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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, EPA ANNOUNCE SETTLEMENT WITH CHICAGO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a move that will end a long-standing dispute, the City of Chicago will pay a civil penalty of $200,000 and undertake environmental projects valued at $700,000 to settle claims that operations at its Northwest Incinerator violated the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

"This settlement holds the City of Chicago accountable for the pollution it caused through operation of the Northwest Incinerator," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources at the Justice Department. "It also requires the city to undertake several projects to address environmental problems in communities located near the incinerator. That is good news for the people who live in and around Chicago, and for our environment."

The settlement, filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago, requires the city to undertake several environmental projects designed to improve the health of the communities affected by the incinerator. The city must:

Spend $450,000 to remove and dispose of contaminated soils at two industrial sites in Northwest Chicago. The cleanup will facilitate the future redevelopment of the two sites. One site is located at 4100 and 4221 West Ferdinand Street, and the other is located at 4118-4140 Lake Street;

Spend $100,000 to construct a Lead Safe House. The Lead Safe House will serve as a temporary residence for low-income Chicagoans while lead abatement work is undertaken in their homes;

Spend $150,000 on a Lead Abatement Project in Northwest Chicago.

"The City deserves credit for acknowledging these air pollution problems and working with the Justice Department and the EPA to find a creative resolution that benefits the affected communities," said David Ullrich, EPA Acting Regional Administrator. "Lead abatement issues are a national EPA priority. We're hoping that the two follow-up projects will provide useful, hands-on examples for other cities where lead hazards are a concern."

In September of 1993, the EPA cited the Northwest Incinerator for numerous violations of air pollution regulations for particulate matter emissions and opacity levels. At the time, the incinerator burned up to 20 percent of the garbage collected by the City of Chicago. Recent studies have linked particulate matter, especially fine particles (alone or in combination with other air pollutants), with a series of significant health problems, including aggravated asthma and acute respiratory symptoms such as severe chest pain, gasping, aggravated coughing, chronic bronchitis, and decreased lung function. Opacity levels measure the amount of light that passes through a smokestack's plume; they are a measure of particulate matter emissions.

The EPA believes the violations continued until the incinerator was closed on June 12, 1996. The Justice Department filed suit on behalf of EPA against the City of Chicago on October 2, 1997, alleging violations of the Clean Air Act. The Act applies to municipalities as well as corporations and individuals.

The settlement will not become final until notice is published in the Federal Register, inviting comments for a period of 30 days, and the court approves it.

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