Ill. EPA asks state to act against salt discharge in Bartlett

Amid complaints from nature enthusiasts, the Illinois attorney general's office has been asked to take action against a Bartlett gravel company because its stockpile of salt near Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve could harm plant life.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency released a statement saying Bluff City Materials Inc. stored as much as 50,000 tons of salt at one time at 1950 Vulcan Blvd. in Bartlett and asking the attorney general's office to take steps to make sure the salt is stored in an environmentally safe way.

The Friends of Bluff Spring Fen are concerned that the salt will contaminate the water and harm plant life.

"The high salinity can be a pretty dangerous problem," said Mel Manner, a co-steward of Bluff Spring, a 100-acre state nature preserve near Elgin.

An employee at Bluff City said Wednesday the firm was referring inquiries to its attorney and offered no immediate response. The company is headquartered at 2252 Southwind Blvd.

Illinois EPA inspections show that Bluff City Materials began receiving salt via rail car in August 2010. While the company began transferring salt out of the Bartlett site in September, it continues to receive shipments of salt.

A Metra commuter and nature enthusiast noticed the salt pile sometime before November and told Friends of the Bluff Spring Fen, said Manner. She said the preserve is in the middle of the area between the gravel company and Poplar Creek.

"That means the water has to come through us," Manner said.

Manner's group alerted the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, which contacted the EPA. The EPA has met with Bluff City Materials, Manner said, but she's not sure what exactly was discussed.

Since then the EPA has conducted several inspections. On Dec. 21, the salt storage pile was only partially covered and on Dec. 23, the entire east side of the salt pile was uncovered. In addition, salt was being loaded from the northern portion of the pile, which is closest to Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve, an EPA news release said.

Illinois EPA hydrogeology experts found previous sand and gravel mining in the area, as well as significant amounts of sand, allow the groundwater, with any pollutants, to move more quickly.

While the salt is now being stored properly, the residual from the previously improperly stored salt still poses a threat to groundwater, the agency said.

Because the land discharges into Spring Bluff Fen, it's rated a Class III Groundwater Recharge Area.

The Illinois EPA is asking the attorney general to require Bluff City to collect rock mixed with salt to prevent precipitation from carrying contaminants off-site; to collect samples from monitoring wells by the salt storage area to determine the impact to groundwater, if any; and to use a membrane under the salt pile to keep water that comes in contact with the salt pile from the groundwater.

While some plants can withstand some salt, Manner said, "rare and uncommon plants" at the preserve could be harmed. "This isn't just lawn grass out there," she said.