A federal judge has signed a decree settling the civil case against more than a dozen companies over vinyl chloride contamination at the Wauconda Sand and Gravel landfill site outside of Chicago. The judgment requires the site to be monitored for the next 15 years, but not everyone is satisfied with this outcome.

The landfill site was closed by the state in 1978 and decades later in 2003, the Lake County Health Department discovered vinyl chloride levels that exceeded regulatory limits in three private wells. The Environmental Protection Agency later found a fourth well in the area that also exceeded federal limits.

In 2004, approximately 400 homes in Wauconda area were connected to the municipal water supply to eliminate the threat of water contamination. However, several dozen homes that should have been connected to the municipal supply have been “orphaned,” according to a Lake County board member.

Vinyl chloride is a toxic chemical known to cause cancer, particularly of the liver. No illnesses have yet been reported by residents in the district. Any resident who develops cancer should consult with an attorney to learn more about their legal options.

Who should pay for the testing of private water wells in Western North Carolina? That’s a question being debated by the state General Assembly, which passed a mandate last year requiring more testing of new wells. The testing would cost $230 to any developer who drills a new well.

Leaving the testing of new wells up to local health officials, as a new proposal suggests, would be a gift to developers, who wouldn’t be required to foot the bill. It would also mean less testing since local health officials would only conduct testing in known contaminated areas.

However, Former Rep. Charles Thomas, who opposes the bill and pushed last year to have benzene added to the list of substances to test for, said there’s no way of knowing where chemicals have been dumped in the area and how far the pollution from a former CTS Asheville plant has spread.

It’s unfortunate that cost is being put above the safety of those who drink the well-water, a powerful point made by Thomas: “Testing the water properly is a lot cheaper than treating a brain tumor in a 4-year-old.”