Dear Neighbors,
As recently
reported
, General Iron entered into a consent decree with the Federal EPA on August 22. Today, the City announced it has reached a
binding agreement
with General Iron to regulate its current operations, and to finalize its closure.
Under the term sheet negotiated among General Iron, its new owner Reserve Management Group and the City of Chicago, General Iron will cease all operations by December 31, 2020. Beginning January 1, 2021, no shredding or recycling activity of any kind will be permitted on the site. Instead, the only activity on the site will be the decommissioning of the plant, and the relocation of equipment to its new location on the South Side. General Iron agrees to complete decommissioning by March 31, 2021.
While the plant is still in operation, General Iron will institute additional traffic management to regulate truck traffic in and out of its facilities. General Iron will also strictly abide by all pollution control regulations, and
will restrict its hours to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m
., eliminating the early morning operating hours they had been granted.
We are grateful to the Lightfoot administration for stepping up to support our community, and to provide finality as General Iron completes its move to the South Side.
You can read the entire agreement
here
.
What's Next?
The closure of the General Iron site accelerates the need to decide on the future of this site. Will we see even more density, traffic and highrises, or will we seize the once in a generation opportunity to create a real public benefit for all of Chicago?
