ILLINOIS LANDFILL PLAN PROMPTS OUTRAGE

DE SOTO, Ill. -- Plans by a New Jersey waste management firm to expand a landfill have sparked outrage from area residents who say disgusting odors already abound in their neighborhood.

One resident complained about putrid liquid spilling from some trucks bringing their loads to the Southern Illinois Regional Landfill at De Soto, a community of 1,500 people a few miles north of Carbondale.

"It's horrible," he said Tuesday. "You can't stand it."

Gary Steele, an Environmental Protection Agency representative from Marion, said such spillage would fall under the state's litter laws, enforceable by state and county police.

"It's the same as if you were throwing stuff out of the window of your car," he told the 100 residents at a hearing to gather information on a new permit application.

The landfill is owned and operated by Continental Waste Industries of New Jersey. It is operating under the permit used by the former owner, Everett Allen.