News Releases - 2002

Illinois EPA Holds Public Hearing on New Jersey Zinc/Mobil Chemical Superfund Site

Springfield, Ill. -- The Illinois EPA will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, October 9, 2002, at 6:30 p.m., to accept written and oral comments on the alternative remedies studied and the Proposed Plan for the South Ditch sediments of the New Jersey Zinc/Mobil Chemical Superfund site in DePue, Illinois.

The hearing will be held at the V.F.W. Hall, located at 202 West 1st Street in DePue. The public comment period began on September 9 and will end November 12, 2002. The Agency will consider all comments before making a final decision on the chosen remedy.

New Jersey Zinc/Mobil Chemical site was a primary zinc smelter located in DePue from the early 1900s until the late 1980s. In 1999, the site was placed on the National Priorities List, also known as Superfund.

The State of Illinois and the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for the site signed an Interim Consent Order, entered in November 1995. The signing PRPs were Horsehead Industries, Inc., Mobil Oil Corp. and Viacom International Inc. Since then, Mobil Oil has become ExxonMobil. One requirement of that Order was for the PRPs to investigate (with IEPA oversight) the sediments in the South Ditch, a ditch between the former plant property and Lake DePue. Because of the nature of past operations at the plant, sediments in this ditch contain high levels of metals. The Interim Consent Order also required the PRPs to identify and evaluate alternatives to remedy the South Ditch sediments and to design and implement the remedy.

The IEPA and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA) have evaluated the alternatives considered for the sediment and have designated one of the alternatives as the Proposed Plan. The public is invited to comment on all the studied alternatives as well as the Proposed Plan. The selected alternative (sub alternative 4b) proposes that the "unnatural" sediments be removed from the south ditch and stored in an interim storage unit to be constructed on the former plant property. A permanent remedy for the sediment would be selected later when the remedy for the entire site is selected.

Fact sheets and other project information can be obtained from Virginia Wood, 217/785-1269 or from Rich Lange, 815/447/2125. Fact sheets and the Proposed Plan are also available on the IEPA website at www.epa.state.il.us/community-relations/fact-sheets.html. The Proposed Plan, study of remedies and other project documents are located for public review in the Selby Township Library on Depot Street in DePue.