Thursday Testimony Ends at Landfill Siting Hearing

Thursday testimony has concluded in the hearing regarding a request for a landfill siting in Effingham County. The hearing will resume at 9am Friday.

Effingham Crossroads Landfill Ltd is the name of the new landfill, but it would be located next to Landfill 33 and would still be operated by Brian and Julia Hayes, the operators of Landfill 33.

There was testimony Thursday morning that Landfill 33 is to be at capacity in 2023. Objectors to siting the new landfill are indicating that accepting solid waste from a seven-county area has caused Landfill 33 to reach capacity sooner, resulting in the need for the new landfill.

Brian Hayes said after Thursday's testimony that there has been no change in who they are receiving from, and that information that four counties were involved in the solid waste siting process in the mid-90s was just that, work on the siting process. Hayes said that Landfill 33 accepting waste from Coles County and family waste haulers has always been their practice. He said the forecast has been that Landfill 33 would reach capacity in 2024, and that 2023 is just an estimate.

There was also testimony that the firm hired to work on the plan for the new landfill has also been asked to look at any possible expansion of Landfill 33 for a year or two, likely until the new landfill is finished.

There are objectors to the project who live near the current landfill, and would be even closer to the new site.

Nine siting criteria have to be met by the applicants for the plan to be accepted, and testimony will stretch into Friday to make sure each of those criteria are addressed.

The hearing is being hosted by the Effingham County Board, which is acting as a jury of sorts to weigh all of the testimony and evidence. The hearing officer, Larry Clark, will present recommendations to the County Board and then the Board will reach a decision on whether to recommend approval or denial of the siting. If the Board approves siting the landfill, the matter then goes to the State EPA for approval.

Rick Porter, attorney for Effingham Crossroads Landfill, said the facility would be a "state of the art" pollution control facility. The facility is being designed for a 30-year life.

Several individuals spoke on behalf of Effingham Crossroads Landfill. Lengthy testimony was presented by Philip Kowalski on the process of developing the proposed landfill. Others addressed the impact the landfill could have on traffic, how it might impact the surrounding properties, and how it might impact the values of those surrounding properties.

The hearing is taking place in the ballroom of the Holiday Inn. In case you can't attend in person, the hearing is being streamed on Zoom. Go to the official website of the Effingham County Board to gain access to the video streaming of the hearing.