The construction of the Peoria City/County Landfill #3 has been put on hold after local officials were told in April about an abandoned underground mine that neither they, nor the operator (GFL), nor the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) knew about.

The City/County Landfill Committee was exploring the possibility of additional funding for the Landfill #3 project with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), when an IDNR representative noted the existence of Black Jewel No. 2, which the state Geological Survey had recorded in 2012 and shared with IDNR.

“It’s dead center in the [proposed] facility,” said City/County Landfill Committee chair Steve Morris.

A year earlier, the previous operator, PDC, had exploratory boring done at the site and found no evidence of mines that would have an impact on the Landfill #3 plan.

Apparently, IDNR never mentioned Black Jewel No. 2 to the IEPA, which never asked, leaving the County and the City of Peoria in the middle.

“It seems like the agencies were working in their own silos,” added Morris, who’s also City Treasurer.

The immediate result was a shutdown because the City/County committee is required to notify IEPA if changes occur that modify information from the original permit application.

Meanwhile, “GFL had bids out to turn dirt,” Morris said. “That stopped.”

The delay is significant because Landfill #2 is projected to be full sometime in the summer of 2025, and the approval and construction processes could take years to complete.

“I don’t know exactly what happens next,” Morris said. “My guess is that there will have to be more studies and analysis. But we do have a transfer station we can use if it becomes necessary to transport waste off site.”

An April 28 letter from the committee told IEPA Senior Public Service Administrator Jacki Cooperider that engineering consultant “Foth, on behalf of Owner and Peoria City/County Landfill, Inc., as Operator would like to meet with IEPA to discuss next steps as soon as possible.”