CHAMPAIGN, IL – State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) recently forwarded critical documents to the US EPA and our area’s Congressional delegation after it was noted that the Illinois EPA apparently does not automatically share critical data with its counterpart at the US EPA.
This lack of data sharing is extremely problematic because the US EPA is currently studying the issue of whether to grant a permit for the storage of dangerous PCB’s over the Mahomet Aquifer at the Clinton Landfill. In essence, the USEPA is being asked to permit a landfill without all of the necessary information.
In one recent example, monitoring well data indicated serious concerns that the existing landfill may already be compromised because, among other compounds, both Dichloroethene (DCE) and Tricholoroethene (TCE) have been detected. Officials from the Illinois State Water Survey (who are members of our working group) noted that both DCE and TCE are seriously dangerous chemicals that do not occur naturally in the soil and shallow sands where these samples were taken underneath the Clinton landfill. At this point, no one has identified the source of the DCE, TCE, or any of the other chemical exceedances in the landfill’s ground water monitoring well testing reports.
“These are existing monitoring reports from the landfill itself. It is inconceivable to me that the US EPA is operating without this type of information and is being asked to sign off on a permit. Congressman Davis and Senator Kirk, both immediately responded to my communications and Sen Durbin has also been opposed to the acceptance of the PCB’s at the landfill in the past,” said Rose.
“The Mahomet Aquifer Working Group is working diligently to ensure the safety of our water supply,” Rose concluded.