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Sunday, October 08, 2006

Environment - Feddeler landfill threat; outdoor wood-burning furnaces

Two stories this weekend, neither very reassuring for varying reasons.

Feddeler Landfill. Sharlonda L. Waterhouse of the Gary Post-Tribune reported Saturday, via a story that begins:

LOWELL -- Contaminants at the improperly closed Feddeler landfill have reached one family's well water.

Town officials maintain that water and the environment of nearby residents are at low risk for contamination. But one home has been threatened. * * *

"Thankfully they had been suspicious prior and had been drinking bottled water," said Jeff Langbehn, executive director for the Lake County Solid Waste Management District, which recently ordered tests of the 40-acre property once owned by Robert Feddeler.

"I was relieved to hear that. This is a terrible thing. We've been able to step up and prevent any loss of life," Langbehn said.

Langbehn said he doesn't believe all nearby families should resort to bottled water.

"I don't think people should panic ... but I do think they should be concerned," he said.

The greatest danger, said Langbehn, town administrator Sue Peterson and West Creek Township Trustee Rick Niemeyer, is to anyone who trespasses onto the landfill, whether wayward children or hunters.

"The threat is very severe," Langbehn said.

Added Niemeyer: "It has toxic stuff. It's a problem that's not going away and could get worse. We must address it now."

New test results reveal the amount of hydrogen cyanide there is 20 times the safe exposure level, Langbehn said.

"It's the stuff they use in gas chambers. It'll kill you. It's lethal. No ifs, ands, or buts about it," he said.

Outdoor wood-burning furnaces. Lauri Harvey Keagle of the Munster (NW Indiana) Times wrote Friday:
PORTAGE | Residents will have a say in how to regulate outdoor wood-burning furnaces through a local committee working on a draft ordinance for local municipalities.

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's Environmental Management Policy Committee is looking for residents to devise a draft local ordinance governing the devices.

Outdoor furnaces are not wood-burning stoves. The units -- which are about the size of a backyard storage shed -- burn wood to heat water or air that is pumped back into the home. Each unit can heat a building anywhere from 1,800 square feet to 20,000 square feet in size.

The stack heights for the units are much lower than traditional roof line chimneys and can emit thick, black smoke at ground level.

Currently, there are no local, state or federal regulations on the furnaces.

While outdoor wood-burning furnaces are not prevalent in the region, members of NIRPC's Environmental Management Policy Committee expressed concerns earlier this year about being pro-active about them. The group agreed to form a subcommittee to draft a sample ordinance that could be adopted by local municipalities interested in regulating the units.

Reggie Korthals, director of environmental programs for NIRPC, said Emerson Delaney, a member of the Chesterton Board of Zoning Appeals, has been selected to serve as chairman of the committee.

"He has one of these units and is familiar with (the issue)," Korthals said.

Well, I was right with them until that last sentence ...

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 8, 2006 08:06 PM
Posted to Environment