EPA Proposes Adding Acme Steel Coke Plant in Chicago to Superfund National Priorities List
CHICAGO (September 6, 2023) -- Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed adding Acme Steel Coke Plant in Chicago, Illinois to the Superfund National Priorities List, a list of sites in the United States where releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants pose significant threats to human health and the environment. The 60-day public comment period begins September 7.
“Superfund cleanups make a visible and lasting difference in communities, especially communities already overburdened by pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The historic funding secured through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda provides a critical boost in funding for sites on the National Priorities List, allowing EPA to tackle legacy pollution in underserved communities across the country.”
“Adding the Acme Coke site to the NPL gives Chicagoans a chance to cleanup a site with contamination nearly 100-years in the making,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “This area of Chicago is already overburdened with legacy contamination. Cleaning up this site will be a huge environmental boon to the community.”
The former Acme Steel Coke Plant site, located approximately 14 miles south of downtown Chicago, was the location of coke production for nearly 100 years. Coke was produced through destructive distillation (coking) of coal in large airtight ovens, creating a product then used in iron and steel production. Environmental assessments found that exposed waste was present on-site. Samples of the waste detected the presence of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), cyanide, and mercury. The site threatens nearby surface water bodies, which include wetlands and areas sometimes used for fishing. EPA worked with Illinois EPA to assess the site and both agencies supported listing the site on the NPL.
Superfund sites disproportionately affect overburdened and underserved communities. The Acme Steel site is in a community with potential environmental justice concerns based on data from EPA’s EJSCREEN tool.
Nationally there are thousands of contaminated sites, from landfills, to processing plants, to manufacturing facilities, due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. The historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law accelerates EPA’s work to clean up this pollution with a $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund Remedial Program. The law also reinstates the Superfund chemical excise taxes, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address legacy pollution.
EPA typically proposes sites to the National Priorities List based on a scientific determination of risks to people and the environment, consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan. Before EPA adds a site to the National Priorities List, a site must meet EPA’s requirements and be proposed for addition to the list in the Federal Register, subject to a 60-day public comment period. EPA adds the site to the National Priorities List if it continues to meet the listing requirements after the public comment period closes and the agency has responded to any comments.
Background:
The National Priorities List includes the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. This list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at non-federal sites included on the National Priorities List are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.
Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited for significant reductions in both birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24 percent within three miles of sites after cleanup.
Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has followed through on updating the National Priorities List twice a year, as opposed to once per year. Today’s announcement is the second time EPA is updating the National Priorities List in 2023.
For information about Superfund and the National Priorities List, please visit EPA’s website.
For more information about the Acme Steel site, please click here.
To provide public comments, please go to the Federal Register notice and follow the instructions for public comment.
For Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the National Priorities List and proposed sites, please visit New Proposed and New Superfund National Priorities List Sites.
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