IEPA looks at Lake DePue report

DEPUE — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing a report on soil and sediment samples state officials say will identify whether contamination is present at DePue Lake.

The report was filed with the IEPA this week by DePue Group, a partnership of New Jersey Zinc Superfund site owners CBS Operations, Inc. and Exxon/Mobil Corp. It is the first phase in a complex, ongoing agreement between DePue Group and the IEPA to investigate environmental conditions at DePue Lake and adjacent areas.

The report includes hundreds of soil and sediment samples taken from 575 locations at or near DePue Lake from 2006-2009, DePue Group said this week.   

“Clearly, this is one part of a broader view of different sites,” CBS spokesperson Shannon Jacobs said of the DePue Lake report. IEPA records show DePue Group is in various stages of environmental studies in and around the abandoned, contaminated New Jersey Zinc property in DePue.

IEPA spokesperson Maggie Carson called the submitted DePue Lake report a “thick book,” which she said the IEPA will make available upon public request. But Carson said it could be three months or longer before the IEPA and other state agencies review and make additional comments on the report.

“It’s going to take some time,” Carson said this week. “Obviously, toxicologists are going to have to focus on areas relating to health risks.”

Along with IEPA water toxicology analysis, Carson said the DePue Lake report must be reviewed by IEPA technical staff, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois State Water Survey officials. 

Carson said when the state finishes reviewing the report, it will be returned to the DePue Group to be “finalized.” DePue Group will then use findings from the report to draft a feasibility study to “determine remedies for any problems” at DePue Lake, Carson said.   

DePue Village Attorney Melissa Sims said public availability of the report is notable because village officials have made recent requests for updated information on conditions at DePue Lake.

“We’ve been waiting to see if Lake DePue is contaminated,” Sims said. “With the lake’s proximity to the village and the Illinois river, it’s a matter of local and state concern.”