Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza is joining the chorus of 10th Ward neighbors calling for the Illinois EPA to delay consideration of General Iron’s permit to move from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side.
General Iron
The city fined General Iron $6,000 after two explosions on Monday rattled the North Side metal shredder, officials announced. The fines are a result of two citations issued by the city late Thursday.
General Iron Industries believes that two explosions at its scrap metal-shredding facility that shook Lincoln Park on Monday were connected to a new piece of pollution control equipment installed last year.
Chicago officials have ordered General Iron to cease operations while Monday’s explosion is investigated, but residents, who have been fighting for a shutdown of the facility, say the action doesn’t go far enough.
General Iron ceased shredding operations at its Lincoln Park facility after an explosion Monday morning rocked the neighborhood, prompting residents and the local alderman to call for the facility to be permanently closed.
Neighbors unanimously spoke out Thursday against General Iron’s application for a permit to move its Lincoln Park metal shredding operation to the Southeast Side, but questioned whether their concerns would even count.
The Illinois EPA will hold a virtual hearing Thursday to determine whether it should issue a permit allowing General Iron to operate on the city's Southeast Side.
A longtime scrap metal recycler reaches a deal with the city to close up shop at its location next to the Lincoln Yards site and move operations to the Southeast Side. But not everyone is happy about it.
New rules for a scrap metal yard on the city’s North Side require the facility to reduce emissions of potentially cancer-causing compounds after it violated federal air pollution standards last summer.
General Iron announced plans earlier this month to move its scrap metal yard from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side, where residents are concerned about the company’s environmental track record.
