ROCHELLE — The City of Rochelle is planning on building a second radium removal plant at the new Well 12, located at the intersection of Hayes and Steward roads on the south side of town.

Council gave the nod Monday evening, authorizing city manager Jeff Fiegenschuh to sign the proposed Compliance Commitment Agreement with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
This comes after receiving a notice that the well has exceeded the radium maximum contaminant levels (MCL) for 2018.

Earlier estimates put the project’s cost at over $3.1 million, which would include 3,800 feet of new sanitary sewer lines installed. At its May 29 meeting, City Council approved an engineering agreement with Willett Hoffman and Associates to complete the design of the plant at a cost of $400,000.
A project plan report was submitted to the IEPA in early May, which is a requirement to qualify for a 20 year, low-interest loan in order to finance this project.
Adam Lanning, Supt. of Water/Water Reclamation, explained the IEPA rejected the city’s original offer to continue sampling in hopes that the well would become compliant, avoiding the necessity of another radium removal plant.
“They (EPA) don’t leave much option,” Lanning said. “In my talks with numerous other cities, that’s the direction the EPA has gone. They’ve gone away from any sort of alternatives, they just want you to build a plant.”
Work on the first radium removal plant is nearly complete at Well 11 near the high school. Lanning indicated once that well is operational, officials plan to shut down Well 12. That will remove the city from the restricted status given by the EPA.