Earth-moving vehicles rumbled onto the site of the proposed balefill garbage dump near Bartlett on Tuesday, starting work that balefill agency officials pledge will be done ”safely and responsibly,” although dump foes predict the project will harm rare birds on the site.
”We`re totally confident in our procedure and techniques,” said William Balling, a board member of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, which wants to build the balefill. ”It will be done safely and responsibly.” The solid waste agency still lacks final federal approval to start full-scale construction of the balefill, so called because bales of compressed garbage would be deposited on the 570-acre site northwest of West Bartlett and Gifford Roads. The trash would come from the 26 north and northwest suburbs that are members of the solid waste agency.
To the surprise of balefill officials, the day was free of protests from Citizens Against the Balefill, a group that held an effigy-burning rally in December to protest the project.
The anti-balefill group`s strategy of not protesting the solid waste agency`s work was described by Citizens Against the Balefill president Mary Byrne as ”Give them enough rope, maybe they`ll hang themselves.”
Byrne said she does not want the environment to suffer, but hopes that the solid waste agency will get itself into trouble by falling afoul of Illinois Department of Conservation rules while working on the site.
However, Carl Becker, chief of the Division of Natural Heritage in the Department of Conservation, praised the solid waste agency for cooperating with the state on finding places to drill groundwater monitoring wells, the main work that is being done this week.
Although the state cannot legally regulate where the solid waste agency puts its wells, the agency checked with the state to ensure that clearing the well sites would not require too much tree-chopping, Becker said.
Excessive tree-cutting that could harm rare birds nesting on the site has long been a fear of balefill opponents. The solid waste agency chopped down one tree Tuesday, to make room for a well-drilling rig, said Bill Abolt, executive director of the agency.
The solid waste agency plans to install 15 wells within two months as part of its efforts to fulfill a state requirement that the solid waste agency monitor groundwater in the area for one year before opening the balefill, Abolt said.
In coming months, the solid waste agency will reapply for permission to build the balefill from the Army Corps of Engineers, Abolt said. The solid waste agency must also win a lawsuit against Bartlett and other towns to be able to proceed with the balefill.
