Ms. Carol Webb
Hearing Officer
Illinois Pollution Control Board
1021 N. Grand Avenue East
P.O.
Box
19274
Springfield, IL 62794-9274
RECEIVED
CLERK'S
OFFICE
DEC 0
3 2007
s
I ) *
e: OF ILLINOIS
Control
Board
Dear Hearing Officer Webb:
May I extend to you my gratitude for hearing all sides of the siting issue for the Hazardous Waste
Landfill on November 6, 2007. I appreciated your hearing everyone who wished to speak
regardless of age, gender, ethnic background or other outward appearances. Your incite in
hearing such directly-opposed and passionately-charged entities helped create a feeling of safety
and equality
despite great
differences in power and affluence in the individuals present
This may well be the most important issue presented before you in your lifetime. People were
cautioned by Peoria Disposal Company's lawyer to stick to the single issue of whether or not
Peoria Disposal Company was indeed, the generator
of the
waste
in question for siting
purposes.
(This logic was closely followed by their subsequent claims to be a pollution control facility).
Wisely, you seemed to allow the possiblity that the question was not as simple as portrayed and
that the issue had many facets, as opponents of the Hazardous Landfill siting proceeded to point
out
I stand by my comments, and wish to take them further and to clarify. The facts are that mistakes
were made in the past which allowed a facility to operate that is gravely unsafe to the population
nearby. That the facility is located over the San Cody Aquifer–which is not only
the
main water
supply to the area, but a link to Kickapoo Creek, which runs to our beautiful Illinois River, which
runs into the mighty Mississippi River. Many of the elements in the hazardous waste which have
been and are presently being stored by millions of tons in trenches over the San Cody Aquifer, do
not dissipate and are subject to leaking given natural erosion. Although PDC's "process* may or
may not slow erosion; once these harmful elements get into waterways, the effects can be far-
reaching, causing cataclysmic chain reactions. The macabre numbers of diseases and lead
poisonings in the area already hint at some of these consequences.
We know the Illinois River is at risk because of its proximity to the underground waterways. We
know of the threat to humans and the teeming wildlife, some of which utilize the Illinois River
flyway for their migratory flights. We know that the Illinois River flows into the Mississippi not so
very many miles away.
Stay with me as I quote
regarding the Mississippi River
"It is not a commonplace river...Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in
the
world—four thousand three hundred miles....No other river has so vast a drainage-basin; it
draws its water-supply from twenty-eight
states and territories; from Delaware on the Atlantic
seaboard, and from all the country between that and
Idaho on the Pacific slope...The Mississippi
receives and carries to the Gulf water from fifty-four subordinate rivers that are navigable by
steamboats, and from some hundreds navigable
by flats and keels. The area of its drainage-
basin
is
as great as the combined areas of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain,
Portugal, Germany, Austria,
Italy, and Turkey;
and almost
all this
wide region is fertile; the
Mississippi valley, proper, is exceptionally so."
Life on the Mississippi
by Mark Twain Chapter I, "The River and Its History-
There continues to be heavy barge traffic to this day from the Illinois River to the Mississippi
River. Can you imagine the potential impact of natural erosion, or God forbid, a disaster, which
would infiltrate these deadly elements into our rivers flowing into so many adjoining rivers and
states of this United States? This would be and is already the beginning of a national disaster! It
may or may not be in our lifetime, but it
is just
biding its time
to
happen. The kill
of
fish and
migratory birds on the Illinois River alone, would impact all the other rivers and states.
'You're creating mass hysteria? PDC may say. it will never happen? And they'll go through how
their "process" has fixed everything and put it all safely to bed. I'm amazed to think that they
have miraculously come up with a solution to solve all the hazardous waste problems of the world
with their various processes. If it's that easy and foolproof, I'm sure the other states would just as
soon keep their hazardous waste instead of paying collectively millions to bring it to our little
aquifer.
I'll close with what is the only sane thing to do.
We've made a mistake allowing this -monstrosity to be built over our aquifer. The only way to
stop the impact of the damage is to stop it now. We need to call for an IMMEDIATE STOP
WORK. Mowing thousands and millions MORE tons of
hazardous
waste into the area
as we
quibble about siting regulations, or the interminable flavor-of-the month appeals are only making
the problem worse and more painful to address.
With PDC making a million a week and more (that's all they have declared), they could take off
work and appeal day and night and still not run out of time or money. It's worth it for them to
continue as long as the appeals keep the doors open and their very lucrative business running
with such catastrophic consequences! Those of us who allow this insanity to continue are just as
responsible for the subsequent damage to our city and to our country as they.
I'm calling for courage and for the hard truth to finally be spoken and acted upon.
Sincerely,
F. Christine Ozuna-Thomton
11700
N.
Riverview Road
Chillicothe, IL 61523
(309) 579-3376