Grundy County Judge Sheldon Sobol will issue a written decision in a challenge to a barge fleeting company’s plans east of Seneca. Illinois and Michigan Oil wants to have up to 106 barges parked for temporary keeping as they’re hauled up and down the Illinois River.
The lawyer for nearby land owners Rick and Gloria Sims says the project hasn’t had all the required hearings and will ruin a pristine section of the river. He also says the state legislature must approve the project before it can go ahead. Lawyers for the company and the state say all the necessary hearings have happened, the couple has no standing to sue, and sections of the law appearing to say otherwise don’t apply in the present circumstances.
During a hearing this morning, Judge Sobol talked about a 1921 U.S. Supreme Court decision on development on the Des Plaines River, indicating he may draw from it when issuing his decision. The case, Economy Light and Power v. United States, concerned a company wanting to build a dam on the Des Plaines River in Grundy County. Courts ruled in favor of the federal government, which refused to permit it.
Sobol isn’t tasked specifically with approving or rejecting the Illinois and Michigan Oil project. Rather, he’s being asked to insist on a more extensive permitting process that may or may not lead to approval.