Who is monitoring air in McHenry County?

More than three decades ago, McHenry County faced a mining oversight crisis. In November 1990, the Chicago Tribune reported that McHenry County State’s Attorney Thomas Baker was preparing a class-action lawsuit identifying as many as 30 sand and gravel pits where excavation was occurring without required permits. Following an investigation, Baker stated that as many as 30 gravel pits were operating in violation of county regulations and that at least 20 had never obtained Illinois EPA approval to excavate. Environmental advocates criticized the county for lax enforcement.

Today, residents should ask whether history is repeating itself.

McHenry County remains home to numerous aggregate mining operations spread across thousands of acres. Yet despite decades of extraction activity, there is still no comprehensive countywide monitoring program for respirable crystalline silica, PM2.5, or PM10 particulate pollution associated with mining, crushing, screening and truck traffic.

This lack of monitoring raises serious concerns under the public-health objectives of the federal Clean Air Act. Regulators cannot accurately assess risks, evaluate cumulative impacts, or verify compliance if they are not collecting the necessary air-quality data.

The issue is especially important because silica dust and fine particulate matter are well-documented respiratory hazards. Without baseline monitoring, ongoing testing and public reporting, residents have no way of knowing whether air quality is being protected or whether pollution levels are increasing near homes, schools, parks and rural communities.

Government oversight should be based on data, not assumptions. Before considering additional aggregate operations, McHenry County should require independent air monitoring, site-specific particulate assessments and public disclosure of all results.

The lesson from 1990 is clear: waiting until problems become impossible to ignore is not responsible governance. Given ongoing questions surrounding groundwater protection, traffic impacts and land-use compatibility, McHenry County should not ignore another critical public-health issue — the air we breathe.

Gerri Songer

Spring Grove