Company proposes transfer station for Chicago-area waste at Port of Henry

More than 3,000 tons of trash could eventually be passing through a growing Illinois River port in the city of Henry under a plan proposed by the company that is developing the port through a gravel mine operation, reports the Peoria Journal Star.

Ozinga Materials Inc., Mokena, Illinois, is seeking to develop and operate a unique waste transfer station at which barge loads of baled and plastic-wrapped solid waste coming from the Chicago area would be transloaded directly onto flatbed trailers and then hauled by truck to an area landfill.

At full capacity, the facility has the potential to generate about 56 new jobs for truck drivers and dockworkers, according to planning estimates. The city also would receive a 3.3 percent share of the terminal fees for material passing through the Port of Henry.

The waste would come from Chicago-area transfer stations where it would be compressed and wrapped in polyethylene in cubes approximately four feet on each side and weighing about 1.7 tons apiece.

“So there is no loose waste at any time. It is simply a matter of taking baled, wrapped waste off of barges and loading it onto flatbed trailers,” Ozinga attorney George Mueller said at a recent local public hearing conducted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA).

The wrapping makes the bales effectively air- and water-tight, and it can be easily repaired with heavy tape if damaged, said project engineer John Hock of Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. in Naperville. They would contain no hazardous materials, liquids, PCBs, oils, batteries, tires, or other special waste, he emphasized.

As reported by Gary Smith at the Journal Star, the hearing was one step in a process that begins at the local level with a request for City Council approval of local siting. The Ozinga property, which totals about 85 acres, is industrial-zoned and was annexed into the city several years ago under the agreement that permitted mining.

Under a timeline set by state law, the council will not be deciding on approval until after Sept. 3, according to Mayor Jeff Bergfeld. If it’s granted, Ozinga would next have to seek approval from the Illinois Pollution Control Board, followed by separate applications for IEPA permits to develop and operate the facility.

“This is only the first step in a multi-layered process,” Mueller explained. “Only after all those approvals and permit steps have been successfully completed will the first bale of wrapped waste make its way to the Port of Henry.”

The statute requires the council to function essentially like a trial jury and refrain from public discussion of the proposal until 30 days after the Aug. 4 hearing, Bergfeld noted in a later email to the Journal Star. But he ventured a general observation when asked what the city might gain from such a plan.

“I am highly in favor of any activity and interest that might jump-start the Port of Henry’s development by putting it on the map and generating well-paying jobs for our local residents and economy,” he said.