FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2017, file photo, several slabs of demolition concrete waste that will be recycled and made into a "clean" fine fill material, background left, and "clean" course fill material, background right, sit at the Chicago Street Clean Construction Demolition Debris facility in Joliet, Ill. Will County officials and environmentalists are scheduled to argue before the Illinois Supreme Court that state regulators erred when they failed to require groundwater monitoring around rock quarries that are back-filled with so-called clean construction demolition debris. The construction industry argues the waste is checked for toxins and poses no threat to drinking-water supplies. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments that rock quarries backfilled with demolition debris need groundwater monitoring to protect drinking water.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Wednesday. State and Will County officials are protesting a decision by the Illinois Pollution Control Board that omitted groundwater checks in rules for disposing of so-called clean construction demolition debris.
The idea is to divert "clean" concrete, brick and asphalt from scarce and expensive sanitary landfill space. The Pollution Control Board determined the material is safe for reclaiming dug-out quarries.
The state attorney general argues for more stringent testing . The office says there are enough harmful chemicals and metals in the waste that can leach into groundwater.
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The case is People v. Illinois Pollution Control Board .
FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2017, file photo, Chicago Street Clean Construction Demolition Debris LLC manager Bud Boyer walks through construction asphalt waste that will be recycled into "clean" fill material at the company's facility in Joliet, Ill. Will County officials and environmentalists are scheduled to argue before the Illinois Supreme Court that state regulators erred when they failed to require groundwater monitoring around rock quarries that are back-filled with so-called clean construction demolition debris. The construction industry argues the waste is checked for toxins and poses no threat to drinking-water supplies. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
The Associated Press