On Saturday, March 12, 2005 the following letter appeared in the Daily Chronicle.

Editor:

I can see the sign now: “Cortland – The Garbage Capital of the Suburbs!”

Picture lines of 18-wheelers as all roads lead to Cortland. More trucks will be crowding onto already busy local highways. It will mean a destruction of farmland as more acres are gobbled up for major landfill expansion. It will mean the ever-existing danger of groundwater pollution and the many other possible dangers to our environment. It will present a real challenge to the quality of life in DeKalb County!

You see, Waste Management, owner of the DeKalb County landfill, is salivating at the opportunity to annex to Cortland. Then the two could apply to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for a major landfill expansion permit and become designated as a regional landfill facility with the ability to bring in garbage from anywhere. Today, the landfill is restricted to no more than 10 percent of total volume from out of county, with about 14 years of capacity remaining at the present site.

There is major money in the garbage business, and Cortland will be offered sweet incentives. The county also can be offered a piece of the action. The temptation will be great.

During the past months, we have observed questionable leadership on the part of the town of Cortland, as uncontrolled growth is about to be unleashed. Cortland does not have the financial resources needed to provide the infrastructure and the services for thousands of homes that are on the drawing board. The town will be headed toward serious financial difficulty.

It just so happens that a Cortland town election is scheduled for April 5. A mayor and three trustees will be elected. They will have a majority vote to make a decision on these huge issues. I ask the residents of Cortland and DeKalb County to give serious consideration to these issues. Make your opinions known to these candidates in the upcoming days.

Is this what we want for DeKalb County? Since when is it our responsibility to provide a home for Chicagoland’s garbage? Do we want a huge permanent landmark, dwarfing what we have already built along Highway 88, as the gateway to DeKalb County? Let the debate begin. The stakes are high. Shall Cortland become the “Garbage Capital of Chicago and the Suburbs”?

ROGER STEIMEL
Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Committee DeKalb County Board

“Have you talked with your county board member?” asked the newspaper reporter.

This was mid way through a series of related questions. She wanted to know why I started a Facebook group called “Stop the DeKalb County Mega-Dump.”

The Mega-Dump in Cortland hasn’t been approved but the proceeds the county government will receive has been pledged as revenue to support debt bonds as part of a finance plan for two major capital improvement projects.

This project is billed as landfill expansion needed because the current landfill is expected to reach capacity in seven years. The details are the DeKalb County landfill will grow from accepting 340 local tons to more than 2,000 anywhere tons daily.

There’s probably not 2,000 people in DeKalb County who know how much garbage will be trucked in from the Chicago metropolitan area. There might not be that many in Cortland who know those details.

It’s obvious that those who consider the risk worth the reward want it committed to before the November 2010 elections. Do we know who is at risk? What those risks are? Who is liable for what risks?

The decision of the magnitude of becoming the metro Chicago landfill demands far more publicity than it has received. It should not be billed as a landfill expansion needed to fulfill DeKalb County’s waste needs. It should not be used to influence decisions regarding debt bonds for capital improvements.

By sheer coincidence or design commitments for approval are needed to move ahead with finance plans for capital improvement projects unrelated to the landfill issue. For example if the landfill expansion is not approved then the new county jail would be subject to a referendum passing.

Landfill for some. Mega-Dump for me. Approval of the landfill must remain independent of wish-list financing of unrelated items.

Have you talked to your county board member?

I urge you to do so. That’s why I started the Facebook group.

MORE…

Who is my county board member? District Map :::  County Members

Public Hearing on a proposed expansion of the DeKalb County landfill has been scheduled for March 1 at Kishwaukee College. The 285-seat Jenkins Auditorium was selected for the hearing in case a large number of people attend the hearing. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., with a provision that testimony can be continued to another day or evening session if needed.  Waste Management wants to expand the landfill to take in 500,000 tons of trash a year, or about 2,000 tons per day. The trash would be brought in from surrounding counties, which would pay a tipping fee to dump there. After the public hearing process is over, the Pollution Control Facility Committee will make a recommendation to the county board regarding the landfill expansion.

Pollution Control Facility Committee
Chairperson: Ruth Anne Tobias
Members: Marlene Allen, Kenneth Andersen, Michael Haines, Riley Oncken, Paul Stoddard, and Pat Vary.
Staff: Ray Bockman, Chris Burger, Renne Cipriano, Bob Drake, John Farrell, Paul Miller, Mary Supple and Ron Swager

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Public Meeting: Stop the DeKalb County Mega-Dump
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: UUFD corner of North 4th Street and East Locust
Description: For anyone who would like to become involved with an effort to stop the Mega Landfill please plan to attend an organizing meeting this Thursday evening Feb 18th at 7pm. It will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of De Kalb on the corner of North 4th street and East Locust. The only way we can hope to turn this around from its fast track through the county board is with a concentrated and concerted effort.