In the News

News Sun, December 11, 2009

Garrett panel hopes to clarify list of non-waste materials

A new state law that lets regulators assign a non-waste designation to certain materials that may end up in landfills is coming under fire.

Lake County officials have joined others statewide in calling for implementation of the law in a way that will not reduce local revenues from landfill user fees, increase the volume of waste heading to landfills or encourage the landfilling of materials that cause contamination or odors.

"It's a big issue," state Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, said Wednesday at a hearing in Waukegan that she convened as chair of the Illinois Senate Environmental Committee.

"We'd like to ensure it's implemented in a fair way and all sides are satisfied. Ideally, I'd like to see rules written for implementation," Garrett said.

The conflict centers on the use of construction and demolition materials as cover for landfill layers. Traditionally, soil or plastic tarps are used to separate and cap the layers.

The new legislation allows the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to give such construction debris a "beneficial use designation" (BUD), which can exempt it from certain fees and potentially lower the level of regulation.

Proponents say it helps give materials that were once merely waste products a positive use.

"The law would allow recycling and reuse of materials previously used as a waste in a beneficial and environmental way," said Doug Clay, manager of the IEPA's Division of Land Pollution Control.

But Walter Willis, executive director of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, said the use of debris as landfill cover should not be considered for beneficial-use designation.

"Use shingles for (making) asphalt, that's a BUD, not taking that stuff to landfill," Willis said.

Willis said the landfill industry wants to protect the volume of waste coming into landfills, and that beneficial-use designations provide an incentive to maintain that waste flow.

Lake County Administrator Barry Burton testified that many of the odor problems associated with Countryside Landfill in Grayslake result from the dumping of construction materials, such as gypsum, into the landfill.

"Ironically, a more appropriate use of Senate Bill 2034 (the law) would be to encourage the beneficial use of drywall in a non-landfill related use, to get it out of the landfills and reduce the potential for hydrogen sulfide generation," Burton said.

Burton said the law could "have a significant impact" on Lake County's host fee revenues. He questioned whether the county legislators realized that fiscal impact when they voted for it.

Clay said the IEPA does not have the resources to enforce a new set of rules for the law and that the list of materials that can be designated for BUD should be "as flexible as possible," as long as they are not detrimental to the environment or human health.

Garrett said, however, that clarifying that list may be one of the goals needed to implement the law.

"It may be a good idea to be more specific about what is going to be used," she said.