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 A motion was made by David Hepler to approve the request, and Pat
O’Neill was the second. After the initial motion, State’s Attorney
Jonathan Wright spoke on the issue at hand.
Wright said that this issue is primarily a legislative issue.
However, Wright said that two state acts have been brought to his
attention that may require additional action. Those two acts are the
Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act, and the Illinois Natural
Areas Preservation Act.
Wright said he has read the language in these acts, and found, “both
statutes have a provision that if a unit of local government is
taking action or authorizing action, in certain situations, they may
have to request a consultation process with the Department of
Natural Resources.” Wright said this process may be necessary if an
endangered species is threatened by such an action.
Wright also said that there is uncertainty as to whether or not the
county needs to request a consultation, because the acts themselves
are not clear. “Some of the key provisions for us in terms of
whether we have to comply or not are not defined,” said Wright.
“Ours does not clearly fall under exemption or not.” Wright said
that there are a number of issues that he needs to research.
Wright said that if this situation applies, the county will need to
pay a $500 fee, and after the consultation is finished, any
conclusions made by DNR is made publicly known, and the county can
then continue working towards a decision.
“I say this with much consternation, because everyone wants a
resolution on this and I fully respect that; the public does, the
petitioner does, the county board does, and I know we want to get it
right the first time,” said Wright, who recommended that the board
postpone taking a vote until the next regular full board meeting in
November. In the interim, Wright would research the issue and
provide his opinion.
“The workshop has already dealt with it. You would just be waiting
on my opinion on these provisions,” said Wright.
Multiple board members asked if the motion could be referred back to
committee. Wright said the board could do such a thing, but they
need to be careful to not take on a quasi-judicial role as per the
Zoning Board of Appeals. “The ZBA is a quasi-judicial process. It’s
almost like a court proceeding. Just like in a court proceeding, the
judge can’t talk to everybody about the evidence…that can’t be done.
The ZBA doesn’t do that. You [the county board] are the legislative
body, and you have a different role to play, much like with your
U.S. Representative,” said Wright.
Jan Schumacher said she is worried that the opposition did not have
enough time prior to the ZBA hearings to compile their evidence.
Wright responded, saying that in his opinion, the ZBA met the
established regulations in terms of given notice prior to the
hearings. “It is what it is, if I may borrow the given phrase,” said
Wright. “The ZBA has fulfilled its role.”
After Wright made his suggestion and gave his explanation, the
public was given time to make any last comments. Concerns were
reiterated from previous meetings, such as the close proximity to
the town water supply, the potential health risk that may or may not
come from fly ash, the economic impact on the village of Elkhart,
and the potential loss of jobs at the mine.
 Todd Hamm, the superintendent of the Mount Pulaski School District,
informed everyone as to the amount of property taxes that is paid to
the district by the Viper Mine. “Last year the mine paid $175,000 in
taxes to the district. If the project is approved and the land is
rezoned, the school district will receive an additional $100,000
each year,” said Hamm.
Hamm said that the last few years have been rough on the district
due to reduced government funding from both state and federal
levels. Losing this potential property tax would only make things
worse for the district. “Please keep the students in mind when you
vote,” said Hamm.
Sandra Miller, an employee of the Viper Mine, said that she started
her career working with fly ash directly and she is still healthy.
“You say waste, we say impoundment and by-product of coal
combustion,” said Miller. Miller also said that coal ash is used in
a number of everyday products, such as soap, toothpaste, and
construction materials.
“That’s coal mine property. Why else would we but that property?
Regulations are set because of the concerns they have,” said Miller.
“This is about [economic] growth.”
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Garret Barton, the engineering manager of the mine, said that
the proposed project is the only viable long-term option.
“We have been listening,” said Barton. Barton said that due to
concerns that have arisen over a nearby wildlife habitat, the
Viper Mine is willing to remove a forty acre parcel from their
rezoning application that is not connected to the proposed
impoundment. Barton also said the mine is planning to seek
approval from IDNR to surround the area with a tree line on the
northern, eastern, and western edges of the property, forming a
barrier to conceal the area from sight a little easier. “We
are listening and we will be responsible,” said Barton. Barton also
said that the suggestion that the town well will be twenty-five feet
from the impoundment is misleading. “The Elkhart well is over half a
mile from the embankment, and nearly seven-tenths of a mile from the
impoundment itself,” said Barton. “Those are the facts.”
Barton also said there is a plan to implement a community outreach
forum to better communicate with the public in the future. Barton
said such a program is used by Arch Coal in other locations in the
country.
Erwin Sass, the general manager of the mine, thanked everyone for
their engagement in this issue and listening to the mine’s proposal
for a new impoundment.
“We appreciate the many voices that have expressed their concerns,”
said Sass. “We’re all together in this.” Sass also said that he
feels the mine and the county need to keep lines of communication
open in the future to discuss these issues.
Jim Good, a member of the Sangamon County Board, said that he
wonders who would supply the coal to CWLP if the Viper Mine closed.
Good also said that as a board member, every time a zoning issue
comes forward in Sangamon County to rezone away from agriculture, he
sees a similar level of tension.
“If we didn’t rezone agricultural land, what would we do? Would we
be here? What businesses in Logan County or in Lincoln were
previously in agriculture?” asked Good. “Things change. Times have
changed.”
Good also said that Lake Springfield is located near an impoundment
for fly ash, and there are around forty employees in his district
that work at the mine. “I’m really worried about them,” said Good.
Gene Rohlfs said he did not feel ready to make a decision on this
issue, and he felt that more time is needed to “help the mine reach
out to the citizens.” Rohlfs said if a vote was taken immediately,
he would abstain.
“I think we owe it to them [the citizens] to give them time to be
brought up to speed,” said Rohlfs, who feels that the mine has had
years to plan this, whereas the citizens have only had a few weeks.
Rohlfs made a motion to amend by postponing the vote until February,
but a second could not be found for his amendment.
As the Planning and Zoning portion of the meeting ended, Hepler
moved to amend the original motion and Ruben was the second to
postpone the vote until the meeting on November regular board
meeting on Tuesday the 18th. The amendment was passed 10 - 1 with
Rohlfs voting no.
Board members present at the meeting were David Hepler, Chuck Ruben,
Gene Rohlfs, Robert Farmer, David Blankenship, Pat O’Neill, Andy
Anderson, Emily Davenport, Kevin Bateman, Jan Schumacher and Scott
Schaffenacher. Rick Aylesworth was absent.
[Derek Hurley]
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