By Joe Ragusa
BLOOMINGTON – An ordinance will be voted on Monday night that, if approved, will ban the use of groundwater wells near the intersection of Linden and Emerson Streets in Bloomington.
Tanks underneath Freedom Oil at 1331 N. Linden St. would overflow and gasoline would seep into the soil, causing a minor amount of contamination. Bloomington Public Works Director Jim Karch said the State Fire Marshal first discovered the contamination back in 1988.
The ordinance banning people from tapping into the groundwater is being pushed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
“This is redundant. I think that’s the best word to describe it,” Karch said. “Our code already prohibits the use of wells in town, but they said basically that there position is ‘we don’t care, we want to make sure it’s addressed and make sure that it’s taken care of’ because our code could change for some reason.”
Karch said the actual drinking water in homes within the ordinance’s boundaries is totally safe and doesn’t come from a contaminated source.
“(The word “contamination”) brings up images of Flint, Mich.,” Karch said. “But thankfully, this is not one of those situations.”
The ordinance was originally up for consideration last month, but Alderwoman Amelia Buragas pulled it from the agenda because she wanted more time to research it.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].
