Environment & Health News
The Town Hall of the Southwest Environmental Alliance marshals community activists and elected officials to address local pollution, announce a community health study and oppose the permit for MAT Asphalt.
- The Southwest Environmental Alliance meeting draws a capacity crowd to the National Latino Education Institute.
- Elected officials attend from federal, state, county and city levels.
- New UIC study will measure pollution impact on local communities; group rallies opposition to MAT Asphalt permit.
The foetid waters of the South Branch of the Chicago River (aka Bubbly Creek) recently rippled from a squad of boats sent from state and regional environmental agencies to hunt for Asian carp, an invasive fish that authorities are trying to keep from wreaking havoc on the ecology and fishing industries of the Great Lakes. Alarms sounded at the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) when October sampling for Asian carp DNA in the river environment discovered dozens of positive samples on Bubbly Creek, inspiring an on-the-water hunt for the aggressive fish.
Fortunately, no Asian carp — or any fish — have been found so far in Bubbly Creek, stated a November 8 press release from ACRCC. "At this time, water quality in this area of Bubbly Creek was found to be unlikely to support live fish," the release stated.
Read more: Asian Carp Committee Deploys Fish Fighters After DNA Detected in Bubbly Creek
MAT Asphalt opened its doors to the public on Saturday, September 21, for tours of the facility and questions and answers about plant operations with business executives, including plant co-owner Michael Tadin Jr. and General Manager Joe Haughey. The event attracted local residents and members of McKinley Park-based Neighbors for Environmental Justice, which has been one of the most vocal opponents of the asphalt plant.
Tadin said the tour is part of MAT Asphalt's outreach to "set the record straight" on how they operate. “Based on the questions that I fielded and other remarks on Saturday, it was clear that some people are still operating under inaccuracies and other misinformation,” he said.
Read more: Neighbors, Environmental Group Tour Asphalt Plant
Many McKinley Park neighborhood homeowners have access to locally focused development programs designed to improve and protect the value of their homes, attendees learned at the Wednesday, June 19, meeting of the McKinley Park Development Council. The Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program is a State of Illinois initiative designed to support property values, said program Executive Director Victoria Gaspar, and it offers other services such as an interest-free $10,000 home improvement loan.
"This is our most popular program," she said, noting that this was one of many low- or no-interest loans available to group members. These loans, ranging in size from $1,000 to $30,000, come alongside the program's original service of ensuring home values, Gaspar said, which will actually pay claims to homeowners if their property values fall.
Read more: Interest-Free $10K Home Loan Access Detailed at Development Council Meeting
Chicago PBS station WTTW featured a profile of Bubbly Creek and its cleanup efforts in a recently aired segment and article. Noting the "quagmire" status of the creek's cleanup efforts, the segment highlighted the current standoff between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Read more: Bubbly Creek Quagmire, Cleanup Status Focus of WTTW Report
