CLINTON - At this time last year, few DeWitt County residents could tell you the difference between PCBs, the PDC or a PBJ.

But with an advisory referendum facing county residents in less than two weeks, officials with stakes in both sides of the question are campaigning for votes even though the outcome may have little effect on whether toxic chemicals will be permitted to be stored at the Clinton Landfill on the city's southwestern edge.

Last fall, the DeWitt County Board approved an amendment to the host agreement with the Peoria Disposal Co., owners of the Clinton Landfill. That agreement set the amount paid to the county by PDC based on the waste volume deposited at the facility's landfill.

"It is, potentially, the most lucrative (agreement) of its kind in the state of Illinois on a per-ton basis and may generate between $25 (million) and $36 million over the next 24 years even before applying built-in inflation adjustments and without raising taxes on DeWitt County residents," said board member Levi Sturgeon.

In addition to approving the amendment, the board unanimously supported the plan for the landfill owners to move forward with a permit to store wastes with a concentration of greater than 50 parts per million of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, which are a blend of chemical compounds used in a variety of industrial products.

Following that vote, Clinton resident Matt Varble formed WATCH (We're Against Toxic Chemicals), a group to oppose the portion of the plan to store chemical wastes in DeWitt County. His group has successfully petitioned the county board to place the non-binding referendum on the ballot and has promised to fight the plan until the EPA makes its decision on the permit. That decision may not be made until the summer of 2009.

Varble said his group does not oppose the current landfill or the portion of the amendment to the host agreement pertaining to the current facility.

"The chemical waste landfill is a separate item that was negotiated for an extra $50,000 per year and no extra fee per ton would be received for the highly toxic PCB contaminated waste they want to put here," he added.

While the DeWitt County Board may revisit the resolution to support the PDC and its plans, it has little say in whether PCBs could be stored in the county.

"We actually have no control over the matter," said DeWitt County Chairman Steve Lobb. "The Environmental Protection Agency will decide that issue. They will hold a public hearing and, in reality, the decision does not lie with us. I think the county board serves as a purpose so that our citizens can raise their concerns about this issue and we are listening to those concerns and have done what we can as a result. For instance, placing the non-binding referendum on the ballot is one of those steps. But, in the end, it's an EPA decision, not a county board decision."

The PDC is promoting the necessity for the storage of the chemicals at the Clinton Landfill. Last week, DeWitt County residents received a letter from the PDC promising that the Clinton Landfill would go above and beyond current regulations to protect the environment of DeWitt County and the Mahomet Aquifer, which sits near the landfill and provides drinking water to Clinton and several area communities.

Officials from PDC, including Ron Edwards, vice president of landfill operations, and Chris Coulter, PDC vice president, have attended various public meetings to reaffirm residents the landfill will be safe.

"The EPA requires a barrier and in our case, it will be a clay barrier because that serves as the best foundation for PCB storage," Edwards said. "These clays provide an ideal barrier to protect the regional groundwater aquifer. We would not put anything around the aquifer or anywhere if it were not safe."