EPA installs river barriers to prevent contamination from Chemtool fire

ROCKTON – The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is installing special barriers in the Rock River to prevent the spread of contaminants from the massive Chemtool plant fire.

Crews installed “booms” in the river to protect from runoff at the site, which also allowed for firefighters to suppress the fire with foam, including the U.S. Fire Pump industrial firefighting company from Louisiana specializing in oil rig fires.

Fire departments stopped using water because of environmental concerns for the river.

The importance of the river to area tourism can’t be underestimated.

Blackhawk Waterways Convention and Visitors Bureau reported that in 2019, the year for which the most recent numbers are available, tourism near the Rock River generated $190.53 million in travel expenditures and $4.57 million across Ogle, Lee, Carroll and Whiteside counties.

Ogle County saw $44.17 million in travel expenditures and $1.04 million in local tax revenues in 2019, while $14.12 million was paid in payroll wages to employees serving travelers, and 560 jobs were supported by tourism. About $6.4 million in state travel tax receipts were generated.

At the request of IEPA, the U.S. EPA is also providing air monitoring and air sampling support. Rockton Fire Chief Kirk Wilson said during a news conference that those air monitoring devices were set up throughout the community, and no contaminants were detected in ground air quality.

Wilson said the firefighters also dug trenches to the west of the plant to prevent any residual toxic material from leaking into the river.

Alicia Tate-Nadeau, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, said some chemicals they are monitoring for include lead, antifreeze, sulfuric acid and nitrogen, as half a million gallons of oils burn at the plant.

The explosion at the Chemtool grease plant at 1165 Prairie Hill Road was reported around 7 a.m. Monday. Smoke from the fire in nearby Winnebago County was covering the eastern third of Ogle County, and the sheriff’s department advised residents east of Meridian Road to close their windows and doors.

The city of Dixon posted an alert that there were no safety threats to the city and no concerns about air quality.

Rockton ordered an evacuation of everyone within a mile of the facility, about 1,000 people, and for those to wear masks within three miles.

The IEPA has referred an enforcement action to the Illinois Attorney General’s office against Chemtool, Inc. for violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and Illinois Pollution Control Board Regulations related to chemical fire and release of pollutants to the atmosphere.

Additional violations may be added as information is available regarding the fire.

The referral asks the Attorney General to pursue legal action and require Chemtool to immediately stop the release and provide documentation to the Illinois EPA including the cause of the fire, and an estimate of the nature and amount of any emissions of sulfuric acid mist, particulate matter, and other air contaminants emitted as a result of the fire.

The company will be asked to develop and implement a work plan to remove any hazardous material from the site and address other compliance issues related to the incident.

Gov. JB Pritzker also activated the State Emergency Operation Center to respond to the incident. Personnel from multiple state and local agencies and organizations are responding to the emergency. U.S. EPA has established area monitors to monitor for volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, and lead.