The Peoria County Board took an “initial vote” on the PDC landfill expansion request tonight, and unless some board members change their mind between now and May 3 when they take the final vote, it looks like the application will go down to defeat.

I wasn’t able to attend, but WEEK-TV was there and offered this report on this evening’s news.

The county board can only evaluate the site application based on nine criteria (listed here verbatim from the county’s website):

1. The facility meets the needs of the area it is intended to serve;
2. Public health, safety and welfare are protected in the facility design and location;
3. Care has been taken to minimize the incompatibility of the facility with the character of the surrounding area and property values;
4. The facility is outside the boundary of the 100-year flood plain;
5. The facility operating plans minimize the danger to the surrounding area from fire, spills or other operational accidents;
6. The traffic patterns to and from the facility minimize the impact on existing traffic flow;
7. An emergency response plan for the facility has been developed to include notification, containment and evacuation procedures in case of an accidental release.
8. Groundwater protection provisions have been met; and
9. The facility is consistent with the County’s solid waste management plan.

In their “initial vote” tonight — WEEK called it a “dress rehearsal” — the board approved only seven of the nine. The two they didn’t approve? Numbers 2 & 3 above — the same reasons I was against the application.

Expect to see some heavy lobbying by the Journal Star, Peoria Pundit, and of course PDC over the next few weeks as they try to persuade the board that having a hazardous waste dump next door really won’t affect property values or endanger our health. Maybe they can also try convincing us that pigs can fly.

I’ll be hoping the vote on May 3 is the same as the vote tonight. The board made the right decision.

UPDATE (4/7/06): WMBD-AM Radio and the Journal Star this morning report that the county board voted down three of the criteria — the two WEEK mentioned as well as number 1 above (in other words, they voted the expansion is not needed to accommodate area waste). The vote was 10-7.