EPA to Hold Public Meeting Jan. 7 on Proposed Agreement with Illinois DNR to Clean up Brandon Road Interbasin Project Site in Joliet
CHICAGO (Dec. 20, 2024) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a public comment period regarding a proposed settlement with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources addressing the property located at 1800 Channahon Road in Joliet, Illinois, to be used in the Brandon Road Interbasin Project. A public meeting is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2025, and the comment period will end on Jan. 8, 2025.
The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is a $1.15 billion U.S Army Corps of Engineers project to install barriers at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam to stop invasive carp from getting into the Great Lakes. The parcels of land that Illinois DNR intends to acquire for the project are potentially contaminated. Under the proposed settlement, Illinois DNR will investigate and clean up the 2.32-acre property with oversight from EPA and Illinois EPA. In exchange for Illinois DNR’s satisfactory performance of the settlement requirements, the United States will provide Illinois DNR with liability protections under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for any existing contamination at the site or for the work Illinois DNR will conduct.
EPA’s public meeting will be held:
When: Tuesday, January 7
Where: Joliet Public Library
McGuire Room (first floor)
150 N. Ottawa St.
Joliet, Ill.
Time: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Presentation begins at 6 p.m.
EPA is accepting comments from the public until January 8. EPA will consider all comments received and may modify or withdraw its consent to the proposed settlement if comments received disclose facts or considerations which indicate that the settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. More information, including the proposed settlement and instructions on how to submit comments, is available on the regulations website.