Is a 2nd waste transfer station even needed? That question dominates West Chicago hearing
After two years of tense debate, the fate of a proposed second waste transfer station in West Chicago is closer to being decided with the start of hearings to determine the merits of a new facility.
The first of up to five hearings took place Tuesday at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, where experts and attorneys discussed a plan from Lakeshore Recycling Systems to build the station on its 28-acre parcel at 1655 Powis Road.
The only other waste transfer station in DuPage County also is located in West Chicago, just north of the LRS property on Powis Road.
The idea of adding a second facility in West Chicago has outraged many residents. Citing a threat to their home values and quality of life, they say a second waste transfer station should be built elsewhere in the county or not at all because of a lack of need.
At Tuesday's hearing, attorney Phillip Luetkehans, representing the opposition group Protect West Chicago, filed a motion saying the city has no jurisdiction on the issue because LRS officials failed to properly notify the necessary entities before submitting their application.
Luetkehans also questioned the information in the application. He stressed there is no need for a second waste transfer station in the service area based on available capacity at other nearby waste transfer stations and other facilities owned by LRS.
The question of need, one of the nine criteria LRS is required to meet to build the facility, dominated the first night of the hearings.
"This was a game of hide and seek," Luetkehans said of the LRS application. "Does West Chicago need two transfer stations within a quarter of a mile, when there is none other in the entire county of DuPage?"
Representatives from LRS insist a second DuPage County transfer station is necessary to maintain healthy financial competition with other major waste companies. Another transfer station, they say, would reduce garbage bills for residents and bring hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in fees from LRS to West Chicago coffers.
"If Lakeshore is unable to get approval for this facility, their ability to compete on a long-term basis in this service area is significantly diminished and may disappear," said John Hock, a vice president with Civil and Environmental Consultants who is the principal engineer for the project.
Hearings continue tonight and Thursday as LRS representatives attempt to prove the proposal meets the nine criteria.
The hearings might be extended to Jan. 10 and 12 depending on the number of public comments that will be made once the testimony is completed.
After the hearings conclude, the West Chicago City Council has until the middle of March to approve or deny the proposal.
The existing LRS facility at 1655 Powis Road recycles construction and demolition debris. LRS garbage trucks are stored there at night.
Under the LRS proposal, no garbage would remain in the facility overnight. A maximum of 650 daily tons of municipal solid waste and 300 tons of hydro-excavation waste would be processed and transferred from a new building.