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Owner seeks highway-authority agreement for contaminated 1125 Aurora Ave. site; city counsel says liability indemnified
Summary
Attorneys and environmental consultants representing the owner of 1125 Aurora Avenue presented an informational briefing June 3 seeking a highway-authority agreement that would allow some contamination to remain under pavement if the owner records an indemnity covering future city costs.
Attorneys and environmental consultants representing the property owner at 1125 Aurora Avenue gave an informational presentation June 3 on a proposed highway-authority agreement to allow contamination left from prior underground storage tanks to remain beneath a paved right-of-way with engineered controls and indemnities.
Dennis Walsh, outside environmental counsel for the city’s requester, described the agreement as a tool that permits contaminants that may have migrated under East Indian Trail Road to remain in place if the city accepts the pavement or right-of-way as an engineered barrier. Walsh said the applicant will execute an indemnity agreement so the city would be reimbursed for costs if contamination is encountered in the future during public-works activities.
Larry Birch, a senior project manager and professional geologist with Eagle Environmental, and Brad Schumacher, Eagle’s owner, summarized the investigation and cleanup history. The site previously hosted a gas station; one underground tank was removed in 1992 and five more tanks were removed in 2019. Testing discovered contamination in site soils; some impacted soil has been hauled off but the state allows “risk-based closure” so some impact may remain where exposure pathways are addressed.
Consultants said any soil excavated for future construction must be managed as special waste and taken to an appropriate disposal facility. Walsh said the property owner has agreed to an indemnity and that the city would record the indemnity against the property so responsibilities run with the land; in the event of an ownership change the recorded agreement would protect the city’s claim for reimbursement.
City staff and counsel noted there has been no testing of the roadway right-of-way itself; modeling suggests the contamination could be near-surface and within the top 10–15 feet, but the Bureau of the Illinois EPA will determine corrective actions. Walsh said the Illinois Department of Transportation already approved a highway-authority agreement for the Broadway portion of the site; the city’s action would be a similar accommodation.
The presentation was informational; the matter is held at the Information Technology committee and is expected to move to the Committee on Administrative Litigation (Cal) at the next meeting, city counsel said. No council vote or ordinance was adopted at the June 3 meeting.
