EDITOR'S NOTE: It was announced that the project would not proceed due to the environmental concerns raised in the report. That update can be found here.
Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration temporarily halted construction at a controversial base camp for migrants in Brighton Park just days after an environmental assessment report revealed levels of mercury and other contaminants in the soil that exceeded environmental limits.
Pritzker’s spokeswoman told NBC 5 Investigates the pause in construction is due to the Illinois EPA, which has additional questions about the number of samples collected at the site and how the contaminated soil was removed and disposed of.
Discussions between officials with the state and the city were expected to take place Monday.
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The base camp location – near the intersection of 38th Street and California - is designed to temporarily house up to 2,000 migrants. The city wants them removed from sleeping in airports or outside Chicago police stations as winter arrives.
The 800-page report, compiled by the city’s contractor, Terracon Consultants, revealed that levels of mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic substance were found in the soil. Additional remediation efforts were planned through Dec. 8, the report says. A map included in the report reveals that the mercury was discovered near an area labeled as “Sleep 1” – where one of two large tent-like structures were erected last week.
The contaminated soil was removed and disposed of at the Laraway Landfill and contractors placed six inches of gravel on top to mitigate any exposure the soil.
Investigations
It was not clear Monday afternoon how long the temporary pause would last.
During an unrelated court hearing Monday involving aa lawsuit filed by Brighton Park residents who oppose to the site’s use, an attorney for the City of Chicago said the site is now “cleaner” than it was when the city signed a land use agreement and identified its potential use.
There are questions about how soon the city knew contaminates existed, however.
NBC 5 investigates captured video Tuesday of trucks hauling in gravel and pavers smoothing it out.
And the report itself notes the city’s contractor showed up on Nov. 14 to further explore and collect more samples where mercury had been detected.
They returned again on Nov. 21 to sample the air, with additional samples being collected through Dec. 1.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson declined to answer questions about the contaminates when NBC 5 Investigates asked him last Tuesday.
“The assessment is ongoing, the full report will be provided by the end of the week,” he said.
Johnson did not respond our questions on Friday, hours before the report was released, or again Monday morning at a city event.
A spokesman for Johnson has not responded to our follow-up question.
A spokeswoman for Pritzker said they hope to better understand the methods used before determining whether to resume construction.
A University of Chicago – Illinois professor told NBC 5 Investigates that the mercury found at the Brighton Park migrant site could have been harmful to humans but she was pleased to read that it had been remediated.
Environmental Health professor Dr. Susan Buchanan with the University of Illinois Chicago – reviewed the environmental assessment report at the request of NBC 5 Investigates.
She says the city’s remediation efforts appear to be sufficient but says it’s a reasonable concern for the state to want to review the report.
“That the mercury they found would put humans at risk but they removed it,” she said. “The levels they found in the soil not in air coming from the soil, those put people at risk only if they ingest the soil. So putting the six inches of crushed rock on top should be fine on a temporary basis.”
Her comments to NBC 5 Investigates came Monday before Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that the state will not move forward with the Brighton Park location.
In an emailed statement, Pritzker’s office wrote:
“… the State of Illinois will not proceed with an asylum seeker shelter at the 38th and California site. IEPA cited concerns related to insufficient soil sampling and remediation. Given the significant time required to conduct additional sampling, to process and analyze results, and to implement corresponding further remediation, the State will work with the City to identify alternate shelter options.
The State is expediting efforts to launch the previously announced brick-and-mortar shelter site in Little Village with plans to have 200 beds available to families and people with disabilities. Since the City of Chicago selected the Brighton Park site, the State has requested alternate sites from the City as any additional shelter will operate as part of the City’s current shelter system. The State is also working with the Archdiocese of Chicago to explore additional options for brick-and-mortar shelter sites.”
The statement went on to state:
“IEPA conducted a thorough review of the Environmental Investigation and Corrective Action Summary prepared for the City of Chicago and identified several concerns with the sampling and remediation work performed at the Brighton Park site. IEPA found:
- The limited nature and insufficient number of soil borings conducted at the site does not provide a comprehensive assessment of environmental conditions across the site.
- Additional soil sampling is needed to further determine if there is additional contamination at the site and to fully investigate potential sources of contamination that were identified from historical site use.”
A construction pause was expected to continue through Tuesday as the Illinois EPA reviewed the 800-page environmental assessment report the revealed that mercury and other toxic substances were discovered in the soil of a Brighton Park base camp site that’s expected to house up to 2,000 migrants.
In a statement released alongside the report late Friday night, the city said the contaminated soil had been removed and disposed of at an off-site landfill and that further remediation efforts were expected in the coming days to address other toxic contamination found on site. The 800-page report details how other toxic metals – including arsenic and lead – were discovered along with semi-volatile compounds.
An attorney representing the City of Chicago in a lawsuit filed by Brighton Park residents opposed to the site told a Cook County judge that the city left the site “cleaner” than it was when it started.
The City of Chicago inked a land use deal with the Barnacres Corporation in October to use the land for the proposed migrant base camp – designed to remove migrants from sleeping at airport or outside Chicago police stations.
The six-month land use agreement – with cost more than $91,000 a month – included a clause that allows the City of Chicago to get out of the deal if the land was not deemed to be suitable.
