| January 2025 |
Concerns for Scenic Illinois River Section and Wildlife
By Joyce Blumenshine
A standing-room only crowd was present for an agenda item on the December 18th, 2024, Seneca Village Board meeting. Representatives from Illinois & Michigan Oil Company, LLC, gave updates on their proposed development of a large barge fleeting facility along 1.6 miles at the south side of the river. The area is in the Seneca Village limits. At full capacity this barge ‘parking’ operation would fill 21 acres of the Illinois River, with 106 barges tied 4 across. That river section has been described as mostly in a natural state with heavily wooded banks. It is popular for public use, including boating and fishing. Concerns include that the barge fleeting would harm public access and enjoyment of this river section and also put mussels and other river dependent wildlife in this area at risk.
The area would be dredged to a ten ft. depth, resulting in 17,600 cubic yards of river bottom being removed along the 1.6 miles. Forty concrete ‘pins’ would be installed along the river-side to tie-up the barges. The company also plans to build a 600 ft. long and 45 ft. wide dock. It was not clear from the presentation that any special protections regarding barge spills or break-away barges were being considered because of the location. There are mussels and a variety of fish and wildlife in the area, and the Marseilles State Fish and Wildlife Area is downstream. Some barges could contain potentially hazardous and/or toxic substances. The company has not released their full emergency procedures plans.
The Village of Seneca existing zoning does not allow barge fleeting in the area and they have not yet given approval for the project. The only recent news article is from 2023 and the zoning is confirmed to still not be approved. After the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) approved the project in 2020, property owners across the river filed suit, listing extensive concerns and failures in the IDNR approval and review processes. A court finding in 2021 referred to the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers Act, and indicated the Illinois Department of Natural Resources had no authority to permit a barge fleeting proposal east of Seneca. On January 10th, 2023, during the Illinois Legislative Lame Duck session, nine words were inserted into a state bill and approved by both chambers on that same day, and then signed by the Governor that February. Those nine words changed the existing state regulations affecting the barge fleeting proposal, without most people aware of the situation.
Please write to the Mayor and Village Board of Seneca to ask they do not make any deals to approve this project because of the harm it will do to public access and risks to the future environmental health in and around Seneca.
Mayor Jeff Olson and Members of the Village Board
Seneca Village Hall
340 N. Cash St.
Seneca, IL 61360
Email: mayor@senecail.gov
