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Delays to the third major stormwater detention area, located at Sterling North Park (SW-033), are due to discovery of VOC’s and EPA regulated metals. Staff asked for an additional $6,800 in soil and core sample testing to try and pinpoint where and how much soil is contaminated that may require treatment or removal. Once that’s done, staff will come back to council with findings and recommendations.
From the green sheets:
The proposed site for the Sterling North Park Stormwater Improvement project was formerly a wastewater treatment plant operated by the Downers Grove Sanitary District. The plant included sludge beds and a lagoon that were operational from 1931 to 1963.Given the previous use of the property, there are materials in the ground that must be handled and remediated pursuant o the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) regulations. To limit future environmental liabilities for the site, the Village has entered the property into the IEPA s voluntary Site Remediation Program (SRP) and is seeking a No Further Remediation (NFR) letter. The Village entered into a contract with AEC to assist the Village in obtaining the NFR letter. On July 7, 2009, the Village amended the contract to allow AEC to perform additional testing and reporting required to obtain the NFR.
The additional testing indicates that portions of the site contain certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals. These materials appear at levels necessitating handling and disposal per IEPA guidelines. The required handling and disposal costs are significantly higher than the standard handling and disposal costs and could dramatically affect the total project cost. While the testing completed to date has indicated the presence and general location of these materials, additional testing is required to further delineate the location and estimated amount of affected soils.
The property is owned by the Park District. When plans were first made public, many area residents objected to the upgraded park. The wet bottom (always has water in it) facility is designed to relieve flooding along the low areas of Warren Ave. that collect stormwater run off from the entire near northwest side neighborhood, identified in the stormwater master plan as Subwatershed C, located in the northern portion of the North St. Joseph Creek Watershed, generally west of Middaugh Avenue, south of Grant Street, east of Cornell Avenue and north of St. Joseph Creek. The ground has a shallow north to south slope toward the creek.
Roadway, house, and yard flooding is common in heavy rain events along two areas of Warren Avenue between Cornell Avenue and Seeley Avenue. There is also flooding along Gilbert Avenue associated with the St. Joseph Creek floodplain.
The entire project includes replacing existing inadequate storm sewers with larger pipes, constructing additional storm sewer lines, and regrading areas to gain stormwater storage in addition to the Sterling Park detention facility. The facility was to be the second of four parts built of a three year project that will cost upwards of $6 million.
So who rightly bears the additional cost? The Village? The Park District? The Sanitary District? Either way, it’s us!