Sen. Brady addresses landfill problems like those
in Pekin      

[MARCH 2, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- Preventing pollution from improperly closed landfills and restoring environmental funding that was raided by the governor for the state budget is the aim of legislation sponsored by state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington.

Senate Bill 1480 requires the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the status of performance bonds or other security that landfill owners must have to operate a solid waste disposal site.

"A Pekin landfill is having pollution problems because it was not properly closed by the owner," Brady said. "The owner's security bond is bad because the financial company has been delisted from the U.S. Department of Treasury. And it appears the IEPA cannot address the problem because Gov. Rod Blagojevich has raided the state's Post-Closure Landfill Fund -- as well as several other environmental funds -- to try and balance the state budget."

The legislation states that if a bond or other security is determined to be insufficient to ensure the closure and post-closure care of a landfill, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency must notify that operator of the site and require the operator to obtain additional security.

Senate Bill 1480 also protects the solvency of the state's Landfill Closure and Post-Closure Fund.

Brady says that if a landfill owner does not have a sufficient bond to properly close the site, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is to use any unencumbered moneys in the Landfill Closure and Post-Closure Fund for bringing the landfill into compliance.

"There was no money to help pay for the proper closing of the Pekin landfill because that fund was raided by the governor to prop up the state budget," Brady said. "With this legislation, if the fund has no unencumbered moneys, the IEPA must ask the General Assembly for the amount needed to bring the landfill into compliance."

The 44th District senator sponsored similar legislation last year, which passed the Senate but did not make it out of the House of Representatives.

[Illinois Senate Republican Caucus news release]