The corner of First Street and Hillcrest Drive has turned into a vacant lot with a sign and sweet corn vendor.

The corn stand has been at the site for four or five weeks each year with the permission of the site’s owner, John Griffin, president of the development firm Kelley Williamson.

Some officials are unsure about what is happening at the site, but the sign reads “Mobil Mart/Car Wash” with “Coming Soon” across the top.

“I have been in DeKalb eight years and I think that sign has been here all eight years,” DeKalb’s principal planner Russ Farnum said.

To build the gas station, Kelley Williamson has to receive a special-use permit, Farnum said. A public zoning hearing must be held for the plan to be approved. The DeKalb City Council would have to approve the proposed plan after the hearing, he said.

Kelley Williamson has not submitted an application to begin the process, City Planner Ray Keller said.

Keller added that a number of reasons could contribute to the lack of action on the property.

“It could just be the market,” he said.

oel Maurer, assistant city engineer, said there may be contaminants in the soil from old underground gas tanks. Probes and other testing procedures can confirm that contaminants exist.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency becomes involved with sites when petroleum and other toxic chemicals spill or begin to leak. The agency’s files indicate the property has had petroleum leaks since 1994.

Maggie Carson, spokeswoman for the IEPA, said the case still is open. The agency has no documentation proving that the problem has been resolved, she said.

“There are about 8 to 10 inches of paperwork on this site at our office dealing with these problems,” Carson said.

The files include a corrective action plan that has been approved tentatively, she added.

The corrective action plan involves an injection of a chemical into the soil that would increase its oxygen. The injection would speed up the natural bacterial consumption of a petroleum spill, said IEPA Project Manager John Barrett.

Nearby land now is contaminated and the IEPA blames the site.

IEPA documents state that Kelley Williamson said the contamination was not its fault, and accordingly refused to begin the cleanup. Griffin said that his firm bought a contaminated piece of land. Another gas station was on the site in the past that may have contaminated the soil.

The IEPA documents also state that Kelley Williamson contends that an old, unregistered gas tank below the ground caused the leaks, meaning Kelley Williamson is not responsible.

Griffin told the Northern Star that to his knowledge there are no unregistered tanks on the site.

“We have contamination on the site that is being dealt with now,” Griffin said. “There is also off-site contamination that is coming onto the site.”

At press time, both the IEPA and Kelley Williamson were unable to determine where the additional contamination is coming from or, more importantly, if it is increasing.

The site is classified as a high-priority site at the IEPA because an aquifer and river are in danger of becoming contaminated.

If the initial corrective action plan does not work, the site would need to undergo a more involved water and soil purification plan because the contamination is seeping into the ground water, Barrett said.

“It’s our responsibility to show that the off-site leakage is not our problem.” Griffin said.

He added that Kelley Williamson would clean the site and bring it to IEPA standards with the help of the Illinois Underground Tank Fund. This fund will help offset the firm’s cost of the cleanup.

“We have dealt with this before, and the technology is better now,” Griffin said. “We get the permits and use the technology, and eventually the levels drop and everything is OK. We have a good company working on this for us. If the injections don’t work, we will do the next phase, but of course I want this to work.”

The IEPA remained reserved about the injection procedure, noting that it is not the method of choice.

“We are doing everything required and will continue to do so.” Griffin said. “There is no danger to the public. Kelley Williamson will deal with the problems, there are no human health threats. It is an ongoing process that will not be solved tomorrow.”

Griffin added that part of the problem is the slow response time of the IEPA; the fact that it still is undetermined where the additional contamination is coming from; and if the level is increasing in the ground water. The injections were scheduled to begin in May of 2002.