{"id":705,"date":"2018-03-02T18:17:02","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T00:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.waukeganharborcag.com\/?page_id=705"},"modified":"2020-02-29T22:09:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T04:09:02","slug":"remediation-sites-status","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.waukeganharborcag.com\/?page_id=705","title":{"rendered":"Remediation Sites Status"},"content":{"rendered":"

Current\u00a0Status of\u00a0Environmental\u00a0Remediation Sites<\/h1>\n

The good news is most have been remediated and are now being monitored to assure the remediation\u00a0work has been successfully completed<\/h4>\n
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Area of Concern<\/h2>\n

OMC Plant and adjacent sites<\/span><\/h4>\n

The following\u00a0status summary\u00a0is provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund website (See the complete EPA summary<\/a><\/span>)<\/p>\n

History:<\/strong> The Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) site is located in the northern section of Waukegan Harbor in Waukegan, Illinois. The 100-acre area along the shore of Lake Michigan is the former location of an outboard-boat-motor manufacturing plant and a former railroad tie, coal gasification and coke plant facility. Contaminants of concern include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which OMC used in hydraulic fluids at its boat motor manufacturing plant, and trichloroethene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent that OMC used to degrease newly made parts. Following immediate actions to protect human health and the environment, the site\u2019s long-term cleanup is ongoing.<\/p>\n

Status:<\/strong> EPA divided the site into four areas for cleanup. The status of each area is discussed below.<\/p>\n

Waukegan Harbor:<\/em> <\/strong>OMC, under EPA oversight, first cleaned up Waukegan Harbor in 1992 by dredging PCB-contaminated sediment. To fully clean up the harbor, from 2012-2013 EPA hydraulically dredged harbor sediment with residual PCB contamination and consolidated it on site. During 2014, the dredging-related equipment was removed and the consolidation facility was capped. The State of Illinois will continue to monitor PCB levels in harbor fish annually. (Also see Harbor History<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Waukegan Manufactured Gas and Coke Plant (WCP):<\/em><\/strong> Soil cleanup began in November 2004 and finished in November 2005. Thousands of tons of contaminated soil were dug up and removed. Once cleanup levels were met, excavated areas were backfilled with clean material, and a clean top soil layer placed over the site. The City of Waukegan owns and maintains the property. Groundwater cleanup consists of two phases, one active and one passive. The active phase began in the fall of 2008 with construction of a groundwater treatment plant. Treatment took place in innovative aerobic (oxygen-loving) bacterial reactors in which the organic chemical contaminants served as food for the bacteria. \u201cDigested\u201d water was then filtered and pumped back into the ground. Active groundwater cleanup finished in September 2011. All machinery has since been dismantled. The passive phase began in early 2012. This phase includes monitoring remaining residual groundwater contamination until cleanup goals are met. In 2015, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed clean sediment dredged from the outer section of Waukegan Harbor onto the Waukegan Coke Plant site under an agreement between EPA, Illinois EPA, and the City of Waukegan. The sediment will be part of a city-planned 3 foot-thick clean soil barrier to permit residential development of the property.<\/p>\n

PCB Containment Cells:<\/em><\/strong> Three PCB containment cells were put in and filled in 1992. The City of Waukegan, under EPA oversight, is in charge of their operation and maintenance. Since 2005, the city has maintained surface covers on the containment cells, conducted routine inspections and operated groundwater pumps to remove and treat water from inside the cells. To date, monitoring shows that the cells are robust and no leaks have occurred. In 2014-15, a new containment cell was completed to encapsulate very contaminated soil discovered in the southwestern portion of the site.<\/p>\n

OMC Plant 2:<\/em><\/strong> EPA received funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in June 2009 to begin cleanup work on the PCB-contaminated Plant 2 building. Demolition work on the 600,000-square-foot building began in January 2010 and finished in July 2010. About 5,000 tons of steel were recovered, most of which was recycled locally. In 2010, EPA also began digging up and removing contaminated soil and sediment for off-site disposal. Excavation and off-site disposal of over 350,000 cubic yards of soil and sediment was substantially completed in 2015. A groundwater plume highly contaminated with site-related solvents (referred to as dense non-aqueous phase liquids, or DNAPLs) was treated in 2011 with bentonite clay and zero-valent iron to break down the contaminants. Other lower concentration contaminated groundwater plumes were treated in 2014 by injecting the groundwater with an oxidizer (sodium permanganate) to break down the solvents.\u00a0 To address groundwater contamination near the property\u2019s south boundary, an air sparging system was installed in September 2011. Groundwater treatment is nearing completion and will be followed by monitoring remaining residual groundwater contamination until cleanup goals are met.<\/p>\n

View Site on EPA Map<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

North Shore Gas South Plant<\/span><\/h4>\n

The following\u00a0status summary\u00a0is\u00a0provided by\u00a0US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund website (<\/span>See the complete EPA summary<\/a><\/span>)<\/p>\n

History:<\/strong> The North Shore Gas (NSG) South Plant former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site is located on Pershing Road in an industrial \/ commercial area of Waukegan, Illinois. The site, which covers over 20 acres, includes the 1.9-acre former MGP facility along Pershing Road and adjacent areas where MGP residuals have been found. They include:<\/p>\n