Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Illinois Pollution Control Board's Annual Report for 2009

The Illinois Pollution Control Board recently issued its Annual Report for 2009.

The Annual Report features a letter from Chairman Girard, biographies of the Board's members, a rulemaking summary, a summary of appellate court opinions reviewing the Board's decisions, and a summary of environmental legislation.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Waste Management Settles State Enforcement Action Alleging Water Pollution Violations

On December 17, 2009, the Illinois Pollution Control Board accepted the settlement of a State enforcement action in the case of People v. Waste Management of Illinois, Inc., No. PCB 10-29.  The case concerns a site located in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois.

The State's complaint alleged that Waste Management (1) discharged material containing solids and liquids of obvious color from a garbage truck into a storm sewer inlet, which caused, allowed or threatened a water pollution hazard, offensive discharges into waters of the State, (2) discharged contaminants so as to cause water pollution, and (3) discharged contaminants into waters of the State from a point source without coverage under an National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

As part of the settlement, Waste Management admits the alleged violations and agrees to pay a civil penalty of $9,500.00.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Ohio Joins U.S. Supreme Court Fight Regarding Asian Carp

On December 23, 2009, the State of Ohio filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the State of Michigan's complaint seeking action to prevent the Asian carp from infiltrating the Great Lakes.  Like Michigan, Ohio blames Chicago's prior water diversion projects for giving the Asian carp access to the Great Lakes.  Here is the specific action requested by the State of Ohio:

"But for the defendants’ actions in the early twentieth century—the construction and operation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal—the Great Lakes would not now be threatened by the steady march of the Asian carp up the Mississippi River and its tributaries.  By sanctioning the ongoing diversion of water from Lake Michigan, this Court’s 1967 consent decree permits the continued operation of that Canal.  Therefore, the State of Michigan has appropriately sought a modification of that decree: Until the State of Illinois, the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago, and the United States agree to take all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent the introduction of the carp into Lake Michigan, this Court must modify its decree to prohibit all further diversion of water from Lake Michigan into the Canal—thereby closing the door to the carp’s entryway into the Great Lakes, and to the irreparable damage that would ensue."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Plastic Bag Manufacturer Settles State Enforcement Action Alleging Air Pollution Violations

The Illinois Pollution Control Board recently accepted the settlement of a State enforcement action in the case of People v. Golden Bag Co., PCB No. 06-144.  The case concerned a plastic bag manufacturing facility located at 290 Illinois Street, Dundee, Kane County, Illinois.

The State alleged that the Defendant (1) caused, threatened, or allowed the discharge or emission of a contaminant into the environment through the production of scented bags resulting in the uncontrolled emission of volatile organic materials; (2) failed to obtain the requisite construction permits for the emission sources which it constructed at the facility; (3) failed to obtain an operating permit for its new emissions sources and air pollution control equipment; (4) operated a major source without a Clean Air Act Permit Program permit; (5) failed to comply with the new source review regulations as a result of its location in a severe ozone nonattainment area; (6) failed to submit complete and accurate annual emissions reports; (7) failed to demonstrate compliance with regulations governing flexographic printing operations; and (8) failed to comply recordkeeping and reporting requirements for flexographic printing operations.

As part of the settlement, the Defendant neither admitted nor denied the alleged violations.  Also, the Defendant agreed to pay a civil penalty of $20,000.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Packaging Materials Manufacturer Settles Federal Enforcement Action Alleging Hazardous Waste Violations

On December 22, 2009, U.S. EPA announced that it settled an enforcement action against Clear Lam Packaging, an Elk Grove, Illinois manufacturer of flexible and rigid packaging materials.

U.S. EPA alleged that Clear Lam "failed to have a hazardous waste storage permit, maintain aisle space in the hazardous waste storage area, keep hazardous waste containers closed, provide annual employee training and keep records about it, and have a complete contingency plan."

Clear Lam will pay a $20,750 penalty and perform an environmental project costing at least $221,000.  It will "help protect the environment and public health by purchasing, installing and operating a solvent recovery system that will recycle approximately 100,000 gallons of hazardous waste annually."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Michigan Sues to Spark Action to Block Asian Carp

On December 21, 2009, the State of Michigan filed a petition and motion for a preliminary injunction asking the U.S. Supreme Court to order the State of Illinois, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "to immediately take all available measures within their respective control, consistent with the protection of public health and safety, to prevent the migration of bighead and silver carp into Lake Michigan, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following:

(a) Closing and ceasing operation of the locks at the O'Brien Lock and Dam and the Chicago Controlling Works.

(b) Operating the sluice gates at the O'Brien Lock and Dam, the Chicago Controlling Works, and the Wilmette Pumping Station in a manner that will not allow fish to pass those structures into Lake Michigan. This should include maintaining the waterways at the lowest level possible that is still consistent with protecting against serious threats to public health and safety, and limits opening the gates except as required to prevent significant flooding that threatens public health or safety.

(c) Installing interim Barriers or structures as needed in the Grand and Little Calumet Rivers to prevent the migration of bighead and silver carp into Lake Michigan.

(d) Installing interim Barriers or structures between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to prevent bighead and silver carp from entering the Canal from the Des Plaines River during a flood event.

(e) Operating the existing Electrical Dispersal Barrier System at full operating power and expediting completion of the proposed Barrier IIB.

(f) Comprehensively monitoring the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and all connected waterways for the presence and location of bighead and silver carp using the best available methods and techniques.

(g) Eradicating any bighead or silver carp discovered in these waters."

Responding to critics who have said that these proposed steps would harm the shipping industry, Michigan says that "no doubt [there would] be economic injury, but the damage will be finite, and will be miniscule in comparison to the economic harm caused should the carp enter the Great Lakes."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Rejecting Federal Officer Removal, Federal Court Remands Contamination Case to State Court

On December 15, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois remanded the case of Custer v. Cerro Flow Products, Inc., No. 09-514-DRH, to State court, rejecting the defendants' purported removal to Federal court based on the Federal Officer Removal Statute.

The Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in State court alleging that they suffered serious life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, or that they have suffered property damage, as a result of exposure to hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls ("PCBs").  The Plaintiffs alleged that those substances were wrongfully disposed at three sites near Sauget, Illinois and released into the environment.

The Defendants attempted to remove the lawsuit to Federal court (i.e., the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois) based on the Federal Officer Removal Statute, 28 U.S.C. 1442(a)(1), which provides:

"A civil action or criminal prosecution commenced in a State court against any of the following may be removed by them to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place wherein it is pending: (1) The United States or any agency thereof or any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United States or of any agency thereof, sued in an official or individual capacity for any act under color of such office or on account of any right, title or authority claimed under any Act of Congress for the apprehension or punishment of criminals or the collection of the revenue."

The Defendants alleged that the PCBs produced at their facilities were part of a contract with the federal government to produce chemicals for the war effort.  However, the Court found that federal officer removal did not apply here and that the case should be remanded back to State Court.  Specifically, the Court held that Defendants did not act under the direction of a federal officer:

"[N]one of the evidence submitted by Defendants shows the federal government ordered the Defendants to continue production of PCBs or that the government directed the Defendants in how to handle or dispose of the PCBs that they produced. Once again, the production of PCBs is not at issue in this case, it is the mishandling of PCBs which is the basis of Plaintiffs’ complaint.  Therefore, the Defendants have not demonstrated that the government directed Defendants in the handling of PCBs nor have they demonstrated that the production of PCBs forms the basis of the liability alleged in this action."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Illinois EPA Announces Cleanup of Illegal Dump Site

On December 16, 2009, the Illinois EPA announced a plan to cleanup an illegal dump site located at 140 Kohl Street, Creve Coeur, Tazewell County, Illinois.

Illinois EPA "will clean up approximately 200 cubic yards of used and waste tires, white goods, vehicles, general construction or demolition debris, and general household refuse" at the property.

"While all illegally dumped waste presents an environmental and safety problem, improperly disposed tires provide a breeding habitat for the type of mosquito that is the primary carrier of the West Nile Virus.  The Illinois EPA’s Used Tire Program removes waste tires and other materials that provide mosquito habitat.  The Agency’s I-RID (Illinois Removes Illegal Dumps) Program facilitates the removal of waste at orphan dump sites, which prevents future dumping on public and private properties."

The cleanup is expected to be completed by mid-January 2010.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Cleanup at Waukegan Lakefront Superfund Site to Continue

According to a recent article in the Lake County News-Sun, the U.S. EPA and the State of Illinois are set to invest tens of millions of dollars to continue cleanup at the Outboard Marine Corporation ("OMC") Superfund Site.

Here is how U.S. EPA describes the OMC Site: It "is located on Lake Michigan around the northern Waukegan Harbor area in Waukegan, Illinois.  The site contains four cleanup parcels, called "operable units" (OU).  The Waukegan Harbor (WH) site is OU #1.  The Waukegan Manufactured Gas and Coke Plant (WCP) site is OU #2.  The PCB containment cells that were created when the harbor was cleaned up in 1990-1993 comprise OU #3, and the OMC Plant 2 site is OU #4.

"Waukegan Harbor is a federally-authorized harbor that was constructed in the late 1800s. . . . From approximately 1948 to 1971, OMC purchased an estimated 8 million gallons of hydraulic fluid that contained PCBs and used it in its OMC Plant 2 building in its die casting process to make outboard motors.  The fluids containing PCBs were sometimes discharged through floor drains onto the OMC Plant 2 property and also into Waukegan Harbor.  As a result, 700,000 pounds of PCBs were estimated to be present in the soil on the OMC Plant 2 site and 300,000 pounds of PCBs were in the sediment in Waukegan Harbor.  OMC cleaned up PCB-contaminated northern harbor sediment and some of the OMC Plant 2 soils in 1990-1993.

"OMC also operated several vapor degreasers at the OMC Plant 2 facility to clean newly made parts with trichloroethylene (TCE).  Leaking degreasers and/or TCE storage tanks have created a widespread TCE groundwater contaminant plume and an isolated dense, non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) pool of TCE beneath the OMC Plant 2 site.  OMC abandoned the Plant 2 facility in December 2002.

"In the early 1900s, a wood-treating plant operated on the WCP site, followed by a manufactured gas plant in the 1920s and a coke oven gas plant in the 1940s.  The plant was purchased and disassembled by OMC in approximately 1972.  The WCP site was discovered during OMC's harbor cleanup in 1990.  It has arsenic and polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) soil contamination and the groundwater is contaminated with high levels of ammonia, arsenic, benzene, and phenol."

According to the Lake County News-Sun article, the new cleanup work will include dredging of the Waukegan Harbor:

"The harbor will be dredged to reduce PCB levels in sediments to 0.2 parts per million. . . . The dredging will go as deep as 10 to 15 feet, depending on what core samples reveal about PCBs in the sediment.  After dredging, a 6-inch layer of sand will cap the harbor floor."

"The sediment will be pumped to the city-owned grounds at OMC Plant No. 2.  Eventually, the sediment will be covered with clean fill and could be turned into a park.  Water from the sediment will be returned to the harbor after meeting federal clean drinking water standards.

"The federal government is paying 90 percent of the estimated $35 million project, and the state will cover the other 10 percent. The project should be completed by 2012.

"Demolition of the final 600,000 square feet of OMC Plant No. 2 will cost about $21 million, funded by a federal economic stimulus grant.  PCBs, trichloroethylene (TCE) and asbestos must be removed before most of that building can be demolished by Tecnica Environmental Services and Brandenburg Industrial Services Co., both minority-owned businesses from Chicago.

"The remnant of Plant No. 2 that houses a decontamination unit, which is cleaning groundwater at the gas and coke plant site, will remain for another two to three years. The project to remove TCE from groundwater at the Plant No. 2 site will begin after building demolition is complete in 2010.  That work will take two months, and then the site will be monitored for a year.

"The TCE plume in the groundwater will be treated with iron filings and clay.  Iron reacts with trichloroethylene, which was used as a degreaser, rendering it harmless.  The clay will bind the sand aquifer to stop groundwater from flowing through the site.

"Environmental engineers also will inject sodium lactate, which is food for the naturally occurring bacteria that is already breaking down the TCE.  Bioremediation would take about four years."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Federal Government Allocates $13 Million to Fight Asian Carp

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, the federal government will allocate $13 million to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.  The money will come from the $475 million fund that Congress appropriated for a comprehensive restoration of the Great Lakes.

The $13 million "will be used for engineering projects to prevent the carp from slipping into Lake Michigan near Chicago. They include closing conduits and shoring up low-lying lands between the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal — which leads to the lake — and other waterways."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Builder Settles State Enforcement Action Alleging Water Pollution Violations

On December 3, 2009, the Illinois Pollution Control Board accepted the proposed settlement in the case of People v. Montalbano Builders, Inc., PCB No. 09-30.  The allegations concerned Montalbano’s development property known as the Huntington Ridge subdivision located on the southwest corner of Harvard Hills and Crowley Road in Harvard, McHenry County, Illinois.

The State alleged that Montalbano violated environmental law "by (1) causing, threatening, or allowing the discharge of silt-laden runoff from the site into the waters of the State resulting in water pollution, (2) allowing disturbed soils and soil stockpiles with inadequate erosion controls to remain adjacent to wetland areas resulting in a water pollution hazard, and (3) failing to maintain adequate stormwater pollution prevention measures and discharging silt-laden runoff from the site into the adjacent wetland and waters of the State in violation of Montalbano’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit."

Under the settlement, Montalbano agrees to pay a civil penalty of $10,000.00 but does not affirmatively admit the violations alleged by the State.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Illinois Appellate Court Denies Siting of Kankakee Landfill

On December 4, 2009, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, issued an opinion in the case of County of Kankakee v. Illinois Pollution Control Board, No. 3-04-0271.  At issue in this case was an application by Town & Country Utilities, Inc. and Town & Country and Kankakee Regional Landfill, LLC to site a landfill within the City of Kankakee, Illinois.  The proposed landfill was located 1 & 3/4 miles away from an existing landfill run by Waste Management of Illinois, Inc.

Under Illinois law (415 ILCS 5/39.2), a county board or governing body of a municipality has authority to approve or disapprove a request for local siting approval for landfills.  Local siting approval shall be granted only if the proposed facility meets the following criteria:
(i) the facility is necessary to accommodate the waste needs of the area it is intended to serve;
(ii) the facility is so designed, located and proposed to be operated that the public health, safety and welfare will be protected;
(iii) the facility is located so as to minimize incompatibility with the character of the surrounding area and to minimize the effect on the value of the surrounding property;
(iv) for a facility that is a sanitary landfill or waste disposal site, the facility is located outside the boundary of the 100‑year floodplain, or (under certain circumstances) if the site is flood‑proofed;
(v) the plan of operations for the facility is designed to minimize the danger to the surrounding area from fire, spills, or other operational accidents;
(vi) the traffic patterns to or from the facility are so designed as to minimize the impact on existing traffic flows;
(vii) if the facility will be treating, storing or disposing of hazardous waste, an emergency response plan exists for the facility which includes notification, containment and evacuation procedures to be used in case of an accidental release;
(viii) if the facility is to be located in a county where the county board has adopted a solid waste management plan consistent with the planning requirements of the Local Solid Waste Disposal Act or the Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Act, the facility is consistent with that plan; and
(ix) if the facility will be located within a regulated recharge area, any applicable requirements specified by the Pollution Control Board for such areas have been met.

The County of Kankakee case dealt primarily with the eighth criterion (whether the facility is consistent with the county's solid waste management plan).  The Kankakee County Solid Waste Management Plan had been amended to prohibit landfills within Kankakee County, except for "an expansion of the existing landfill on the real property that is contiguous to the existing landfill" run by Waste Management.

The issue was whether the proposed landfill was "contiguous to the existing landfill", even though the proposed landfill was located 1 & 3/4 miles away from the existing landfill.  The Kankakee City Council and the Illinois Pollution Control Board ruled that the proposed landfill was, in fact, contiguous.  However, the Appellate Court of Illinois disagreed and held that the proposed landfill was not contiguous.  The Court found that the "proposed landfill was the immediate object of the County's decision to preclude 'non-contiguous landfilling.  As such, the County intended its use of the word 'contiguous' to prevent what Applicants were proposing--a new landfill located 1 3/4 miles away from Waste Management's existing landfill."  Therefore, the Court held that the Pollution Control Board "erred in finding that the proposed landfill was contiguous to the existing landfill for purposes of the County's solid waste management plan."  As a result, the Court decided that the request for local siting approval must be denied.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Environmental Register for November 2009

The Illinois Pollution Control Board recently issued its Environmental Register publication for November 2009. 

The Environmental Register features a letter from Chairman Girard, an appellate court update, a rulemaking update, a summary of actions of the Board, a summary of new cases, and the Board's calendar.

I will be blogging about some of the news contained in this publication. Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

U.S. EPA Confirms School Property Not Contaminated By Drycleaner

According to a recent article in the River Forest Leaves newspaper, the U.S. EPA conducted testing to confirm that the soil at St. Luke Parish School in River Forest is environmentally safe.
The school is across the street from River Forest Dry Cleaners, located at 7613 Lake Street.  The dry cleaners is listed on Illinois EPA's Site Remediation Program database, and, according to the article, it is "contaminated with perchloroethylene, commonly used by dry cleaners."  Testing has apparently confirmed, however, that the contamination did not migrate to the school's property.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

$3 Million Awarded to Install Sewage Treatment and Septic Systems in Ridgewood

According to an Illinois EPA press release, the State of Illinois will award $3 million in federal stimulus money and llinois EPA grants and loans to improve old and ailing sewage and drainage systems in Ridgewood, near Joliet in Will County.

The money will be used to "pay for installing modern sewage treatment and septic systems to more than 180 homes, which now have inadequate or non-existent sewage or septic systems.  Improvements will also be made to ensure a safe source of drinking water for 368 residential properties."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Defendants Settle State Enforcement Actions Alleging Water Pollution Violations

On December 3, 2009, the Illinois Pollution Control Board accepted settlements of two State enforcement actions alleging water pollution violations.

The case of People v. City of Pekin, No. PCB 07-47, concerned the City of Pekin's waste water treatment plant ("WWTP") at 606 South Front Street, in Pekin, Tazewell County.  The State alleged that the City (1) caused or allowed the discharge of contaminants into waters of the State in violation of the terms or conditions of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permit, (2) discharged said contaminates in violation of the regulations or standards adopted by the Pollution Control Board, (3) discharged the contaminants so as to cause water pollution, (4) failed to ensure that all treatment works and associated facilities were constructed and operated as to minimize violations of applicable standards during such contingencies as flooding, etc., (5) failed to comply with the monitoring, sampling, recording and reporting requirements set forth in the NPDES permit, (6) allowed bypasses and overflows of untreated wastewater to occur, and (7) failed to have a certified Class I operator to supervise the operation of the WWTP.

Under the settlement, the City will pay a civil penalty of $14,483.00.

The case of People v. J.B. Timmermann Farms, Ltd., PCB 07-70, concerned a dairy operation that houses approximately 675 milking cows, located on the north side of Highline Road, in Section 28 of Breese Township, Clinton County.  The State alleged that the defendant allowed a livestock waste lagoon to overflow into Shoal Creek without a NPDES permit for the site and deposited contaminants on land in a manner that created a water pollution hazard. 

Under the settlement, the defendant will pay a civil penalty of $15,000.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

EPA Administrator Says U.S. is Obligated to Reduce Greenhouse Pollutants under the Clean Air Act

On December 9, 2009, in a speech to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signaled that the EPA intends to use its recent endangerment findings to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

In her speech, Administrator Jackson stated that "I’m proud to say that – hours before I stepped on the plane to come here, I announced EPA’s finalized endangerment finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to our health and welfare."  On December 7, 2009, the Administrator signed two distinct findings regarding greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act:

"Endangerment Finding: The Administrator finds that the current and projected concentrations of the six key well-mixed greenhouse gases--carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)--in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.

"Cause or Contribute Finding: The Administrator finds that the combined emissions of these well-mixed greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines contribute to the greenhouse gas pollution which threatens public health and welfare."

Although the endangerment findings do not, by themselves, regulate greenhouse gas emissions, Administrator Jackson said in her speech in Copenhagen that "[b]y taking action and finalizing the endangerment finding on greenhouse gas pollution, we have been authorized and obligated to take reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse pollutants under the Clean Air Act."

The first step in those efforts, according to Administrator Jackson, will be to attempt to work with Congress to pass "clean energy reform":

"And when we return home, we will work closely with our Congress to pass comprehensive clean energy reform through the U.S. Congress – reform that will promote clean energy investments and lower U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent below current levels by 2050.  A strong program of reforms and incentives can help the market get to work – making clean energy the profitable kind of energy. Once legislation is passed, we’re betting on our entrepreneurs, innovators, and workers to accelerate the pace of clean energy development in the US and around the globe."

However, Administrator Jackson also seems to be signaling that, if the Congressional efforts fail, EPA is authorized and obligated to regulate greenhouse gas emissions on its own.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

U.S. EPA Takes West Chicago Site Off National Priorities List

Today, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Kerr-McGee Reed-Keppler Park Superfund Site, located in West Chicago, Illinois, from the National Priorities List ("NPL").

The NPL is a statutorily-mandated list of "national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States."  EPA decided to remove the West Chicago site from the NPL after determining that all appropriate response actions have been completed.

In the early 1900's, the site was mined as a quarry to provide rock and embankment material for construction of the Chicago, Wheaton and Western Railway (now the Illinois Prairie Path embankment owned by Commonwealth Edison).  Later, the old quarry area was used for solid waste (household and commercial garbage) disposal from as early as 1939 until 1973.  Among the solid wastes found at the site were thorium mill tailings and other process wastes generated at the West Chicago Rare Earths Facility, which also operated in West Chicago from 1934 until 1973.

Today's Notice of Deletion is the culmination of a 10-year soil remediation and groundwater monitoring process by EPA.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Illinois EPA Releases Annual Air Quality Report For Calendar Year 2008

Today, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued its Air Quality Report for calendar year 2008.  The report reinforces the good news that this blog reported last month (see here and here) that the air quality in Illinois has gotten better.

The IEPA reports:

"In terms of the Air Quality Index (AQI) air quality during 2008 was either good or moderate 96 percent of the time throughout Illinois.  There were no days when air quality in some part of Illinois was considered Unhealthy (category Red).  This compares with one Unhealthy day in 2007.  There were 14 days (10 for PM2.5 and 4 for the new 8-hour ozone standard) when air quality in some part of Illinois was considered Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (category Orange).  This compares with 24 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups days reported in 2007. However, based on the new ozone and PM2.5 AQI adjustments implemented in 2008 there would have been 45 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups days in 2007.  Air quality trends for the criteria pollutants are continuing to show downward trends or stable trends well below the level of the standards.  Percentage changes over the ten year period 1999 – 2008 are as follows: Particulate Matter (PM10) 14 percent decrease, Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 20 percent decrease, Sulfur Dioxide 15 percent decrease, Nitrogen Dioxide 13 percent decrease, Carbon Monoxide 47 percent decrease, Lead 18 percent decrease, and Ozone 12 percent decrease."

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Evanston Ordinance Requires "Green Buildings"

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, the City of Evanston passed a new "green" ordinance, which requires all new commercial, multifamily and municipal construction projects over 10,000 square feet to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) Silver certification through the U.S. Green Building Council.  The ordinance does not require LEED certification for renovations and rehabilitations on existing buildings, and it exempts building projects that already have been approved by the city.

LEED is an "internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across" such metrics as water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

The ordinance is part of the city's effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.  The city signed the U.S. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 7% from the 1990 levels by 2012.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

U.S. EPA Sets Air Pollution Standards for Paint Manufacturing Facilities

The U.S. EPA recently published in the Federal Register a final rule entitled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Area Source Standards for Paints and Allied Products Manufacturing."  The rule establishes management practices for volatile hazardous air pollutants and equipment standards for particulate hazardous air emissions.

The rule applies to owners and operators of facilities that perform paint and allied products manufacturing that are area sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions and processes, uses, or generates materials containing benzene, methylene chloride, and compounds of cadmium, chromium, lead, and nickel, in amounts greater than or equal to 0.1 percent by weight.  Paints and allied products manufacturing operations "include the production of paints, inks, adhesives, stains, varnishes, shellacs, putties, sealers, caulks, and other coatings from raw materials, the intended use of which is to leave a dried film of solid material on a substrate."

All existing area source facilities subject to this rule are required to comply no later than December 3, 2012.  New sources are required to comply by December 3, 2009 or upon startup of the facility, whichever is later.

Among other things, the rule requires "owners or operators of all existing and new affected facilities to operate a particulate control device during the addition of pigments and other solids that contain compounds of cadmium, chromium, nickel, or lead, and during the grinding and milling of pigments and solids that contain compounds of cadmium, chromium, nickel, or lead."  The rule also requires "new and existing affected sources to equip process and storage vessels that store or process materials containing benzene or methylene chloride with covers or lids."

The rule also sets initial compliance, continuous compliance, notification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Friday, December 4, 2009

IEPA Notifies Crystal Lake of Groundwater Contamination

Today, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency reported that it notified the Crystal Lake public drinking water supply that "there has been a confirmed detection of groundwater contamination that poses a threat of exposure to the public above the Class I groundwater quality standards."

Specifically, IEPA stated that "Trichloroethylene (TCE) has been detected and confirmed in Crystal Lake’s raw (source) and finished (distributed) drinking water at 2.9 parts per billion (ppb). This level does not yet exceed the Class I groundwater quality standard for TCE of 5.0 ppb that both federal and State law allows in drinking water. However, the Right to Know provision of the Environmental Protection Act requires that the public be notified even before this Class I groundwater quality standard is exceeded in their drinking water.

"The Environmental Protection Act requires the water supply, and any secondary users, to provide notification to its customers of this contamination by mail, email, post card, text message or telephone, within five business days of official receipt of the Illinois EPA’s notice. The public drinking water supply must provide the Illinois EPA with written proof of the notifications within seven calendar days after they are sent."
 
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Asian Carp Found Near Great Lakes During Massive Fish Kill Operation

According to an article from the Associated Press, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service discovered a "22-inch immature specimen" of Asian Carp "among tens of thousands of dead fish identified in a fish kill operation in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, about 40 miles from Lake Michigan." 

The fish kill operation took place while an electric barrier, which was erected to prevent Asian Carp from reaching the Great Lakes, was down for maintenance.  More than 2,000 gallons of a poison called rotenone was dumped into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.  This resulted in "ten of thousands of other species of fish, from gizzard shad to drum" to float to the surface of the waterway.  The kill operation "began Wednesday and was expected to last until Sunday."  At the end of the operation, an expected 200,000 pounds of dead fish will be removed and sent to a landfill.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

U.S. EPA Sets Air Emission Standards for Asphalt Processors and Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers

Today, the U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register a final rule entitled "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Asphalt Processing and Asphalt Roofing Manufacturing."  This rule establishes national air emission standards and other requirements for new and existing asphalt processing facilities and asphalt roofing manufacturing facilities.

In general, the rule limits the amount of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ("PAH") that can be emitted during asphalt processing operations and asphalt roofing manufacturing operations.  Owners and operators of existing facilities are required to conduct an initial compliance assessment, to demonstrate initial compliance with the new limits, by May 31, 2011.  Owners and operators of new facilities are required to conduct the initial compliance assessment by June 1, 2010 or within 180 days after startup, whichever is later.  Owners and operators must also demonstrate continuous compliance based upon a 3-hour averaging period.

The rule also imposes notification, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.  For example, each facility must submit an initial notification to U.S. EPA within 120 days of December 2, 2009 and a notification of compliance status within 60 days after completion of the compliance assessment.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

U.S. EPA Publishes Final Rule to Regulate Stormwater Discharges from Construction Sites

Today, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register a final rule entitled "Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Construction and Development Point Source Category."  The rule contains first-time national performance standards and monitoring requirements for stormwater discharges associated with the construction industry.

Construction activities, including excavating and grading, can lead to disturbed soil that, if not managed properly, can be easily washed off-site during rain events.  According to EPA, "[i]mproper control of stormwater discharges associated with construction activity is a contributor of sediment, turbidity, nutrients and other pollutants to surface waters in the United States. . . . The sediment, turbidity, and other pollutants entrained in stormwater discharges associated with construction activity contribute to aquatic ecosystem
degradation, increased drinking water treatment costs, and impairment of the recreational use and aesthetic value of impacted waters. Sediment can also accumulate in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, leading to the need for dredging or other mitigation in order to prevent reduced water storage or navigation capacity."

Construction companies are generally required to obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act and to implement control measures to manage discharges associated with construction activity. 

Under the rule published today, all construction sites will be required by February 1, 2010 to meet certain standards, including: erosion and sediment controls, soil stabilization, dewatering, pollution prevention measures, and surface outlets.  Also, four categories of discharges are entirely prohibited.

The rule also sets a daily maximum value of 280 NTU for turbidity and requires companies to monitor and take samples of stormwater discharges to ensure that turbidity does not exceed the daily maximum value. 

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.