General Iron to pay $18K to settle citations; will admit no wrongdoing
General Iron, which was cited for numerous pollution and nuisance law violations as well as a pair of explosions at its Lincoln Park facility in May, agreed to pay $18,000 to settle with the city.
The metal-shredding operation added some dust-prevention measures in addition to fixing its equipment related to the explosions, the city said. As a result, the business, now owned by Reserve Management Group, admitted no wrongdoing and will have no pending violation notices as it prepares to move to the Southeast Side early next year.
That clean slate is key as RMG seeks a final city permit that will allow it to move the controversial car and metal-shredding operation to an industrial area along the Calumet River near the Indiana border over protests from community groups.
Between December 2019 and March of this year, General Iron was cited 11 times for violations of pollution and nuisance laws and was slapped with a two-count citation for the explosions, but none of those cases was ever adjudicated. The fine is greater than a $6,000 citation announced in May that was not assessed.
“RMG is pleased to resolve the municipal code tickets without any findings of wrongdoing,” the company said in a statement.
But a lawyer working with a group of community and environmental activists opposed to General Iron’s move to the South Side called the city action an “outrageous act of indifference.”
“The city is washing clean a lengthy record of violation notices and even explosions with no adjudication, leaving residents without the evidence they need to ensure strict permit requirements and meaningful enforcement against RMG in the future,” Nancy Loeb, director of the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, said in a statement.
The city has promised a public hearing related to RMG and General Iron’s final permit related to its opening on the Southeast Side, but critics have said they fear it will be merely window dressing as the operation appears to be on track for full approval.
A portion of the money from the fine will be used to install odor- detecting equipment around the Lincoln Park site, the city said.
In addition to the fine, RMG told the city it was adding four water-cannon systems to control dust at Lincoln Park as well as additional netting, all for $179,000. The Lincoln Park location will be dismantled beginning early next year.
RMG also spent $128,000 to add safeguard systems that would aim to prevent future explosions, the city said.
“The penalty and mitigation measures represent significant steps to protect local residents and ensure that General Iron lives up to its stated promises to operate responsibly throughout the duration of their tenure at this facility,” city Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner said in a statement.