Waste transfer station in Round Lake Park to open early

Lake County's first garbage transfer station, a controversial idea proposed more than two years ago, is expected to open about five months earlier than originally planned.

Except for final details, such as landscaping, the facility at Route 120 and Porter Drive in Round Lake Park is complete and, pending actions, will accept garbage early in 2016.

"I think everybody is going to be pleasantly surprised. It's not an eyesore and it's a clean, efficient operation," said Larry Groot, head of Groot Industries Inc. Since 2010, the waste disposal company has operated a hauling yard for its Lake County operations in the Porter Drive industrial area, and it installed a natural gas fueling station there.

Groot said a final inspection before the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issues an operating permit is expected in the coming weeks, with a target opening of Jan. 1.

The company about two years ago applied to the village to build and operate the facility. The siting process took six months and generated local opposition and a legal challenge.

At a transfer station, garbage trucks dump their loads on a cement floor. Trash is transferred to larger trucks to be taken to a landfill.

Groot has been dumping at the Countryside Landfill in Grayslake but will be going elsewhere.

Lake County and the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County have to agree to change the wording in their respective host agreements for the facility.

The current agreements say it can't open before June 1, 2016, unless the parties agree to an earlier date.

That change does not require a vote of the respective boards, but an assurance from Groot was needed to advance the earlier opening because it will pay significantly less to each under the host agreement for the transfer station.

Under the current arrangement, the county is reimbursed by Groot $2.50 per ton of trash dumped at Countryside. Under state law, the solid waste agency gets $1.27 per ton, with a portion of that going to the Lake County Health Department, according to Walter Willis, head of the waste agency.

That compares with 45 cents per ton to each once the transfer station opens, and neither wanted to be shorted those funds in the interim.

"We were trying to delay that as long as possible," Willis said.

But Groot has agreed to make up the difference with the county and the solid waste agency until June 1, Willis said.

"It's consistent with the agreement," added County Administrator Barry Burton. "It will give our communities options and help manage their hauling costs."

Groot said the facility would receive 300 to 400 tons of garbage per day initially.

Round Lake Park has limited resources and approved the transfer station location as a potential revenue generator.

"Because this is the very first transfer station in Lake County, I don't think any of us know exactly how much money the village will be getting," Mayor Linda Lucassen said. "We're hoping it will make a difference to our residents."

Groot also has state permission to build a construction and demolition debris recycling facility on 14 acres in the Porter Drive area, but that's not expected to proceed until next summer.

Citing odors and other concerns, Timber Creek Homes, a 247-unit mobile home park immediately west of the site, appealed the village's decision to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. That agency's determination that the proceedings were "fundamentally fair" was upheld by the 2nd District Appellate Court.