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Title:
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Call for informational hearing(s) on environmental and health impacts of Planned Manufacturing Districts on Chicago neighborhoods
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Topic:
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COMMITTEE/PUBLIC HEARINGS - Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy
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RESOLUTION CALLING FOR A HEARING ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS OF PLANNED MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS
WHEREAS, Businesses that are sources of pollution are required to apply with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for operating permits regulating the operation of emission sources and air pollution control equipment; and
WHEREAS, The lEPA's standard review practice for determining whether or not to issue an operating permit related to air pollution is to assess a company's projected emissions against the State standard; and
WHEREAS, Companies generally pay a third party to run tests to determine their Major Source Threshold (a company's maximum anticipated pollution level if its operations run at full capacity 24 hours a day, seven days a week), and those numbers are reported to the IEPA and recorded as the company's threshold; and
WHEREAS, The IEPA requires companies to self-audit annually and report a summary of their recent emissions, and to report back Minor Source Threshold numbers (a company's pollution levels falling below its Major Source Threshold) along with its Major Source Threshold data to the IEPA; and
WHEREAS, There are several manufacturing companies operating within the City that are seeking or will seek IEPA permits in the near future; and
WHEREAS, In 2018, the Natural Resources Defense Council conducted an assessment of the cumulative environmental impacts of pollution in different neighborhoods of the City; and
WHEREAS, No such assessment has been conducted for 2019 by the Natural Resources Defense Council or any governmental group; and
WHEREAS, A complete assessment of the cumulative environmental impacts that manufacturing pollution has on our neighborhoods is necessary for the City to adequately formulate policies aimed at curbing any negative effects of Planned Manufacturing Districts; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this fifteenth day of January, 2020, do hereby call upon the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy hold an informational hearing on the environmental and health impacts that Planned Manufacturing Districts have on our neighborhoods and call upon appropriate persons to testify relative to this matter to provide recommendations on how the City can best assess these impacts to improve the quality of life and health of all Chicagoans; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Members of the City Council hereby:
Invite testimony from representatives of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and other groups as deemed necessary by the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy to provide input on the types of environmental assessments the City should implement and with whom the City should partner for any studies to assess pollution from Planned Manufacturing Districts in the City;
Request information from the Chicago Department of Public Health concerning: population data and the proximity of the PMD boundaries to the nearest residence, school, and park; the number of complaints the Department has received related to Planned Manufacturing Districts; information the Department currently collects on health and environmental impacts of Planned Manufacturing Districts in the City; descriptions of the type of industrial and manufacturing companies operating within each Planned Manufacturing District; a breakdown of the number of
industrial and manufacturing companies located within each Planned Manufacturing District; the Major Source Threshold and Minor Source Threshold for each such company; the cumulative Major Source Threshold for each Planned Manufacturing District; the average air pollution levels based on Minor Source Threshold for each Planned Manufacturing District; and, if practicable before the hearing, the results of soil and water testing from at least one location within each Planned Manufacturing District; and
(3) Request that the Chicago Department of Public Health develop a report of findings and recommendations for actions that the City Council should undertake to alleviate any deleterious impacts that Planned Manufacturing Districts have on the health and safety of Chicagoans and Chicago neighborhoods.