The Electronic Documents of Illinois provides permanent public access to official publications of the State of Illinois which have been deposited in electronic form.
After a history of environmental violations at the Western Lion and Service Disposal #1 Landfill sites, the Illinois EPA learned in May 1994 that the owner/operator of the site had begun excavating a trench in an area of buried waste without a permit. A temporary order from the Attorney General's Office required all operations to stop by January 20, 1996. During an inspection by Illinois EPA in June 1997, field personnel discovered that the open trench had filled with 35-40 feet of leachate (rainwater that has traveled through the landfill and contacted waste). This leachate pit occasionally overtopped its banks and flowed into the nearby Riley Creek, which is a Class "A" Stream.
In March and April of 2002, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) conducted a site investigation in the area of the former St. Louis Smelting and Refining Company lead smelter. Many factors, including the past operations at the site, influenced the Illinois EPAs decision to conduct this expanded site investigation.
The imminent threat from the former Milton School is the potential for asbestos exposure and the physical hazards to trespassers and nearby residents. Currently collapsed floors, roofs and walls make it impossible to secure or abate this building; therefore removal is the only option for eliminating the threat.
Through Illinois EPA's investigation and evaluation of abandoned landfills in the state, we discovered that the Ocoya Landfill site has severe erosion problems, exposed waste, low spots that allow water to pond, and leachate seeps (water that becomes contaminated after contact with landfill waste). The printable map referenced in the fact sheet will be included in a separate pdf attachment.
The Illinois EPA performed off-site residential area environmental investigations in the fall of 2001 and did not find levels of residual chemical contamination that could be expected to pose health threats to nearby residential communities from past refinery catalyst releases to the air. The printable map referenced in the fact sheet will be included as a separate pdf attachment.
Based on the human health threat from exposure posed by the dilapidated, asbestos-containing school located at 708 North Broadway in Newman, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) will abate the asbestos where safe to do so and remove the building using State funds. Due to the condition of this former school, it is highly likely that asbestos fibers are being released to the environment and coming in contact with trespassers. Health concerns for human exposure warrants corrective action at this location.
Matthiessen and Hegeler is an inactive zinc rolling mill and smelter that operated from 1858 to 1978. The 160 acre property is located on the west side of the Little Vermilion River in LaSalle, Illinois. In December 1993, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) collected soil and sediment samples from the site and from surrounding properties. These samples included three sediment samples from the Little Vermilion River, seven soil samples from the site property, 13 off-site soil samples, and two background samples 1 1/2 miles north of the site. The sample results will be used to make a preliminary evaluation of possible environmental impacts from past Matthiessen and Hegeler operations.
Winnebago County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) worked together to collect samples from private wells in the area on three occasions during June, August and September after being informed of fuel-like odors from private well water. Contaminants discovered in some private wells are from a family of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are commonly found in fuels such as gasoline, diesel and home heating fuel. The most recent set of well water samples was taken on September 14, 2011. Twenty-five wells have been tested in all, some more than once. The larger image referenced in the fact sheet will be included in a separate pdf attachment.
Many of the plant operations took place prior to most environmental regulations so a potential existed for releases to air, water, and land. Preliminary Illinois EPA sampling, conducted in 1992 and 1993, indicated the presence of metals in onsite and offsite soil (including residential yards), surface water, and sediments. These metals include arsenic, barium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, silver, sodium, and zinc. These metals occur naturally in the environment, but the samples from DePue indicate elevated levels when compared to samples collected from a nearby community. The larger map referenced in the fact sheet will be included as a separate pdf attachment.