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Zion new
choice as treatment plant site
Chicago Tribune
- 5/8
In
a surprise move, the North Shore Sanitary District dropped plans
Wednesday to build a controversial waste-treatment plant in Waukegan,
deciding to erect it in nearby Zion--a move that will add $18
million to the cost.
"The
worst part of this is it's going to cost more money, but we have
to stop digging these holes," said John R. Paxton, chairman
of the district's board.
Sludge
that remains after the waste-treatment process currently is buried
at the district's 40-year-old landfill in Newport Township near
Zion, but Paxton said the $26 million plant would ease the space
crunch there by allowing the sludge to be burned.
U.S.
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), whose congressional district includes
Zion and Waukegan, joined environmentalists Wednesday in vowing
to continue fighting the plant, which would release low levels
of mercury into the atmosphere.
"The
killer question is, what are our mercury emissions from landfilling?
And the answer is zero," Kirk said.
The
mercury emissions from the new plant, which would turn sludge
into a glasslike byproduct that can be used in road construction,
has been at the heart of the opposition.
Mercury
is a potent neurotoxin that can cause serious health problems,
especially for pregnant women and children.
Sanitary
District officials maintain that the new plant would release less
than 2 pounds of mercury annually into the atmosphere--an amount
far below levels allowed by the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency.
But
environmentalists worry the mercury could settle in Lake Michigan,
already under a fish consumption advisory because of unsafe levels
of mercury and other pollutants.
The
Lake Michigan Federation, an environmental group based in Chicago,
is among those seeking to block construction of the plant.
Laurel
O'Sullivan, the federation's legal counsel, said building the
plant in Zion, about 3 miles west of the lake, would not eliminate
concerns about mercury.
"We
need to take a very close look at modeling studies to see what,
if any, impact moving the plant farther inland has on the lake
in terms of mercury emissions," she said.
State
Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) said he also would continue to
pursue legislation to prevent any mercury discharges into the
lake.
"I'm
going to make sure this never happens again," Link said.
As
expected, the Sanitary District's decision pleased Waukegan officials,
who filed a lawsuit in December 2001, to halt the plant's construction
along the lakefront, an area the city had targeted for redevelopment.
In
March, a Lake County Circuit Court judge upheld Waukegan's contention
that the Sanitary District needed its approval before it could
build the plant. The decision delayed the project even though
$10 million in equipment already had been purchased.
In
Zion, officials said they were delighted to have the project in
their back yard since it will free up 400 acres for an industrial
park--land that would have been used for the district's landfill
operation.
"The
huge benefit to us is that we're going to stop landfilling and
stop using up acreage that can be used for business and economic
development here," said Mayor Lane Harrison.
It
could take at least two years to build the plant due to a number
of constraints, including the fact the Sanitary District needs
a new permit. The agency had obtained the required permits from
the EPA, but the deadline to begin construction expired during
the long court battle with Waukegan.
The
move to Zion will add an estimated $18 million to the project
because of required infrastructure improvements, including construction
of sewer pipes and roads, Paxton said.
The
Sanitary District has treatment plants in Waukegan, Gurnee and
Highland Park.
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