Winfield bus company to install 2 above-ground fuel tanks
Among the neighbors’ concerns were the aesthetics of the tanks and the potential for spillage.
“I think you have a great cause in transporting special needs kids,” Trustee Jim Hughes said. “But I would love to see a spill containment base.”
However, a move to delay the vote until Septran could look into that type of unit was rejected by the board. Instead, Septran will start preliminary work on the tanks Friday and could have them up and running in the next several weeks.
Trustee Tony Reyes said the complaints of the neighbors, who live south of the property along Klein Creek Golf Club, should have been taken into consideration.
“There are a significant number of people living in that area who have lived there a long time and they like the way the area looks,” he said. “They consider this a safety issue. I go along with the concept that it could potentially be a safety issue for them.”
But the property owner of the site, at 26W115 St. Charles Road, which lies along the Great Western Trail, said that safety will not be an issue because the tanks will have thick fiberglass double walls. Additionally, the Carol Stream and Winfield fire protection districts have signed off on the move.
Farm near Baldwin produces veggies, fish through hydroponics, aquaponics
BALDWIN - Anchored by square plastic foam rafts, lettuce and other leafy greens float in a sea of nutrient-rich water at Future Farm Food and Fuel's greenhouses just north of Baldwin.
The fertilizer is produced in another part of the 27,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art complex by hungry, fast-growing tilapia in big blue tanks.
The entire facility is heated and powered by methane energy created from the steady supply of manure of 1,100 cows across the road at Baldwin Dairy.
No pesticides are used in this seemingly simple production process: Holsteins create the fuel to heat the greenhouse to grow the fish that provide the fertilizer to grow vegetables.
Future Farm - the first aquaponics/hydroponics facility of its kind in the U.S. - is breaking new ground in agriculture. The farm was started in January 2010 and is producing all-natural vegetables and fish, mostly for sale to restaurants and retailers.
Because aquaponics research is limited, the business is still in an experimental stage, said Steve Meyer, Future Farm's director of operations. Meyer's business partner, John Vrieze, also owns Baldwin Dairy and the nearby Emerald Dairy.
“If they leaked, there would be pollution either in the ground or in the water, but the effects would be localized,” he said. The tanks are a mix of underground and above-ground containers. Hajna said he could not be more specific about the locations and more »
