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Local Legislator Co-Sponsoring Bill To Ban PCBs Being Dumped In Landfills Along Mahomet Aquifer

One local legislator is sponsoring a bill that will allow counties to vote against allowing PCB's to be dumped along the Mahomet Aquifer.

The issue of landfills seeking permission to dump polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) into their landfills is a big issue in central Illinois because several landfills lie over the Mahomet Aquifer and many residents and groups feel the PCBs could endanger the drinking water of almost 750-thousand people. Illinois State Representative Chapin Rose is co-sponsoring a bill that has passed out of committee. He explains the bill would not allow landfills to dump those PCBs in their landfills.

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Currently landfills are accepting things that are more dangerous than PCBs and a greater danger to central Illinois' water supply. Rep. Rose says those are issues that as things move forward are going to have to be addressed.

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Rep. Rose calls the bills passage out of committee encouraging. He says there is still a long ways to go before the bill could potentially become a reality. He speculates a few amendments may have to be made to the bill before it could pass. He also says there is a lot of pressure from groups outside of central Illinois that want to dump their PCBs in these landfills to shoot down this bill.

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Rep. Rose criticizes the EPA for the way they have handled the situation. He feels the situation is worsening and says they will not be letting the issue go.

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A hearing will take place this summer on the proposed piece of legislation. Rep. Rose speculates that hearing will be in Champaign or Monticello. Date and time of the meeting has not yet been established.

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