Residents Receive Checks in MAT Asphalt Class Action

At the beginning of this year, hundreds of McKinley Park residents received a payment they’ve been anticipating in their mailbox: a check for $416.78.

The checks were sent to those who signed up to participate in a $1.2 million class-action lawsuit stating that noxious odors from the MAT Asphalt plant at 2055 W. Pershing Road, Chicago, prevented neighbors from enjoying their homes.

MAT Asphalt agreed to settle the lawsuit “rather than engage in unproductive litigation,” said MAT Asphalt co-owner Michael Tadin Jr. In entering into the settlement agreement, MAT Asphalt “vigorously denies all allegations of wrongdoing or liability,” Tadin said.

Fund-Raising Focus

Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not return calls or emails for comment.

The lawsuit was filed by lead plaintiff Tanisha Rodriguez, a McKinley Park resident with an address sharing that of Lino Rodriguez, one of the founders of Neighbors for Environmental Justice, a local protest group that made MAT Asphalt its earliest issue and leading focus for fund-raising.

No Council Disclosure

The McKinley Park Development Council, a local non-profit that has shared members and coordination with Neighbors for Environmental Justice, is to receive all settlement funds that are unclaimed by residents, according to the lawsuit.

The development council did not reply to outreach to inform reporting and has not disclosed the amount of funds they received because of the lawsuit.

$10K for Plaintiff

Neighbors who lived within one-half mile of the asphalt plant were eligible to join the class and share the $1.2 million settlement, minus attorney fees of $525,000 paid out of the settlement first. As the lead plaintiff, Rodriguez was awarded $10,000.

Only one resident was mentioned in settlement documents as objecting to it. Brad Breems, a 77-year-old McKinley Park resident, wrote in his objection letter that “there were insufficient mitigation measures for the particulate matter released into the community, especially into the public park itself.”

Request Rigorous Monitoring

“This agreement needs rigorous monitoring by citizens and citizen groups such as Neighbors for Environmental Justice and other groups like it in surrounding neighborhoods,” Breems wrote.

Breems said he received a settlement check. 

Non-Monetary Improvements

In addition to the $1.2 million settlement, MAT Asphalt agreed to make site improvements valued at approximately $900,000, “which are designed to minimize offsite odor and particulate matter emissions moving forward,” the settlement agreement said.

In its statement of MAT Asphalt Non-Monetary Improvements, the firm agreed to take the following measures to mitigate issues allegedly caused by the plant:

• Already installed: a control system that captures and filters 99.9 percent of “blue smoke” from places where it might emit from the plant, such as at the top of the hot mix silos and in the truck load-out areas. The plant will also continue use of fume condensers and activated carbon to limit vapors from asphalt cement tanks.
   
• Maintain and enforce a fugitive dust control plan, including paving, sweeping and cleaning roadways.
   
• Expand the dust control plan to include monitored use of a water cannon and regular street sweeping, immediate cleanup of spilled materials and cleaning the wheels of departing trucks.
   
• Maintain rules to ensure that departing trucks cover their loads with tarps – an already standard practice for asphalt.
   
• Minimize drop heights for materials when loading and unloading truck beds and excavators.
   
• Require trucks to turn their engines off as often as possible.
   
• Use a water truck to wet dirt roads twice per day, check the water content of material piles twice per day to ensure they’re as moist as EPA standards require and include a water cannon for fugitive dust control.
   
• Plant 25 additional trees in and around the property.
   
• Inspect the plant’s baghouse prior to the start of operations each year.
   
• Complete maintenance and repairs of ductwork to ensure no leaks are present.

Ed. Note: MAT Asphalt is a Sponsor of the McKinley Park News. For information about our operations and policies, see our About Us page and the Letters from the Editor "Building a Trustworthy News Business" and "Notes on Our Reporting about MAT Asphalt."

Ed. Note: Neighborhood News Correspondent Kevin O'Neil is a recipient of a MAT Asphalt lawsuit settlement check.