Pig farmer says hogs here to stay as long as well remains threat
Bob Wargaski says he'll continue operating a pig farm on his property as long as Island Lake's proposed community well and water tower remain a threat.
The village is actively searching for an alternate site on the heels of an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency decision that it must build its well at least 400 feet from Wargaski's hog containment facility to comply with state law.
The agency denied the village's application to convert its test well across the street from Wargaski's unincorporated property into a permanent one because it was not constructed to IEPA standards.
Wargaski says his three hogs should be ripe for slaughter in about three weeks, at which time he plans to get more pigs.
"Raising pigs is no big deal," the 61-year-old Wauconda Township man said. "When the well is no longer a threat, then I guess I'll stop."
Meanwhile, the Island Lake village board is expected to discuss its options for the well during the closed session portion of tonight's meeting.
Trustee Rich Garling said the IEPA's decision is not going to delay the village's $5 million well and water tower project significantly. He added, there are alternate sites to consider for the well.
"It's not the end of the world," he said. "You fix it and you move on."
Island Lake previously looked at two alternate sites in subdivisions outside the village, but never dug a test well in either location, Garling said.
Garling said the village only has to move the well, and it shouldn't affect the location of the proposed water treatment facility and water tower, which Wargaski also has been fighting for three years.
"The well itself has to be drilled (roughly) 150 feet away from where it is right now," Garling said. "That's not that far really. There is nothing that says we can't build the water treatment facility and water tower there."
Should Wargaski decide to cease his hog raising operation in four months, he still is allowed to maintain the building as an approved livestock management and waste handling facility for 10 years, an Illinois Department of Agriculture spokesman said.
Though Wargaski has no plans to quit his day job as an industrial painting contractor, he says he's not going to remain a pig farmer forever.
"Once I knew that my property was safe, then I'll quit doing it," he said.
Wargaski's nearest neighbor, Jon Schaap isn't bothered by the swine's presence.
"I'd rather have pigs than a water tower," he said. "I just think that it wasn't very neighborly (of Island Lake). It could have gone a whole different way."