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Estech General Chemical Co. Superfund Site COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN May 2020 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose of this CIP and community outreach objectives. THE SITE 3 Description and history of activities. COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND 5 QUESTIONS Community members concerns, questions and comments. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT GOALS 7 AND ACTIVITIES Goals, activities and timeline to keep residents and local officials informed and involved. THE COMMUNITY 15 Composition of the city of Calumet City. APPENDICES 17 Appendix A – Glossary – Initials – Acronyms: Definition of key words, initials and acronyms (words are in bold throughout the document). Appendix B – Community Resources: Places where community members can find more information about the site and possible meeting locations. Appendix C – List of Contacts: List of federal, state, and local agencies and interested groups. Appendix D – Community Engagement and the Superfund Process: EPA’s step-by-step process to determine the best way to clean up a contaminated site and opportunities for community involvement. i 1 INTRODUCTION Describes the purpose of this CIP and presents EPA’s community outreach objectives. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prepared this Community Involvement Plan to inform, engage and support the community affected by the Estech General Chemical Corporation Superfund site located in Calumet City, Illinois. Our community involvement effort is committed to promoting effective and meaningful communication between the public and the Agency. We want to make sure the community’s current concerns and information needs are considered as activities at the site progress. This CIP was prepared to support environmental and cleanup activities at the Estech site. We used several information sources to develop this plan, including research, discussions with community members and information gathered at community interviews. We conducted interviews with five residents interested in the site activities and cleanup efforts on April 27-28, 2016. After conducting the interviews, the development of the CIP was put on hold as EPA was waiting for funding to conduct the Remedial Investigation. In February 2020, EPA conducted an additional interview with a city official and proceeded to finalize the CIP. (Words in bold are defined in Appendix A.) EPA’s community outreach objectives: • Assist the public in understanding the decision-making process during the investigation and cleanup and the community’s role in that process. • Give the public accessible, accurate, timely and understandable information about the project as it moves forward. • Ensure adequate time and opportunity for the public to give informed and meaningful input and for that input to be considered. • Reflect community concerns, questions and information needs. • Respect and fully consider public input throughout the entire process. This CIP describes EPA’s plan for addressing concerns and keeping residents informed and involved in investigation and cleanup activities at the site. We will use this document as a guide to involve and communicate with residents, businesses and the local governments in the city of Calumet City. If you are interested in submitting comments or have questions or suggestions concerning this CIP, please contact: Charles Rodriguez Community Involvement Coordinator EPA Region 5 312-886-7472 [email protected] 1 1 Community Engagement is Essential to the Success of Superfund Cleanups Ongoing input and involvement by the community is essential to our efforts to provide effective community engagement. We have learned that its decision- making ability is enhanced by actively seeking input and information from the community. Community members need to be involved in all phases of the investigation and cleanup so that the contamination is addressed in a way that protects people and the environment – now and in the future. Residents, business owners and local government officials may be able to provide valuable information about a hazardous site that can help us determine the best way to clean it up. Information can help determine the location of contamination, how people may be exposed to the contamination and perhaps sources of the contamination. Local residents educated EPA about their community and told EPA about their concerns, which are explained in the Community Concerns and Questions section on the Page 5. A CIP is a working document that will evolve as the investigation and cleanup process continues and input is received from the community. It is intended to be flexible, adaptable and used as a guideline for our communication with the community. 2 1 THE SITE The Estech General Chemicals Company site is an inactive facility located in a heavily industrialized area at 150 Marble Street, Calumet City, Ill. An abandoned building, which was historically part of the pesticide plant, is the only remaining structure on site. Estech manufactured, stored and disposed of pesticides and fertilizers at the facility from 1952 until 1969. After the company stopped operations at the site, the land became an open dump for auto fluff waste contaminated with PCBs, pesticides and semi-volatile organic compounds. It was used as a disposal location for demolition debris, construction debris and other wastes. The other wastes disposed on the site included shredded demolition debris, construction debris and automobile interiors. Contaminants were discovered up to 20 feet deep in a 7.5-acre lagoon, groundwater, sediment and site soils. The property borders the Grand Calumet River, which has a fish consumption advisory due to the presence PCBs. In 1999, EPA buried 27 acres of auto fluff under 12 inches of topsoil. In September 2015, the site was placed on the National Priorities List, which is EPA’s list of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified for possible long-term remedial action under CERCLA, or the Superfund Program. Sites listed on the National Priorities List are typically referred to as Superfund sites. Current Status EPA plans to begin the Remedial Investigation by conducting soil, groundwater, surface water and sediment sampling at the site beginning in Spring 2020. The sampling will help determine the extent of contamination at the site and will help EPA to develop cleanup alternatives that are protective of human health and the environment. The sampling will have no impact on nearby residents and industry. Fencing will be installed to limit access to the site area. EPA expects sampling activities to continue into Spring 2021. Radio Tower 3 1 Site Boundary Estech Site Boundary Map 4 1 COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS Summarizes what community members are concerned about, the questions they asked and what they told EPA. What We Heard This section focuses on the concerns and issues that EPA heard from community members about the site. We learned about concerns, questions and informational needs related to the Estech site by speaking with and/or conducting interviews with five residents, a local official and other interested community members. The concerns and comments we heard are below. Note to readers: This section is intended to faithfully record and reflect the issues and concerns expressed to EPA by residents and others interviewed during the community interviews. By necessity, this is a collection and summary of thoughts and observations and, in some cases, opinions. Please be cautioned that the statements contained in this section may or may not be factual and that the opinions and concerns expressed may or may not be valid. 5 1 Community Comments and Concerns To prepare for the community interviews, EPA mailed out approximately 400 postcards inviting residents, local officials and other community organizations to meet with EPA to talk about the Estech site in 2016. EPA received requests for interviews from six people. Four lived in the community, one person worked for the radio station who has the radio tower near the site. EPA also conducted an interview with a city consultant in 2020. Health – Most interviewees expressed health concerns related to the site. One resident told us that she knows several people who are sick, including herself. She doesn’t know if it is site-related and said the doctors don’t know the cause of her illnesses. She also said that many of her friends that she grew up with in the area have many of the same symptoms that she does. Another resident said she had lung problems. A third resident said his mom passed away from cancer. All three residents said they did not know if the health issues were a result from contamina- tion at the site. Another interviewee stated that she did not believe there are health concerns because the site is “so far and removed.” Communication – All interviewees have been satisfied with the EPA communi- cation about the Estech site to date. They thought regular mail was the best way to reach out to community members, and they want to continue to be kept updated on site activities. E-mail was also suggested as a way to update people, though a couple people said that many elderly people in the community do not have com- puters so regular mail is the best form of communication. Two people suggested that information be posted on the city of Calumet City’s Facebook page and the city’s website at calumetcity.org. It was also suggested that information could be distributed through local schools and churches and flyers could be posted at the local park centers. Reuse – The city of Calumet City administration expressed that they would like to redevelop the 54-acre site. Their hope is to be able to reuse the property after cleanup. When asked what was special to know about their community, people said: “It is a peaceful neighborhood, though there is not much for kids to do.” “I feel safe, it is a very close community.” “Good neighbors.” “What makes it special is the diversity and sense of community that it has, even through the changes that have occurred.” Questions interviewees asked EPA 1.

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