CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Environmental groups and others are calling on Mayor Lightfoot to take the next step, after delaying a permit for a new recycling facility on the Southeast Side.
Southside Recycling, the company once called General Iron, is seeking a permit for a scrap metal-shredding operation on the Southeast Side. Parent company Reserve Management Group stresses plans to control emissions, but, people in the community are fighting. Some and allies are staging a hunger strike.
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Chicago’s Public Health Department said they’re aware people in the community are concerned; so, CDPH is demanding more information before granting a permit for the business.
CDPH released a statement reading:
CDPH has a duty to protect public health and the environment, including to ensure that a project will not impose unacceptable impacts on community health and the environment. CDPH’s own Air Quality and Health Report identifies certain areas near the proposed Southside Recycling operation as among the most vulnerable in the city based on their social and health characteristics. Further, we recognize that this recycling facility is a matter of significant concern for many community members. CDPH is committed to working with the community and acting within the full scope of our authority to properly apply our new Rules for Large Recycling Facilities, to address health and environmental considerations related to this – and any other - permit application.
The City will continue to raise these important issues, as well as new policies and systems that do more to protect Chicago’s most vulnerable communities from pollution. In particular, we stand in strong support of the zoning ordinance, the formation of an environmental equity working group, a citywide cumulative impact assessment, and a health and racial equity impact assessment of the City’s zoning and land use policies as part of We Will Chicago, the City’s multiyear citywide planning initiative.
Connie Smith, Deputy Director of the Illinois Environmental Council, said her group stands with the community and is happy for the delay, but wanting permanent relief.
"I am glad she didn't approve it yesterday and there is a delay, but the ask is 110 percent still to deny this permit and the Mayor's Office should have what she needs to do so," Smith said.
Health officials said they are committed to working with the community to protect the most vulnerable neighborhoods from pollution.
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Meanwhile federal officials have launched a Civil Rights investigation of the city’s Zoning and Land Use practices, in part because of this controversy.