Joe Whitley's home and 40 acres are located next to the Taylor Ridge Landfill. Since 1972, he's been working with state agencies to try and fix the damage caused by pollution from the garbage dump.
First, Whitley says it was ESG Watts and the company's owner, James Watts, whose poor management resulted in hundreds of citations from the state EPA.
Whitley says state officials have told him the estimated cost of capping and sealing the landfill is four to six million dollars. And several years ago, he learned about a fund of 1.8 million dollars set aside to do just that.
Over the past five years, Midwest Methane has claimed it shouldn't have to pay for for the cleanup and closure, and that Watts still operates the Taylor Ridge Landfill. Today's ruling makes it clear, the Chicago company is responsible. But Whitley says it won't matter since its assets are tied up in bankruptcy court.
