Input sought on former East Chicago oil site

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on the early stages where it has identified cleanup needs at a former East Chicago refinery and oil storage site.

The agency began overseeing groundwater and soil sampling from May to August 2019 around the perimeter at the former Cities Service Refinery/ CITGO Terminal Facility at 2500 E. Chicago Ave. to see what could be leaching out. Additional soil and groundwater testing was done from June 2020 to July 2021.

The site closed in the 1970s.

The site — whose ownership is split between OXY USA and CITGO — is bordered on north and west by residential neighborhoods.

Their sampling analysis showed oil, or fuel-related compounds were not leaching into neighborhoods, but were more of a concern in a handful of spots in the center and site’s southern boundary, officials said.

“That was our primary concern that nothing was moving off site” into residential areas, EPA official Renee Wawczak said Wednesday.

Specific cleanup actions have not yet been determined. That is further along in the review process and would have its own public feedback period, officials said. The groundwater would be monitored quarterly for a two-year period.

The CITGO Terminal Facility is 228 acres with 53 tanks that can hold 180 million gallons of petroleum products, according to the EPA. The former Cities Service Refinery is 93 acres.

Public feedback is due June 30. It can be sent to Wawczak at wawczak. renee@epa.gov or Francisco Arcaute at arcaute. francisco@epa.gov. They can be reached by phone at 312-886-0749 or mail at U.S. EPA, Region 5, Remediation Branch, 77 W. Jackson Blvd. (LR-16J), Chicago, IL 60604.