The Sims Metal Management has been granted permission to continue its metal scrapping operations at its 2500 S. Paulina St. facility by the City of Chicago, despite heavy protest from neighbors and environmental groups, reports from the Chicago Sun-Times and the Block Club Chicago indicate.
The Chicago Department of Public Health issued Sims a permit valid retroactively from November 16, 2021, to November 15, 2024, and the city has stated Sims has implemented control systems to address previous alleged violations including implementing air monitors as per a mandate by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, some community members like Michael Hartnett, a member of the Southeast Environmental Alliance, expressed their dissatisfaction through a statement saying, "Approving operations for a known polluter while communities bear the consequences raises serious questions about whose interests are being served," according to an email obtained by Block Club Chicago.
City officials stand by their approval citing that emissions from Sims would not cause health effects for the nearby community and declaring that control systems to achieve significant reductions in emissions have been or are being put in place, as detailed in the Chicago Sun-Times article.
There is a condition in the permit requiring Sims to adhere to other mandates and environmental protections. The city has stipulated special conditions directing the company to install equipment that monitors dust and report emissions that exceed acceptable levels, but residents like Brian McKeon of Unete La Villita have cast doubt on the city's pledge to enforce compliance with such conditions stating, "If [the city] is not going to enforce minimal rules, why do we think [it's] going to enforce stringent rules?" which was echoed in the reporting by Block Club Chicago.
As the situation unfolds, the controversy continues amidst the company's history of infractions and litigation. Southside Recycling criticized the City for not holding Sims to the same stringent evaluation processes forcing Southside Recycling to sue the City, making their concerns known through their spokesperson, Randall Samborn, saying, "There is no excuse for the City’s grossly disparate treatment of Sims' antiquated facility and Southside Recycling's modern new facility."
