health effects for everyone in the area," she said. "Isn't the best thing for our county to clean up as much of the pollution as we can control?"

Other residents asked why Countryside Landfill was not being fined for violating their current permit, instead of being allowed to request to raise the limits.

Evan Craig of the Sierra Club spoke against the request. "Why are we here?" he asked the IEPA board. "What do the permits mean if they are not enforced? These fine people in the vicinity are suffering because there is no enforcement."

Lake County Board Member Melinda Bush (District 6) spoke against the request. "In the last two years, the smell has been so offensive," she said. "Sulfur dioxide affects human health, especially in children and the elderly. To put it simply, it stinks."

The IEPA will still accept written comments on this matter. The comments must be postmarked by midnight April 21, 2011. They should be sent to the Illinois EPA, Dean Studer, Hearing Officer, Re: Countryside Landfill, 1021 N. Grand Avenue E., P.O. Bo 19276, Springfield, IL 62794-9276. Phone: 217-558-8280.

A final decision will be made within 90 days of the close of the comment period by June 21, 2011.


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