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* Background is here if you need it. Shortly after this City of Chicago press release went out, the governor’s office confirmed that it had paused construction over the weekend at the Brighton Park migrant tent camp, pending a review by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. From the city…
As reported last week, the City of Chicago’s Department of Assets, Information, and Services contracted Terracon Consultants, Inc. to conduct an environmental investigation at the 3710 South California Avenue site. The sample results were compared to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s remediation standards for residential use. According to the report, soil with mercury levels was identified at one location and was removed and properly disposed offsite at a landfill, and with the limited soil removal and placement and maintenance of the barrier, the site is safe for temporary residential use.
Further base camp construction and remediation of an additional 1 ft. x 1 ft. x 1 ft. area of the 9.5-acre site will continue per the timeline set by the State of Illinois. There is no construction or remediation scheduled at this time. The City will share assessment of subsequent remediation as it becomes available.
The full Environmental and Investigation and Correction Action Summary Report can be found in the general City of Chicago FAQ on the new arrival mission.
*** UPDATE *** The construction pause will continue tomorrow “as IEPA continues their review,” the governor’s office says.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:00 am
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Mayor Photo Op keeps looking incompetent.
Comment by Andersonville Right Winger Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:15 am
Can you hear the endless commercials 10 years from now?
Did you stay at the Brighton Park Migrant camp in 2023?
If so call this number….
Comment by Lucky Pierre Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:18 am
More mayor failures…better shape up quickly.
Comment by Red headed step child Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:19 am
I hope that the lease with the city has an out clause and that they do not have to pay any money until site is useable. If they are paying rent now they are really incompetent
Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:23 am
You have got to be kidding. This may be the 2nd worst thing the Johnson bunch has done (so far). The 1st was not keeping the Brighton Park alderman in the loop that resulted in her and her staff person being assaulted. Thank you once again JB.
Comment by levivotedforjudy Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:30 am
Shortest read this Christmas? Mayor’s Successes in 2023
Comment by Lurker Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:33 am
Did Johnson actually think the IEPA would waive their approval? This has the legal community licking their chops.
Comment by bogey golfer Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:45 am
So we have a serious problem. What are the solutions?
Rather than drag this our, we need a new site. That seems to be the first precondition of moving forward. Perhaps the state does need to step in and say “move aside” at this point. Perhaps the Federal Executive needs to take control of this project of securing the life and safety of people seeking asylum in the United States. But at this point, the leader ship of Chicago is not prepared, and standing in the way.
Comment by H-W Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 10:55 am
Wow…Johnson his administration fumble more than the Bears. And AFTER they start construction the IEPA decides to rein them in?? Fail after fail here.
Comment by thisjustinagain Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 11:23 am
==I hope that the lease with the city has an out clause and that they do not have to pay any money until site is useable==
It doesn’t.
Comment by Stephanie Kollmann Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 11:24 am
remediation of 1 cubic foot of soil? How about a shovel and 2 5-gallon buckets. s/ I think
Comment by very old soil Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 11:26 am
I was confusingly brief. I mean that the license for the property doesn’t have an out clause. The fee must be paid for the site as-is regardless of usage or usability.
Comment by Stephanie Kollmann Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 11:32 am
I’m downloading the report now (177.3 mb! - easy to review!) and might have more comments later. This is what I do for a living so I’m very interested in the scope and results of the investigation.
Our bureaucracies in Illinois clearly aren’t capable of moving at the speed that the migrant crisis is requiring them to. I’ve dealt with property transfers involving buyers, sellers, lenders, labs, consultants, etc. that have been managed better than this and with more transparency. Just terrible management of this matter.
Comment by Lefty Lefty Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 11:45 am
remediation of 1 cubic foot of soil? How about a shovel and 2 5-gallon buckets. s/ I think
Having worked on many construction projects - it is not unusual to find pockets of bad soil. Mercury is common in Illinois soils. With such a small area that is contaminated - remediation should be quick - also the 6-inch cap of crushed gravel ( in the report) will help.
Mercury content of Illinois soils
January 1, 2004
For a survey of Illinois soils, 101 cores had been collected and analyzed to determine the current and background elemental compositions of Illinois soils. Mercury and other elements were determined in six samples per core, including a surface sample from each core. The mean mercury content in the surface samples was 33 ?? 20 ??g/kg soil, and the background content was 20 ?? 9 ??g/kg. The most probable sources of mercury in these soils were the parent material, and wet and dry deposition of Hg0 and Hg2+ derived from coal-burning power plants, other industrial plants, and medical and municipal waste incinerators. Mercury-bearing sewage sludge or other fertilizers applied to agricultural fields could have been the local sources of mercury. Although the mercury content correlated with organic carbon content or clay content in individual cores, when all the data were considered, there was no strong correlation between mercury and either the organic carbon or the clay-size content.
https://www.usgs.gov/publications/mercury-content-illinois-soils
Comment by Donnie Elgin Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 11:50 am
For… ” 1 ft. x 1 ft. x 1 ft. area ”
This happens a ton with any environmental agency involvement. The difference here is that since it is all gov run and has the Gov’s name on it, the resolution should be quick.
Now if that was a new burger king or mall, might take a while. Poor planning, but meh.
Comment by Ron - In Texas Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:05 pm
My thought is, the consultant who was following the remediation standard should have requested an okay from the State IEPA for their thoughts on how to best remediate the site. If a layer of cement, then asphalt, were needed, on top of the rock, then the State IEPA would have informed the consultant.
There are two scenarios: the consultant’s remediation standards are okay and the IEPA okays the site; or the consultant’s remdiation standards are not okay, more soil should have been removed or a thicker layer of materials should have been placed on top of the soil. I just hope that the first scenario is what occurs or if the negative scenario occurs, that the resolution is easy & it only delays the construction by a week or so.
Comment by Chris in ChiTown Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:12 pm
Is winter here yet, mayor Johnson?
Comment by D0 Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:15 pm
They aren’t going to farm the land or pull well water from it. While it’s not ideal, considering the desperate situation and deadlines, and the gravel cap essentially paving it over, is this really an insurmountable problem for temp housing?
Comment by Give Us Barabbas Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:32 pm
“There are two scenarios:”
There are three EPA-approved technologies…
The technologies for soil and waste that are included in the report are solidification and stabilization, soil washing and acid extraction, thermal treatment, and vitrification.
https://www.epa.gov/remedytech/treatment-technologies-mercury-soil-waste-and-water
Comment by Donnie Elgin Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 12:33 pm
We will see what IEPA says, but it does not seem like a clean bill of health to me. I noticed how they only took one soil sample from soil below one of the residential tents, and that was the one where they found mercury. All the other samples below the residential tents were gas samples if I am reading the exhibits correctly.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 2:04 pm
Lurker @ 1034 made me chuckle out loud. This thing is a hot mess.
Experience counts, not sound bites and photo ops. Get this fixed now
Comment by NorthsideNoMore Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 2:12 pm
Paging Mayor Johnson: reboot now. Your team of UWF and CTU alum are failing you. Jason Lee is failing you. Hire professionals before the wheels completely come off.
Comment by pragmatist Monday, Dec 4, 23 @ 2:30 pm
The more we Brandon, the farther away we seem to find viable solutions for so much. But hey - when can we do a photo op at the Christkindlmarkt?
Comment by Just a guy Tuesday, Dec 5, 23 @ 11:16 am