Tainted soil dumped at Settler's Hill
By Patrick Waldron Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, March 12, 2004
Garbage haulers mistakenly dumped 12 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil at Settler's Hill landfill in Geneva last month, a move that has city leaders asking for a quick cleanup but county officials unsure what action, if any, to take.
The material, shipped to the landfill by Shell Oil Co. from a company pipeline facility in Kankakee County, contained high levels of benzene and should have ended up at a hazardous waste dump, said Tim Harbaugh, the county's environmental management director.
"Shell Oil mistakenly brought it to the wrong pile," Harbaugh said.
Officials with Waste Management, the firm that operates the county-owned landfill, said soon after the material was dumped Feb. 5, 6 and 7 Shell notified the landfill and accepted responsibility for the error.
Since then, Waste Management and county officials have been talking with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Officials are trying to determine if the material should be removed. If asked, Shell has offered to pick up the estimated $5 million to $6 million tab to do the work, officials said.
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