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Saturday, December 13, 2008

A5

NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS

EPA insists DePue cleanup is on schedule
Village continues legal action to speed up work seeing none at all
By Lindsay Welbers Princeton Reporter

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DEPUE Cleanup at the DePue Superfund site is progressing as scheduled, according to site manager Rich Lange, but some argue that isnt good enough. The arduous process has been in the works since 1995 when the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the DePue Group agreed on a schedule. The DePue Group is an organization owned by Viacom and Exxon Mobil and whose purpose is to supervise the clean-up of the federal Superfund site. Superfund sites by their nature, theyre large, theyre complex and theres just a tremendous amount of formality, said Lange. The process is to some extent frustrating in its nature. The process has been nearly 14 years in the making, and Lange said a lot of work has been done. It goes through a very formal process, there are legal documents signed for every aspect of it, Lange said. However not everyone is pleased. Village President Don Bosnich believes the cleanup isnt moving along quickly enough. As far as the village is concerned its not progressing at all, Bosnich said. When you talk to the EPA and those companies, they want you to think this is moving at the speed of light and I just dont feel thats the case. Bosnich said the scheduling was agreed upon by the IEPA and DePue Group, and the village was not consulted when the schedule was made. Its very easy for them to say its progressing but its the village thats suffering, Bosnich said. Assistant village attorney Melissa Sims shared Bosnichs sentiment. In September after heavy rains, Sims said green water seeped out of the slag pile in the center of DePue. She believes the discoloration is likely caused by metals in the slag pile. Metals are inorganic, they do not break down, Sims

NewsTribune photo/Kemp Smith

Rich Lange from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency stands outside the DePue Superfund cleanup site, polluted land left behind by years of zinc smelting operations. Major corporations Exxon and Viacom face legal action and fines from the village of DePue over the speed of the cleanup, or lack thereof.

said. Thats in the topsoil and people plant gardens and kids play outside. Sims is currently handling lawsuits against Viacom and Exxon Mobil. With the lawsuits the village is attempting to fine Viacom and Exxon Mobil up to $10,000 per day for owning contaminated land. The lawsuits are separate from the U.S. EPA-mandated cleanup of the site. (The fines) might or might not cause them to clean it up faster, Sims said. It doesnt make or break our case (if its cleaned up). Lange insists there is plenty being done and more on the way. Theres been a lot of work done it doesnt always involve diesel smoke, Lange said, referring to the large diesel-burning equipment used for the labor on the site. Theres years of process before we get to the diesel smoke phase. Regarding the cleanup of Lake DePue, Lange said the IEPA is entering the remedial investigation to determine the level of contamination in the area and what parts of the lake may or may not be clean. Once the remedial investigation is complete, the EPA will do a feasibility study that

Lange estimates will take around two years. Once the feasibility study is complete the IEPA will need to present findings at a public hearing and then have another hearing to determine what course of action is best. Well take 20 different options and blend them into multiple components, Lange said. It may result in 40 or 50 different concepts for the lake in toto and thats an unreasonable number ... well pare that down into a reasonable number, say six or eight. Those six or eight options will be decided upon by the U.S. government and EPA after a public hearing where the public, including Exxon Mobil and Viacom, can put in their two cents. (Viacom) and Exxon will have no more weight at that hearing than any citizen of DePue, Lange said. Lange said there has been a lot of cooperation between the IEPA and the DePue Group. There used to be a lot of addling between the agency and the DePue Group, Lange said. We have reached an accord and they have acknowledged that theyll have to spend millions. Gail Lobin, spokesperson for the DePue Group, says the group has done a lot for the vil-

lage to get the site cleaned up. The DePue Group remains committed to working with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the DePue community and other stakeholders to ensure that a thorough remedial investigation is safely completed, Lobin said. Lobin says the DePue Group has installed and operates a water treatment plant to prevent metals from leaving the site, closed the Gypstack (uphill from town), planted vegetation to

prevent dust or airborne materials from leaving the site and removed impacted sediment from the South Ditch near the defunct industrial plant so animals and vegetation could come back to the area. Multiple millions of dollars are being spent and those monies arent without a great deal of thought and planning, Lange said. Lindsay Welbers can be reached at (815) 872-1069 Ext. 13 or ntprinceton @ivnet.com.

Submitted photo

Residue from metals leaches from the immense slagheap, according to attorney for the village of DePue Melissa Sims, who is continuing legal action against site owners Exxon and Viacom.

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