Waste transfer station decision pending in Round Lake Park
After nearly six months in the process and dozens of hours of testimony during a multisession public hearing, the decision on whether a garbage transfer station meets state criteria falls to the Round Lake Park village board.
Village officials have scheduled special meetings Tuesday and Thursday to make a determination on what would be the first such facility in Lake County to accept residential waste. Both sessions are at 6 p.m. at the village hall, 203 E. Lake Shore Drive.
“They've been reading and reading and reading,” Mayor Linda Lucassen said of village board members, who will decide whether Groot Industries Inc. has proved it has met the nine criteria for the proposed facility at the northeast corner of Route 120 and Porter Drive.
Those generally include requirements regarding the need for the facility and its impact on traffic, public health and safety and property values, for example.
“It's not a matter of whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, it's if Groot met the criteria or not,” village attorney Peter Karlovics said. “It's all or nothing. They have to meet all nine.”
Groot is proposing a facility that could operate 24 hours and accept 750 tons of trash each day.
Round Lake Park has local siting approval, with the village board weighing expert testimony and other information, including public input. The quasi-judicial proceeding is governed by provisions of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
Hearing officer Phillip A. Luetkehans and Glenn Sechen, an attorney hired by the village, found Groot had met all the criteria, but the board has final say.
However, those officials independently recommended several conditions for approval, as did the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County. They include: an initial ban on overnight operating hours; a limit on how much trash can be accepted; noise and odor controls; a ban on left turns on Route 120 during certain hours; and rules for waste storage.
Village board members spent all or part of an estimated 40 hours at the public hearing, which spanned seven sessions.
“We felt it was important to hear it all, see the witnesses (and) to be there, not just rely on the testimony,” Lucassen said. “It's almost like a jury, as it was explained to me.”
The board can approve the application, approve it with conditions or deny it. Whatever decision is made likely won't be the last word, as Groot or opponents are expected to appeal to the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
The major objectors have been Timber Creek Homes — a mobile home park immediately west of the site that has operated for 40 years and has more than 700 residents — and the village of Round Lake.
Opponents contend Groot has not met the criteria in several areas, including whether it is necessary to accommodate waste needs in the area and whether it is designed, located and proposed to be operated in a way that would protect the public health and safety.
Neighboring Grayslake and Hainesville did not object but called for more widespread study of traffic impact and coordination with the Lake County Division of Transportation.
Information regarding Groot's proposal, including hearing transcripts, exhibits and findings of fact are available at the village website, www.roundlakepark.us, and also at the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County website, www.swalco.org.