Photo Captions:  Photos 1 and 2 show landfills which are in full operation, with garbage truck delivery of waste and bulldozers to move the dropped waste into manageable piles; Photo 3 depicts the rural farmland at issue in this case as it appears in its natural, undeveloped state. 

The County Board had found the landfill failed to meet two of the nine statutory criteria for siting under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act: first, that the facility was not “so designed, located and proposed to be operated that the public health, safety and welfare will be protected;” and second, that the facility was not “located so as to minimize incompatibility with the character of the surrounding area and to minimize the effect on the value of surrounding property.”  The landfill applicant appealed this decision, contending that the local siting hearings were fundamentally unfair and that the decision of the County Board was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

On appeal, MLG was retained to help defend the County’s decision to deny construction of the landfill.  MLG located, vetted, and recommended a well-respected professional engineer with over three decades of experience in the solid waste disposal industry to aid the County’s defense.  The County retained this environmental engineer who worked closely with MLG to develop a strong defense to the County’s decision.  MLG also provided creative, strategic solutions to various aspects of the appeal, including discovery disputes, business considerations, and developed a strategy to recoup legal fees from the landfill developer. 

MLG assisted the County in filing a parallel suit in State court alleging various causes of actions to recover legal fees and other expenses the County incurred during the appeal.  Shortly after this second suit was filed, the landfill applicant agreed to withdraw its appeal and its planned landfill development project.  This is only the second time in over 15 years that a landfill siting applicant has abandoned its appeal after initially petitioning for review of a local government’s decision to deny its landfill application. 

VALUE ADDED ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Advised client to seek reimbursement of legals fees through the filing of a suit against the landfill developer in a State court action

• Located, vetted, and recommended highly experienced engineering consultant

• Reviewed and analyzed complex landfill siting application and expert witness testimony

• Provided environmental consulting advice on strengths and weaknesses of landfill siting criteria on appeal