Land Use Committee

Environmental Defenders of McHenry County

Citizens working for a healthy environment

Gravel Pits and Baseball in Woodstock

The proposal to build a multipurpose baseball stadium in Woodstock on land along Route 14 near Centegra Hospital was passed December 16th by the Woodstock city council. The project would be funded through private donations and investors, and it could also serve as a venue for the McHenry County Fair and other events. Sounds good, but the downside is that this plan includes gravel mining at a site which has a high quality wetland. Three Defenders' board members attended and spoke at the meeting.

Defenders' also attended a meeting on December 18th to go over the findings in the Soil and Water NRI report - the report that should have been submitted to the Planning Commission as part of the application. There are a number of significant environmental concerns with this piece of land, including high habitat quality wetlands, sensitive aquifer recharge, and threatened species habitat. This is not a public meeting, and nothing coming out of the meeting would be binding - assuming there are any recommendations made/agreed to.

Read the NW Herald 12-17-08 article...

*note regarding article - The Defenders have never "expressed interest in locating their facility on the site".

NW Herald 12-18-08 article...

2008 Lawsuit against Harvard

In the Daily Herald, July 14, 2008

Digging out in Harvard: Score one for the environmentalists.

A state appeals court ruled last week that Harvard officials improperly approved plans for a gravel mine on 792 acres near the city's northwest border because they did not first consult with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The unanimous ruling, which upheld a 2007 decision by a McHenry County judge, is a victory for the McHenry County Defenders, a local conservation group hoping to put a halt to mining operations until more study of its environmental impact can be done.

The Defenders sued Harvard trying to block the city's deal to allow mining by Meyer Material Co. the suit claimed, among other things, that the city did not adhere to a state requirement that it consult with the DNR before allowing mining operations.

In particular, the group cited concerns about the mining's impact on the Blanding's turtle and slippershell mussel, two threatened species found on the site. Questions also surfaced over how the work would affect the nearby Becks Woods and Piscasaw Creek nature areas.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=220500&src=4

Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, 124 Cass Street, Suite 3, Woodstock, Illinois 60098

815-338-0393 mcdef@owc.net