The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently provided notice in the Federal Register of an administrative settlement for recovery of past response costs concerning the Gilberts/Kedzie Site in the Village of Gilberts, Illinois with the following settling parties: Glen J. Kedzie, Big Timber Landscape Company, Inc., and GTCS Corp.
The site is the location of a former battery cracking and recycling operation. The main site is located immediately north of the intersection of Railroad and Mill Streets bounded by Galligan Road on the east and the Chicago and Northwestern Railway on the west. Lead acid batteries were cracked open to recover the lead. Some of the lead seeped into the ground along with the acid contained in the batteries. Extensive environmental sampling last summer identified a six-acre area of gross contamination (mainly lead). Later, a second area of contamination was discovered to the southwest, where the Village of Gilberts Public Works building is now located, west of the railroad tracks – this is known as the Tower Hill Road site.
The settlement requires the settling parties to pay $3,000.00 to the Hazardous Substance Superfund and additional payments when the Site is sold. The settlement includes a covenant not to sue the settling parties pursuant to Section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a).
Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.
