Joliet, Ill.-Joliet won’t be able to increase the amount of radium in the biosolids being spread as fertilizer on nearby farmland under a new permit issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), but city officials indicate that it isn’t the final word. The city had wanted to increase the naturally occurring radioactive content in the fertilizer to 1.0 picocuries per gram, or more than double the 0.4 mandated by IEPA relying on policy established by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. “We’re going to maintain our current program and evaluate our next step,” Joliet Public Works Director James Eggen told Green Markets. “We still have some options left to appeal the permit and will decide over the next 30 days what approach we want to take … We’ll be looking at the possibility of pursuing additional farmers to participate and basically double the number of sites we apply to.” According to Eggen, radium affects other communities in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Wisconsin, which is traditionally observed as more conservative with environmental regulations, has a higher standard than Illinois. “They follow the federal guidelines, which Joliet has asked Illinois to adopt.”
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