U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT
Pilsen Soil OU1 Railroad Spur and Alley Site - Removal Polrep
Final Removal Polrep
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region V
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Subject:
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POLREP #7
FINAL
Pilsen Soil OU1 Railroad Spur and Alley Site
C5N8 OU1
Chicago, IL
Latitude: 41.8535941 Longitude: -87.6610085
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To:
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From:
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Ramon Mendoza, On-Scene Coordinator
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Date:
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4/13/2018
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Reporting Period:
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August 2016 to April 12, 2018
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1. Introduction
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1.1 Background
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Site Number: |
C5N8 OU1 |
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Contract Number: |
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D.O. Number: |
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Action Memo Date: |
6/22/2015 |
Response Authority: |
CERCLA |
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Response Type: |
Time-Critical |
Response Lead: |
PRP |
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Incident Category: |
Removal Action |
NPL Status: |
Non NPL |
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Operable Unit: |
1 |
Mobilization Date: |
11/16/2015 |
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Start Date: |
11/16/2015 |
Demob Date: |
7/11/2016 |
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Completion Date: |
4/12/2018 |
CERCLIS ID: |
ILN000504472 |
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RCRIS ID: |
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ERNS No.: |
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State Notification: |
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FPN#: |
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Reimbursable Account #: |
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1.1.1 Incident Category
Time Critical Removal Action
1.1.2 Site Description
The
Site consists of an alley (owned by the City of Chicago) and a railroad spur
(historically operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway [BNSF]) located
in the Lower West Side (Pilsen) area of Chicago, Cook County. The Site is in the City’s
25th Ward. The east to west portion of the
alley is approximately 460 feet (ft) long and 18 ft wide (approximately 8,280
square feet [ft2] in area) and is roughly paved with asphalt over
25% of its length from the east side. The north to south portion of the alley is
about 110 feet long. The remaining 75%
of the alley is soil. The alley connects South Loomis Street and South Throop Street and is south of West 21st
Street and north of West Cermak Road. The
alley is bordered to the north by H. Kramer and Company (H. Kramer) and Co., the east
by South Throop Street, to the south by commercial and industrial businesses,
and to the west by the railroad spur and then South Loomis Street.
The railroad spur is approximately 1,120 ft
long and 28,215 ft2 in total area. The railroad spur consists of an unused rail
track and soil
and asphalt where it is bisected by South Loomis Street. The
western portion of the railroad spur is located in the north region of a
property occupied by the Benito Juarez Community Academy (Juarez), located at
1450-1510 West Cermak Road. The railroad spur curves to the
south, crosses South Loomis Street, and extends along the west boundary of H.
Kramer, located at 1345 West 21st Street. The eastern portion of the
railroad spur is bordered by businesses along Loomis Street and West Cermak
Road to the south. According to a historical Sanborn fire insurance map, the
railroad spur and the alley have existed since at least 1914.
The alley and railroad spur soil (surface soil and subsurface soil) generally consists of silty, clayey, sandy, and gravelly fill materials. In the alley soil, some traces of wood chips, cinders, pieces of glass, brick, plastic debris, and slag were observed [slag was observed in eight alley soil borings and one railroad spur soil boring]. Slag is a solid-phase waste generated by secondary lead processing. In general, the surface and subsurface railroad soil contained more gravel than the alley soil. The western portion of the railroad spur west of Loomis street also contained vegetation (weeds) and garbage.
These aforementioned areas have been divided into 10 Areas as shown below (Please note that Area 1 east is the portion directly north of the baseball field.) :
1.1.2.1 Location
In addition to the information provided in the previous section. The geographical coordinates for the alley portion of the Site are 41° 51'
10.38" North latitude and 87° 39' 35.54" West longitude. The geographical coordinates for the railroad
portion of the Site are 41° 51' 13.58" North latitude and 87° 39'
41.66" West longitude. The Site is an industrial site in a residential neighborhood with a
portion of it (Western Area of the Railroad Spur west of Loomis Street) located
within a ¼-mile of two schools - Juarez and the Manuel Perez Jr. Elementary
School (Perez). Two City of Chicago
parks are located within a ½-mile-radius of the Site, Dvorak Park and Throop
Park.
1.1.2.2 Description of Threat
EPA Removal Site Assessment
analytical results document high levels of Lead in soil at or near the surface (which exceed the EPA Removal Management Level [RML] of 800 mg/kg for industrial use scenario). Access to the Alley is unrestricted and the fence in portions of the railroad spur is inadequate to prevent trespassers. The surface soil at the Site has the potential to migrate offsite via wind, rain, vehicular and
pedestrian traffic, or manual dispersion and presents a threat of exposure to the residents and workers in the surrounding area.
1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results
EPA conducted a removal site assessment from Dec. 2012 to 2013 in the field and found that average alley surface soil total lead was 2419 mg/kg. Average railroad spur surface soil total lead was 4340 mg/kg. In addition to the high concentrations of total lead, two soil samples from the alley and one from the railroad spur collected from 0 to 6 inches bgs contained TCLP lead at concentrations exceeding the TCLP lead regulatory limit of 5.0 mg/L in 40 C.F.R. § 261.24(b).
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2. Current Activities
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2.1 Operations Section
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2.1.1 Narrative
On 9/29/2015 EPA signed an Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent For Removal Action with the potential responsible parties (PRPs) for the Site: H. Kramer & Co.. and Company, City of Chicago, and BNSF Railway Company.
The Responsible Parties initiated
the cleanup at the Site on 11/16/2015. EPA OSC and EPA START oversaw the cleanup
onsite. The overall goal of the removal action is to remove
the threat of lead exposure to surrounding residents and workers from surface
soil through: 1) removal of soil contaminated with high levels of lead above
the EPA RML, and 2) placement of permanent covers at the Site.
2.1.2 Response Actions
to Date
Response actions taken from 11/16 to 12/30/2015 are summarized as follows: High levels of lead contaminated soil (above the hazardous waste characteristic) were excavated, treated (to non-hazardous waste) and disposed offsite at a permitted landfill in Areas 4 and 8. In addition, low levels of lead contaminated soil (non-hazardous) were excavated and disposed offsite at a permitted landfill. Solid waste, vegetation, most rail ties and rail were also removed. All areas were graded with gravel cover with an underlying geotextile fabric for preparation for asphalt, except for Area 1 west where a final gravel cover was completed. Since the Asphalt plants closed in November, work crews temporarily demobed on 12/30/2015, with plans to return in April 2016.
Response actions were taken from April 1 to July 6, 2016 and Documented in previous POLREPs 1-6. In summary, except fo the western portion of Area 1, (which was covered with an eathen cap) an engineered asphalt cover was installed and completed in Eastern portion of Area 1, 2, 4,5,6,7,8,9, and 10. The primary cap construction crews have de-mobilized from the Site.
A repair crew from the City of Chicago returned on August 22, 2016 to repair the NE corner of Area 5.
H. Kramer contractors (GHD) completed the final survey of the Site in Sept. 2016.
GHD submitted its Draft Removal Completion Report (Dec. 6, 2016) which documented work conducted. EPA Reviewed and after addressing the EPA comments, the document went final and was approved and finalized April 6, 2017.
A final inspection of the engineered covers was conducted by the EPA OSC on April 12, 2018. No damage was observed and the Covers are in good condition. Photos are attached to this report.
2.1.2.1 Post Closure Removal Site Control - Sept 2016 to April 2018 :
During this period the responsible parties to the EPA Settlement and Agreement on Consent (AOC)drafted plans for post closure removal site controls for EPA review and concurrence. The controls were developed to meet the requirements under the AOC to ensure that the cover systems installed are maintained. Extended time was was granted by the EPA OSC since the controls require entering into environmental covenants which require review and signatures from multiple parties such as the Illinois EPA , Cook County, US EPA, responsible parties and the City of Chicago.
Overall, there are Environmental Convenants were signed by US EPA for : 1) Area 10 (August 18, 2017) ; 2) Areas 4 &6, (April 20, 2017); 3) Area 2 (April 5, 2018).
On January 12, 2018, the City of Chicago Dept. of Transportation Commissioner signed a letter (to the USEPA) committing the City to implement post removal site controls for the unparceled city owned properties for Areas 1,5,7,8&9.
2.1.2.2 - Notice of Completion - On Feb 20, 2018, EPA OSC sent an final letter to GHD/Project Coordinator : Notice of Completion of Work for the Pilsen Soil Operable Unit 1Railroad Spur and Alley Site.
2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)
On 9/29/2015 EPA signed an Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent (AOC) For Removal Action with the PRPs for the Site: H.Kramer and Company, City of Chicago, and BNSF Railway Company. Response Actions described in this report were taken in accordance with the AOC.
2.1.4 Progress Metrics
Regional Metrics
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This is an Integrated
River Assessment. The numbers should overlap.
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Miles of river systems
cleaned and/or restored
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N/A
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Cubic yards of
contaminated sediments removed and/or capped
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N/A
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Gallons of oil/water
recovered
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N/A
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Acres of soil/sediment
cleaned up in floodplains and riverbanks
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N/A
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Stand Alone Assessment
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Number of contaminated
residential yards cleaned up
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N/A
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Number of workers on
site
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8
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Contaminant(s) of
Concern
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Lead |
Oil Response Tracking
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Estimated volume
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Initial amount
released
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N/A |
Final amount collected
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N/A
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CANAPS Info
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FPN Ceiling Amount
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N/A
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FPN Number
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N/A
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Body of Water affected
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N/A
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Administrative and Logistical Factors (Place X where applicable)
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Precedent-Setting HQ
Consultations (e.g., fracking, asbestos)
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X
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Community challenges
or high involvement
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Radiological
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More than one PRP
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Endangered Species Act
/ Essential Fish Habitat issues
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Explosives
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AOC
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Historic preservation
issues
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X
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Residential impacts
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UAO
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NPL site
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Relocation
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DOJ involved
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Remote location
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Drinking water
impacted
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Criminal Charges Have
Been Filed*
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Extreme weather or
abnormal field season
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x
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Environmental justice
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Tribal consultation or
coordination or other issues
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Congressional
involvement
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High media interest
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Statutory Exemption
for $2 Million
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Statutory Exemption
for 1 Year
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Active fire present
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Hazmat Entry Conducted
– Level A, B or C
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Incident or Unified
Command established
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Actual air release
(not threatened)
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Green Metrics
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Metric
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Amount
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Units
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Diesel Fuel Used
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N/A
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gallons
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Unleaded Fuel Used
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N/A
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gallons
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Alternative/E-85 Fuel
Used
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N/A
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gallons
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Electricity from
electric company
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N/A
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kWh
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Electric Company Name and
Account #
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N/A
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Electricity from
sources other than the electric company
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N/A
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kWh
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Solid waste reused
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N/A
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Solid waste recycled
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N/A
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Water Used
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N/A
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gallons
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*Removal program
received this infomation from CID
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NO
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The following Solid Wastes were transported and disposed off-site (Completed by July 2016)
Pilsen Soil Ou1 Area Name
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Lead Contaminated Soil Excavated and Disposed
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Disposal Facility
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Comment
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Area 1
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175.3 cubic yards
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Laraway RDF, Waste Management (Joliet, IL)
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Excavated for grading and to meet cleanup goal.
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Area 2
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60.4 cubic yards
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Laraway RDF, Waste Management (Joliet, IL)
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Excavated for grading
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Area 4 (Treated for TCLP Lead)
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31.8 cubic yards
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Laraway RDF, Waste Management (Joliet, IL)
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Area 8 (Treated for TCLP Lead)
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73.2 cubic yards
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Laraway RDF, Waste Management (Joliet, IL)
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Area 8
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97.4 cubic yards
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Laraway RDF, Waste Management (Joliet, IL)
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Excavated for grading
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Area 6 & 7
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162 cubic yards
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Laraway RDF, Waste Management (Joliet, IL)
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Excavated for grading
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Total
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600.1 cubic yards
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Waste Stream |
Medium |
Quantity |
Manifest # |
Treatment |
Disposal
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Railroad ties (wood) |
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575 feet |
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disposal thru energy recovery, Staged BNSF Yard (Chicago) |
Rails (steel) |
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1150 feet |
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recycled. |
Solid waste (Garbage and Vegetation)
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38.8 tons |
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Shred-Al solid waste transfer station (Chicago)
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2.2 Planning Section
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2.2.1 Anticipated Activities
All Site work has been completed.
2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities
None.
2.2.1.2 Next Steps
None
2.2.2 Issues
None
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2.3 Logistics Section
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None
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2.4 Finance Section
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No information available at this time.
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2.5 Other Command Staff
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2.5.1 Safety Officer
Ramon Mendoza, EPA OSC,
Walt Pochron, GHD, Project Manager
2.5.2 Liaison Officer
2.5.3 Information Officer and Community Relations
Philippa Cannon, EPA (PIO support)
Clarke, Rosita, EPA (Community Relation).
Leon, Heriberto, EPA (Community Relation).
Muhtsun, Ruth (Community Relation).
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3. Participating Entities
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3.1 Unified Command
None
3.2 Cooperating Agencies
City of Chicago Department of Transportation
City of Chicago Department of Health
Chicago Public Schools
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Alderman Solis Office (City of Chicago)
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4. Personnel On Site
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None
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5. Definition of Terms
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No information available at this time.
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6. Additional sources of information
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6.1 Internet location of additional information/report
https://www.epa.gov/il/pilsen-area-soil-site
6.2 Reporting Schedule
None
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7. Situational Reference Materials
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No information available at this time.
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