CHICAGO — BNSF Railway has agreed to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for part of the costs of the cleanup at the site of a metal foundry in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports H. Kramer & Co., which operates the brass and bronze foundry; BNSF; and the City of Chicago will share in the reimbursement of $1.95 million for the cleanup of toxic levels of lead that took place between 2015 and 2018. BNSF and the city are involved because they owned land adjacent to the site.
The agreement was filed in federal court in Chicago last week. The funds will go toward further environmental cleanup work. The city, railroad, and H. Kramer & Co. did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comments.
The containments migrate within the groundwater. If the source is upstream, then that upstream property owner, and/or the owner at the time of the contamination, pay.
“BNSF; and the City of Chicago will share in the reimbursement…because they owned land adjacent to the site.”
How does that make them liable for the cleanup of their neighbor? This makes no sense.