Dive Brief:

• The Illinois senate recently approved a bill prohibiting disposal of manufactured-gas-plant wastes at most of the state’s landfills. The bill is awaiting Gov. Bruce Rauner’s approval to become law.
• Originally designed as a way to prohibit disposal of PCBs at the Clinton Landfill near Champaign, the problem became a moot point after landfill owners and Dewitt County officials resolved the issue.
• The legislation, HB 1326, prohibits dumping waste products once used to generate power for Illinois homes and businesses. Some of those wastes have been put in the Clinton Landfill. The landfill sits atop the Mahomet Aquifer, which is the source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of residents.

Dive Insight:

Scott Bennett, a sponsor of the bill, said the supplementary legislation would give more protections to sole-source water supplies in Illinois, as designated by the federal EPA.

"What I'd want to do is sit down with some of the environmentalists and the EPA and find out what are our concerns for the next 10 years — what's the next thing we have to worry about? — and try to be more proactive," Bennett said.