Residents press Manteno officials on Goshen plant safety, brownfield remediation and container fencing

Several residents used the public‑comment period at the Manteno Village Board meeting on April 21 to press officials for more transparency and safety checks related to the Goshen lithium‑ion battery project and a former Kmart site that residents described as a federally and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)‑registered brownfield at 33333 Spruce.

Anne Gates told the board the property at 33333 Spruce qualifies as a brownfield and asked why the village had not used available funds to hire IEPA or EPA remediation work before rezoning the site: "When we know that the site at 33333 Spruce is a federally and an Illinois EPA registered Brownfield ... why did you choose to not invest in having the EPA come in, do the evaluation, do the remediation?" Gates asked.

Amanda Piper raised safety concerns about containers stored behind the Goshen plant and cited the code language in the meeting packet about energy storage systems (ESS): "Per the code, fencing, an approved fence with a locked gate or other approved barrier shall be provided to keep the general public at least 5 feet from the outer enclosure of a deployed mobile ESS," Piper said, and noted that plan review recommended guardrails and fencing around the containers. She said she had emailed Village Administrator Chris LaRocque and received a general response that did not show where compliance filings were located.

Other public speakers asked for…