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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 ab...
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