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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Ian Wade, Capital Projects Manager
DATE: May 12, 2025
SUBJECT:
Resolution authorizing the City to enter into a Highway Authority Agreement (and associated Environmental Indemnity Agreement supplement) with Flip 25, LLC for property located at 1125 Aurora Avenue.
PURPOSE:
Flip 25, LLC has asked the City to enter into a Highway Authority Agreement (which includes an Environmental Indemnity Agreement supplement) for property located at 1125 Aurora Avenue.
BACKGROUND:
Flip 25, LLC is attempting to close an underground storage tank (UST) incident with the Illinois EPA. The incident is associated with a subsurface release of gasoline from USTs which appears to have migrated onto a City right-of-way.
DISCUSSION:
Generally, the City has two options pertaining to contamination beneath its roadways. One option is to enter into a Highway Authority Agreement (HAA), which would allow any contamination under the roadways to remain in-place and is commonly used when contamination has migrated off private property and under a City highway or road. These agreements are the result of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) getting involved in the Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives (TACO) rule change which required the Illinois Pollution Control Board to consider land use controls in determining risk to human health from contaminated soil and groundwater and environmental cleanup regulations. As a result of IDOT’s efforts, HAAs became a frequently used land use control recognized in TACO.
The second option would be for the City to require Flip 25, LLC to excavate and remove all contaminated soils in the right-of-way, which is far less desirable for both parties for economical and logistical reasons.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The execution of this agreement allows Flip 25, LLC to close the UST incident with IEPA while avoiding the substantial cost and delays which would be associated with the second option described above. Additionally, the enclosed Environmental Indemnity Agreement supplement will provide the City with protection against future claims and contamination in the City's right-of-way at this location while avoiding litigation which may result from the second option.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
I request the proposed resolution be adopted.
cc: Infrastructure & Technology Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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A Resolution authorizing the City to enter into a Highway Authority Agreement (and associated Environmental Indemnity Agreement supplement) with Flip 25, LLC for property located at 1125 Aurora Avenue.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, Flip 25, LLC has requested the City of Aurora to provide assistance in its efforts to obtain a No Further Remediation letter from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“IEPA”), with respect to the presence of contaminants on the property commonly known as 1125 Aurora Avenue and, more particularly, to negotiate and enter into a Highway Authority Agreement (including an Environmental Indemnity Agreement supplement) with respect to a certain City of Aurora owned Right of Way(s) adjacent to the property; and
WHEREAS, it is in the interest of the City of Aurora and its citizens that the risks presented to public health and the environment by the presence of contaminants on real property within the City of Aurora be assessed, and that properties upon which such contaminants may be present are remediated to a level consistent with such risk assessments, so as to promote the health, welfare and economic well-being of citizens and the City of Aurora alike; and
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WHEREAS, the Corporate Authorities of the City of Aurora desire to enter into the Highway Authority Agreement (including an Environmental Indemnity supplement), subject to the terms and conditions set forth in said Agreements and attached hereto; and
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora, a home rule Illinois municipal corporation, has the authority to enter into the attached Agreements pursuant to its home rule powers as provided by Article VII, Sections 6 and 10(a) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, and finds that entering into this Agreement is in the best interests of the City)
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: the City is authorized to enter into a Highway Authority Agreement (and associated Environmental Indemnity Agreement supplement) with Flip 25, LLC for property located at 1125 Aurora Avenue.