Migrant Tent Camp Migrant Tent Camp Environmental Assessment
ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND CORRECTIVE ACTION SUMMARY
3710 South California Avenue Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
PINs: 16-36-315-001, -033, -036, -037, -047, and -048
December 1, 2023
Environmental Investigation… by John Kugler
Terracon Project No. A2237020
Full Report (pdf)
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) was retained by the City of Chicago, Department of Assets, Information, and Services (AIS) to conduct an environmental investigation and complete limited environmental consulting services at 3710 South California Avenue in Chicago, Illinois (site). The site is approximately 9.43 acres in size and currently consists of gravel and concrete covered lots improved with an approximately 30,000 square foot (sq. ft) warehouse. The City of Chicago proposes to have winterized shelters constructed on site for temporary housing.
AIS provided Terracon with an environmental summary radius report by EDR, historical Sanborn Maps, as well as the proposed locations of the winterized shelters to aid in the creation of a site-specific Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP). The SAP was reviewed and approved by AIS. Per the SAP, Terracon’s subcontractor advanced 16 soil borings to allow Terracon field staff to collect three soil samples from each boring. Seven of the borings were converted to temporary groundwater wells to allow collection of groundwater samples. An additional 15 shallow borings were advanced in the footprint of the proposed winterized shelter locations to allow collection of soil gas samples. Samples were submitted to National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) certified laboratories for analysis of Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s (IEPA) Target Compound List, or a subset list thereof. The field investigation was performed in a manner that is generally consistent with requirements of IEPA’s Site Remediation Program (SRP).
The sample results allowed comparison to IEPA’s Tier 1 remediation objectives (ROs), focusing on exposure routes applicable to temporary residential land use. The sample results did not exceed the Tier 1 ROs for the indoor inhalation exposure route. An exceedance of the RO for the residential outdoor inhalation exposure route for mercury was identified in one sample location. The soil surrounding this sample was excavated and properly disposed offsite at a landfill . Likewise, an exceedance of the soil saturation limit for bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was identified in one soil sample. Soils in this area will be remediated via excavation and landfill disposal. Results from samples collected from the sidewalls coupled with the deeper soil samples of the two excavations will be used to demonstrate removal of the exceedance areas.
Finally, two semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and four metals exceeded the Tier 1 ROs for the residential ingestion exposure route in multiple samples located throughout the site. To limit access to this soil, AIS directed the placement of imported clean stone from a quarry and compaction of the stone to a minimum thickness of six inches throughout the site. The stone layer will be periodically inspected and maintained.
Full Report (pdf)
