Two Grundy County residents are taking the state and an oil transport company to court to try to get a hearing on a proposed barge fleeting operation that would be developed east of Seneca. Richard and Gloria Sims say the proposal requires a public permit hearing, the governor’s personal approval, and contact with local property owners. And they say none of that has happened for the project that could have up to 106 barges parked on the Illinois River and loaded with various commodities.
Their complaint filed in Grundy County court says the development will amount to a “floating tank farm” that could carry 75 to 100 times the amount of liquid fertilizer that exploded in Beirut on August 4. The complaint proposes a range of relief from ordering the hearing to prohibiting the project outright. We have attempted to reach someone at the barge company for comment.
Image from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notice showing what Illinois and Michigan Oil LLC is asking to do near Seneca.