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Waukegan committee adds 1509 Washington Street to restricted groundwater zone
Summary
The Waukegan Environmental and Sustainability Committee voted unanimously April 6 to amend the city code to add a former dry-cleaner site at 1509 Washington Street to the restricted groundwater zone, implementing Illinois EPA-required institutional controls; the ordinance passed on a 5-0 roll call.
On April 6, 2026, the Waukegan Environmental and Sustainability Committee voted unanimously to amend the City of Waukegan Code to add a property tied to a former dry cleaner at 1509 Washington Street to the municipality's restricted groundwater zone.
The measure, introduced as an amendment to Chapter 11, Article 1, Section 11:1, was presented to the committee as part of required institutional controls tied to an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency cleanup. "Institutional controls are government rules that restrict groundwater usage in this case," said Noel, who explained the cleanup history and the ordinance edits, including adding the property to the list of sites with a "no further remediation" letter and adding a map and clarifying where definitions appear in the code.
The change was put to a roll-call vote after discussion; Alderman Turner, Alderman Guzman, Alderman Bolton, Alderman Felix and Chairman Florian each answered "I," and the motion passed.
Why it matters: adding the property to the restricted groundwater zone codifies limitations on groundwater use tied to the cleanup and is a standard mechanism the Illinois EPA uses to reduce exposure risk when soil or groundwater remains subject to contamination remediation requirements.
Committee members did not attach additional conditions during the meeting. The chair offered the committee document summarizing the cleanup and ordinance language to any member who wanted it. No further council-level actions or effective dates were stated in the committee transcript; next procedural steps beyond the committee vote were not specified in the record. The committee adjourned at 6:33 p.m.
