Manufactured Gas Plant Sites (Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas)
List of sites
The complete list of sites, with names referencing former MGP "stations":
| Area | Station Name | Address | ID number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near Goose Island | Division St. Station | ILD982074783 | |
| North Station | ILD982074775 | ||
| Willow Street Station | ILD982074759 | ||
| Hawthorne Avenue Station | ILN000510195 | ||
| North | North Shore Avenue Station | ILN000510193 | |
| Near Ashland Avenue & Halsted Street | 22nd Street Station | ILD982074767 | |
| Hough Place Station | ILN000510190 | ||
| Pitney Court Station | ILN000510196 | ||
| South Station and Throop Station |
ILN000510194 | ||
| South | Crawford Station | ILN000510192 | |
| Waukegan | North Shore Gas (NSG) North Plant | ILD984807990 | |
| North Shore Gas (NSG) South Plant | ILD984809228 |
Site Background
In 2007 EPA entered into two separate agreements with Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas to oversee their investigation of former manufactured gas plants (MGP) for eleven sites in Chicago and for two sites in Waukegan respectively. Both companies were owned by Integrys Energy Group which has since combined with Wisconsin Energy (in 2014) to form WEC Energy Group, Inc.
Cleanup
The companies are investigating the extent and nature of contamination at each of the sites in order to generate and evaluate potential cleanup options. Final cleanup determinations are made by EPA, in consultation with Illinois EPA, city officials and area residents. Some excavation of contaminated soil is already under way or completed at portions of some of the sites. Cleanups are ongoing with EPA and Illinois EPA oversight while the investigative work proceeds.
Location
Eleven of the sites are in Chicago and two are in Waukegan. Four of the Chicago MGP sites are clustered on the north branch of the Chicago River near Goose Island, with a fifth site farther north along the North Shore Channel (North Shore Avenue Station) located at Kedzie Avenue and Pratt Boulevard. There are five MGP sites located on the south branch of the river between Halsted Street and Ashland Avenue. The last Chicago site (Crawford Station) is located a few miles further south along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The two Waukegan sites are in close proximity to the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Contamination
All of the properties in Chicago are adjacent to the Chicago River or its channels, which provided a transportation route when the manufactured gas plants operated. These facilities produced gas from coal from the mid-19th through the mid-20th centuries. After World War II, coal gas was phased out and replaced with natural gas for cooking and heating. Waste from these operations often included tar, oil, cinders and coke (coal residue). The material also usually contains polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead. These MGP-related contaminants are found in the soil and groundwater at these sites. Similar contaminants in soil and groundwater are found in the two North Shore Gas sites in Waukegan.