SPRINGFIELD - A proposal preventing the dumping of higher concentrations of chemical waste into the Clinton Landfill in Clinton has stalled in the Illinois House.

The measure, sponsored by state Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, failed to advance out of a House committee last week. It sought to ban the dumping of a specific type of chemical above a certain concentration unless nearby residents approved of the dumping by referendum.

The proposal's demise comes after DeWitt County residents voted overwhelmingly against allowing the chemicals in a nonbinding referendum Feb. 5.

"I'm disappointed," Mitchell said. "It was a very difficult sell to the committee. They apparently didn't like the idea of a referendum."

The chemicals - polychlorinated biphenyls, or "PCBs," - do not break down easily, which is why they see so much use in industry, said Jim Morphew, a lobbyist for the National Solid Waste Management Association, who testified before the House committee last week.

The landfill, owned by Area Disposal Service Inc., would accept waste with PCB concentrations higher than 50 parts per million. Currently there are only 10 other landfills in the entire country that accept waste with that high a concentration, Mitchell said.

The landfill will still need to obtain approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before accepting the higher-concentration waste - a procedure which Mitchell said caused the outcry from his district in the first place.

"Quite frankly, the folks in this small rural county are frustrated that they have relatively little to say about this," Mitchell said in his testimony.

In his testimony, Morphew said the proposal pre-empts federal law, and that it would set "an impossible hurdle" for the landfill, since voters rarely react positively to referendums involving waste disposal.

One concern Mitchell voiced was the placement of the landfill above an aquifer. Morphew said dumping the chemicals into the landfill, which already has several layers of lining, would pose no danger to community water supplies.

"The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency came to the community and stated that there was a 99 percent certainty … that this will not be problematic for the aquifer," Morphew said.

Representatives of the Clinton Landfill declined to make further comment on the proposal's failure.

The legislation is House Bill 4231.