The possibility of toxic substances being stored above the Mahomet Aquifer still looms as officials take steps to ensure the aquifer’s protection. 

State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, and State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, filed a bill Thursday that opposes polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB, storage in the landfill above the aquifer.

If the bill passes in the state House, which Mitchell said could happen by the summer, the county boards located in the areas the aquifer serves will have to approve the bill. 

DeWitt County is the only one of the 14 counties affected by the aquifer that approves PCB storage. Mitchell said members of Champaign, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal and Pike county boards opposed PCB storage over the aquifer at a hearing in fall 2012.

“The bill is pretty simple,” Mitchell said. “It says any areas that would be affected and get their water from the aquifer would have to approve of the contaminants being stored at Clinton.”   

Clinton Landfill Inc. owns the land above the aquifer, a major underground water source for the east-central Illinois region. After receiving a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, the company had permission to store PCBs.  

“This is our sole source of drinking water, so without it, there’s nothing here,” Champaign Mayor Don Gerard said. “We need to protect it, and it’s disturbing to think that they (Clinton) got a permit in the state of Illinois.” 

EPA data suggests that toxic PCBs cause cancer. However, the EPA has allowed the Clinton Landfill to store PCBs, which are transported from companies in Chicago and other surrounding regions to the landfill. 

Angela Adams, recycling coordinator for Champaign, said there were other options for non-aquifer-based landfills to dispose of PCBs, but they were farther away, so companies opted with the less expensive option. 

She said Clinton Landfill representatives first presented the PCB storage in a landfill in Peoria in 2002. 

In the permit application submitted in 2007, Clinton Landfill Inc. said Mahomet Aquifer groundwater was protected from PCBs because it is 170 feet below where the chemicals would be traveling, with a hypothetical 20-25 liners and the element of time to shield possible contamination as well. 

Gerard is endorsing a potential lawsuit against Clinton landfill to have their permit removed. In December, the attorney general of Illinois joined in supporting the lawsuit. 

“They’re (Clinton Landfill) trying to sell it like downstate doesn’t want us to be environmentally conscious,” Gerard said. “But it’s that downstate doesn’t want individuals to profit and pass their mess off on us.” 

Gerard said it was a retelling of the story when Chicago would send its garbage down the Mississippi River and it ended up in St. Louis. 

“We’d love for them to clean up their rivers and lakes,” Gerard said. “But with the private interest involved, you’re going to have to sacrifice some of your profit, spend a bit more money and do it right.”

Claire can be reached at [email protected].