The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced they're abandoning their contentious plan to expand an underwater toxic waste dump along the South Side Lake Michigan shoreline. This decision comes in the wake of a lawsuit and vocal opposition from Chicago community groups and environmentalists concerned about Lake Michigan's safety and the potential health impacts on residents.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the proposed expansion is supposed to pile an additional million cubic yards of contaminated sediment on top of a disposal site that's nearly reached its capacity. The sediment was primarily sourced from the Calumet River, a significant waterway for transporting goods in and out of Chicago, laced with hazardous substances like mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls. But, residents and advocates have argued that the South Side has borne more than its fair share of industrial burden, and it's time for a change.
"This is very good news for Chicagoans and all of us who care about protecting healthy communities and Lake Michigan," Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, told Chicago Sun-Times. His organization has long fought against the Army Corps' expansion plans, emphasizing that better alternatives exist.
The Illinois EPA contributed to this shift in plans by denying the state water quality permits the Army Corps needed to proceed, offering a pointed letter in January that called out the proposal's inconsistencies with environmental regulations. Acting Director James Jennings implored the Army Corps "to explore alternative means to manage dredged materials," as per the Chicago Tribune. The state agency suggested options like utilizing the sediment for habitat creation or construction materials, steering clear of further burdening the 10th Ward with pollution.
After the dredge-and-dump site reached its full capacity, the originally planned transformation into a parkland promised to the community was delayed indefinitely. "The ball is now in the court of the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a better alternative, a better solution," Learner added. Advocates now focus on ensuring the current site is appropriately capped and turned into the park that was promised decades ago to the residents—a long-awaited reclamation of lakeside land for public enjoyment and not industrial wastage.
