End in sight for landfill lawsuits over pollution

Two class-action lawsuits originating from leaks of a potentially explosive gas and fears of chemical contamination from the Mallard Lake landfill are on the brink of being settled to the tune of $8 million.

A preliminary $5.5 million agreement has been reached in a 2006 lawsuit alleging that vinyl chloride migrated into a Wayne Township neighborhood south of the closed dump. It could get final approval May 28 in federal court.

A second tentative settlement for $2.5 million in a 2007 case focusing on methane gas escaping underground west of the landfill is also up in court the same day.

"These lawsuits also highlighted significant work that needs to be done at the landfill," said Shawn Collins, the attorney in both cases.

The landfill is owned by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District and currently managed by BFI Waste Systems. It has a history of illegal dumping and inadequate safeguards, under a previous operator.

Recently, methane gas seeping underground from the site near Hanover Park led the federal government to intervene in investigating and cleaning up the problem.

In the settlements, BFI and the forest preserve deny any wrongdoing or liability.

"BFI joined in making these tentative settlements in order to avoid protracted and costly litigation," the waste hauler said in a statement. The forest preserve deferred comment to BFI.

The landfill, which closed in 1999, is now part of the Mallard Lake Forest Preserve near Schick and County Farm roads in northwest DuPage.

If the lawsuits had gone to trial, a host of DuPage leaders were on tap as witnesses, including Forest Preserve President Dewey Pierotti and DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom.

The 2006 discovery of vinyl chloride in people's wells in an unincorporated Wayne Township neighborhood southwest of Mallard Lake led to public health fears and a massive effort to hook those homes up to Lake Michigan water.

"Every time I turn on the faucet, I cringe," homeowner Tyanna Cannata told the Daily Herald in April 2006.

The source of the chemical has not been determined, although the lawsuit blames toxins migrating into the aquifer from Mallard Lake.

BFI said the settlement will reimburse residents for water hookups, noting it strongly disagreed that any contaminants in the wells were linked to Mallard Lake but wanted to end the lengthy court case.

In the fall of 2007, high levels of methane, an explosive gas produced by decaying garbage, were detected underground near the landfill.

The EPA tested more than 240 homes and is supervising a BFI-funded cleanup that involves essentially vacuuming up methane and sending it back to the landfill.

Several methane-extraction units were installed this winter in neighborhoods west of the landfill and are expected to continue operating until later in the year.

"Things are going well," EPA On-Scene Coordinator Steve Faryan said. "Some wells that showed high levels of methane are going down."

Collins said the deals indicated that legal action had spurred important improvements at the landfill.

"These settlements in combination with the EPA have gone a long way to addressing serious problems at Mallard Lake," he said.

BFI stated it was "pleased to have tentatively reached this fair resolution, as it would resolve all claims and allow the company to focus its efforts and resources on remediation at and around the landfill."