Iroquois County officials send solid‑waste plan back after EPA flagged public‑comment issues

At a regular Iroquois County meeting, a county staff member told officials that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had submitted three comments on the county’s draft solid waste plan and that the plan had not been displayed for the required 90‑day public‑comment period. The staff member said they had emailed Alyssa Greer at the EPA to request an extension but had not yet received confirmation.

“Everyone should have received the email that I sent out Friday,” the staff member said, and added that the plan as presented would assume the county had already completed the 90‑day public display and a subsequent 60‑day adoption window. The staff member said that, because the plan had not been on display for public comment, it would be inappropriate to adopt it now and that staff had asked for an extension while they address the EPA comments.

A commissioner moved to send the solid waste management plan back to the UP for the updates recommended by the EPA; another member seconded the motion. The board approved the motion by voice vote, directing staff to incorporate the EPA’s requested changes and to follow up on the extension request before bringing the plan back for final adoption.

The action means the county will not adopt the solid waste plan at this meeting. The staff member said the EPA had not threatened penalties in the letter but had noted the procedural deficiencies; the county will wait for confirmation about the extension and then proceed with a public‑display period and any additional revisions.

Next steps: staff were instructed to work on the updates recommended by the EPA and to report back when the plan has been placed on public display and any extension from the EPA is confirmed.