Post details: Kerr-McGee agrees to cleanup West Chicago Superfund sites
04/20/05
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Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLP, agreed Wednesday to a settlement with government officials that is expected to result in the $74 million cleanup of radioactive waste and the restoration of natural resources at two Superfund sites near West Chicago.
A consent decree, filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago, requires Kerr-McGee to excavate about 77,000 cubic yards of radioactive contamination in the West Branch of the DuPage River and Kress Creek, and ship the contaminated soil to a facility licensed to handle such waste. The Oklahoma City-based company also will be required to repair any damage caused to vegetation, riverbanks and waterways because of the cleanup.
Kerr-McGee also will pay $6 million into the Superfund for past costs that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency incurred working on the sites; reimburse up to $1.675 million in future EPA oversight costs; and pay the state of Illinois $100,000 and the U.S. Department of the Interior $75,000 for costs relating to overseeing natural resources work.
"This agreement is truly the result of federal, state and local governments and entities working together to ensure that these sites that once were contaminated are going to become safe as neighborhoods and a park," Attorney General Lisa Madigan said.
