Champaign council recommends case-by-case review for groundwater ordinance

By Illinois Public Media News - Champaign’s City Council has recommended that it consider repealing the city’s groundwater ordinance – but on a case by case basis. 

A capacity crowd attended Tuesday night’s 4-hour study session, urging the council to force the Illinois EPA and Ameren to conduct a full remediation of the former manufactured gas plant site at 5th and Hill streets, that includes neighboring properties.

Resident Lillian Driver operates a day care out of her home, where evidence of 6 different chemicals was revealed in a recent test.

“Imagine these are your children that I will be watching,” Driver said. “You wouldn’t allow them to be in this situation. You would take them out. Now that this has been exposed, more than likely, these children I’m attending to, these parents are going to remove these children.”

City staff and an EPA official still contend that levels of chemicals like benzene don’t pose a health risk. But two environmental experts hired by Champaign County Health Care Consumers say samples taken this week from a Boneyard Creek pipeline prove Ameren hasn’t done nearly enough to remediate the gas plant site. 

Council member Will Kyles said Ameren appears to have done a good job with its cleanup efforts, but he said tests for chemicals like benzene continually prove otherwise. 

“All I know is that as we continue to look into these issues, and continue to dive in and do more tests, we do find more stuff,” he said. “Every time we go into meetings, we have homework assignments.  And so that creates doubt. And that shows doubt there’s doubt in our minds that this clean up is effective.”

The City Council is also recommending that staff prepare a statement for the Illinois Pollution Control Board on vapor intrusion standards. Mayor Jerry Schweighart said it will likely require another study session before the groundwater ordinance repeal receives a formal vote. 

But the Council’s recommendation was not enough to stop a potential lawsuit against the city regarding the discharge of contaminants in Boneyard Creek. Claudia Lennhoff with Champaign County Health Care Consumers has given the city 60 days to treat pollutants flowing from a drainpipe into the creek, or the citizen lawsuit will proceed.

Lennhoff said the city is violating the Clean Water Act by allowing contaminated groundwater from the Ameren gas plant site to seep into that pipe. And said says it may contain coal tar, like another section of pipe she found in Boneyard Creek. 

“And any time that water washes over that, it’s spreading some of the contamination from the coal tar,” Lennhoff said. “It’s very important for the city tor respond to this issue, but the city can thank Ameren for this pipe, or the predecessor company, but it is on city property and so the responsiblity is up to the city to get it cleaned up.” 

But Lennhoff commends the city council’s recommendation to consider groundwater ordinance repeals on a case by case basis, saying it will provide more transparency for residents. She said if the ordinance still exists citywide, it will allow the owners of gas stations, dry cleaners, and other businesses to try and avoid cleaning up groundwater contamination.