Buffalo Grove trustee raises concerns about composting
A former landfill site annexed into Buffalo Grove has a village board member concerned about odors from the property and other possible environmental hazards.
Trustee Lisa Stone became involved in the issue late last year when Rick Rubenstein, who runs neighboring RMS Business Systems, complained about odors he suspects came from the River's Edge Landscape Waste Facility, 1300 Milwaukee Ave. The landscape waste transfer station, the former Land and Lakes landfill, was annexed into Buffalo Grove in 2008 for commercial development. But the economy plummeted, and the site remains a transfer station.
Stone said she is requesting to play a DVD at tonight's village board meeting that shows Land and Lakes officials went back on their word by assuring the village there would be no composting on the site. It has been suggested that composting has been the source of the odors.
Land and Lakes President Jim Cowhey did not return phone calls to the Daily Herald. Lake County officials say that while the business has been cited with some violations, there's nothing at the site that threatens public safety or the environment.
Rubenstein said he detected the odors shortly after moving his business to the area in August. He found he wasn't alone. He inquired at the nearby Wildfire restaurant, and found there had been complaints 10 years ago.
Rubenstein shared his concerns with Stone, who launched some inquiries of her own, gathering information at Affinity Healthcare and other businesses about "noxious odors," which cause "burning nostrils and feelings of vomit," Stone said. "The noxious odors have been impacting the community for years."
But Village Manager William Brimm said the complaints he heard from Rubenstein were the first the village has heard since annexing the property.
Brimm said he contacted the operator, Land and Lakes, advising the firm about the complaints. Rubenstein said Cowhey, who is also the mayor of Lake Forest, said he was unaware of a problem.
This did not satisfy Rubenstein or Stone, and Lake County, the IEPA and the U.S. EPA have all been involved.
According to Brimm, Lake County mandated Land and Lakes to compost after a breakdown in equipment used to grind landscape material into mulch, resulting in an accumulation of the material. The county cited Land and Lakes and ordered the material to be composted. Land and Lakes has a permit to compost from the IEPA.
Mike Kuhn, of the Lake County Department of Environmental Health, said Land and Lakes was also cited for other housekeeping issues, including the improper arranging of the composting material.
He said Land and Lakes has been working to resolve the issues. In addition, he said the material has been sprayed with a hydro mulch to contain odors.
As for other possible environmental hazards, Kuhn said the IEPA could not detect landfill gases. He added that the U.S. EPA is looking into the site.
"The current operations don't pose a risk to the environment or public health. We do inspect the site, so we'll be there monitoring, observing what is going on," Kuhn said.
Rubenstein is worried about future composting. He said he doesn't smell anything now. "But I'm sure when April and May comes" that situation may change, he said. "What are you going to do to assure that come springtime, it's not back?"
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