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DOWNS — Nine Downs residents cite health risks while asking a McLean County judge to reverse a village board decision last year to allow construction of a concrete plant near schools and homes.

The Downs Village Board approved a plan June 3, 2021, to allow Roanoke Concrete Products to build a facility that will mix materials to create ready-mix concrete, as well as crush and recycle concrete, on a parcel owned by Kenneth Hillard.

The concrete batch plant and concrete recycling facility is planned to be situated within about 1,235 feet of Tri-Valley Middle School, about 800 feet of the school’s baseball field, and about 900 feet of a residential subdivision.

Plaintiffs, most of whom have children in the Tri-Valley School District and live in the nearby neighborhood, argue that the plant is too close to the school and homes, posing serious respiratory risks.

Lawyers representing Downs, Roanoke Concrete Products and Hillard pointed to Hillard’s initial application for a special use permit for the land, which says the concrete plant requires pollution mitigation plans and regulation through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Of course, we share the concerns (of residents)," Downs Mayor Mike James said in an interview Friday. "We even tried to address those concerns with our developer agreement on requiring certain things to be done on the site when they build it, such as berms around the facility."

James also said the facility will provide significant tax revenue for Downs and that not having the revenue "can impact our whole village."

The concrete plant is expected to employ about 15 workers.

Attorneys for each side of the case did not respond to a request for comment.

The village acknowledged the lawsuit in a June newsletter to Downs residents and said it is "continuing to move forward with supporting the planned development on the Hillard property; and the Village is taking all steps necessary to defend the Village’s interests in the lawsuit."

Plaintiffs said the mixing of raw materials when making ready-mix concrete releases particulate matter in the air and creates health hazards.

“Particulate matter generated from a batch plant can penetrate deep into the lungs,” the plaintiffs wrote, citing a Rice University 2020 report studying the impacts of batch plants. “Additionally, volatile organic compounds can irritate the eyes and respiratory system and cause shortness of breath, headaches, fatigue, skin problems and impair memory.”

The study also said particulate matter is linked to reduced lung development in children, higher rates of asthma, bronchitis, heart disease and cancer.

But Hillard and Roanoke said in project plans that the concrete plant will mitigate pollution.

Hillard noted in his April 1, 2021, petition for a special use permit for the project that the concrete plant would be required to have a program to control any pollutant discharge and a permit for storm water pollution protection, which the Illinois EPA would oversee.

The concrete facility will use a vacuum sealed process to mix materials, the Village of Downs Zoning Board of Appeals said in its findings of the zoning case.

The petition for the special use permit also said concrete crushing and recycling would occur between December and March from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and no other time unless authorized by the Tri-Valley School District and the Downs mayor.

Hillard also said the concrete plant would be surrounded by a berm “to mitigate noise and or dust,” and construction plans call for including an opaque fence parallel with trees to drown noise and pollution.

Construction on the facility has begun, James said, but it is progressing slowly until the lawsuit is finalized and there is no set completion date.

The next court hearing is scheduled for July 29.

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