EPA Adds Acme Steel Coke Plant in Chicago to Superfund National Priorities List | US EPA

March 5, 2024

CHICAGO (March 5, 2024) — Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the site of the former Acme Steel Coke Plant at 11236 South Torrence Ave. in Chicago to the Superfund National Priorities List. The NPL is a list of sites throughout the United States and its territories where historic releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants pose significant threats to human health and the environment. 

“Updating the National Priorities List is a critical component of EPA’s comprehensive approach to protecting human health and the environment from contamination, including in communities overburdened by disproportionate environmental impacts,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Cleaning up contaminated land and groundwater and returning them for productive use to communities, especially those which have borne the brunt of legacy pollution, is a win for public health and local economies.”   

“EPA can now focus more federal resources on accelerating the cleanup and addressing the concerns of residents who live near the newly-listed Acme Steel Superfund site,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “This is an important leap forward that empowers EPA to remedy over a century’s worth of contamination on Chicago’s Southeast Side.” 

Beginning in the late 1800s, the Acme Steel Coke Plant operated for nearly 100 years at a 104-acre site located 14 miles south of downtown Chicago. The company ceased operations in 2001, leaving behind waste contaminated with semi-volatile organic compounds, or SVOCs, cyanide, and mercury.  This contamination threatens nearby water bodies, including wetlands and fishing areas. EPA and the state of Illinois worked together to assess the site and add it to the NPL.  

EPA held a 60-day public comment period last year on its proposal to add the Acme Steel site to the NPL. Responses to the comments, which were primarily in support of the listing, are included in the final rule which is published on EPA’s website.    

Nationally there are thousands of contaminated sites, including landfills, processing plants, and manufacturing facilities where hazardous waste was dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. The historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law accelerates EPA’s work to clean up this pollution with a $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund Remedial Program. The law also reinstates the Superfund chemical excise taxes, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address legacy pollution. 

Background:    

The NPL includes sites with the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. This list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at non-federal sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.    

Sites must meet EPA requirements to be considered for the NPL. EPA must first propose a site for addition to the NPL and hold a 60-day comment period. EPA may add the site to the NPL if it continues to meet the listing requirements after the public comment period closes and the agency has responded to any comments.   

Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited for significant reductions in both birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24% within three miles of sites after cleanup.   

Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has followed through on commitments to update the NPL twice a year, instead of only once per year. Today’s announcement is the first time EPA is updating the NPL in 2024.   

Learn more about Superfund and the National Priorities List.   

For Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the NPL and proposed sites, please visit: New Proposed and New Superfund National Priorities List Sites.  

For more information about the Acme Steel site, please visit our website.