Illinois EPA begins cleanup of Lake Barrington dump site

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:12AM

The Illinois EPA has begun cleanup of a dump site that has “plagued” the northwest suburbs for decades, the agency announced last week.

The cleanup of the John Tarkowski property in unincorporated Lake County is expected to take four to six weeks, weather permitting, a the IEPA said. The agency is working with the Village of Lake Barrington through an intergovernmental agreement to complete the final stage of cleanup of the 16-acre site, funded through a $430,000 state grant.

Tarkowski had illegally received and dumped illegal waste material on his property since the late 1960s, according to public records. Remaining wastes will be removed and disposed of in a permitted landfill. Any recyclable materials will be separated and recycled to help defray the overall cost of the cleanup, the agency said.