Chemetco

Site Information

Hartford, Illinois (Madison County)
EPA ID# ILD048843809
NPL Site Narrative
NPL Factsheet
Superfund CERCLIS
Site Progress Profile

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator

Mike Joyce
(joyce.mike@epa.gov)
800-621-8431, ext. 35546 or 312-353-5546

Remedial Project Manager

Michelle Kerr
(kerr.michelle@epa.gov)
800-621-8431, ext. 69861, or 312-886-8961

Illinois Department of Public Health

Catherine Dondanville
Environmental Toxicologists
Illinois Department of Public Health
(Catherine.Dondanville@Illinois.gov) 618-656-6680

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Hartford Public Library
143 W. Hawthorne
Hartford, Illinois

Links

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund
Superfund Frequent Questions

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Background

Chemetco was a secondary copper smelting facility which operated from 1970 to 2001. Mainly they produced copper cathodes and anodes. The company owned more than 230 acres of land; however, the smelting operation occupied about 41 acres of the property.

The Chemetco Superfund site is located in Chouteau Township, just south of the Village of Hartford, in Madison County, Illinois. The 41-acre smelter site is currently fenced and access to the site is restricted by order of the Illinois EPA.

On Sept. 18, 1996, Illinois EPA discovered a discharge pipe during an inspection of Chemetco. The pipe ran to the south to a tributary of Long Lake, and generally parallel to Illinois Route 3. The pipe appeared to be a 10-inch line and was illegally discharging zinc oxide to a drainage ditch just south of the facility. It is believed this discharge had been going on for 10 years before it was discovered. Samples collected from the outfall area showed high levels of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc.

After the discovery, Chemetco was required to clean up the area. While digging up the area, layers of zinc oxide material were found to a depth of 6 feet in nearby Long Lake.

On October 31, 2001, the facility shut down and on November 13, 2001 Chemetco filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At that time, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Illinois appointed a trustee to oversee the property. On December 7, 2001, Illinois EPA issued an order that restricts public access to most of the site and prohibits anyone except authorized personnel from entering the site.

The Chemetco site was placed on the National Priorities list in March 2010.

chemetco aerial image

Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) and Community Advisory Group (CAG) are two ways the community can get involved. Learn more about CAGs and TAGs

Site Updates | Latest Update | News Releases | Technical Documents

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Site Updates

In August 2011, the limited demolition work at the site resumed and in mid-September 2011, the Foundry was demolished. The Foundry building housed the smelting furnaces that Chemetco used and was the largest building on the site. The Tank House, another large building, was partially demolished. The old American Air Filter system area and the bag-house structures were also demolished. Over 3,000 tons of material were scrapped, recycled, or sent for proper disposal during the project, which was completed in December 2011. Contractors for the Bankruptcy Estate of Chemetco performed the work described above.

Latest Update

In November 2011, EPA issued General Notice Letters to 115 potentially responsible parties (PRPs), notifying them that they may be responsible for clean up at the site. In December 2011, EPA hosted an information session for recipients of the notice letters to describe the Superfund process, the site, and their potential liability.

Looking ahead, EPA intends to negotiate with PRPs to reach an agreement for performing a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the Chemetco site. The RI/FS will define the nature and extent of contamination at the site and evaluate options for cleaning it up.