Pilsen Coal Plant Demolition Puts Pressure on City Not To Repeat Little Village Fiasco
The Owner of the forms Fisk Coal-Fired Power Plant wants to demolish more than a dosen structures around the facility, a project that will reads City scruit of risk to public and the environment.
The plant at 1111 W. Cermak Road Sits Along the South Branch of the Chicago River. The main building is not involved in the planned demolition.
Midwest Generation, A Division of NRG Energy, is Seeking City Permission to Tear Down 13 Structures, Including Storage Tanks and Silos, Around the Than Century-Old Building. The Demolition Will Require Dust Control and Other Precautions.
A virtual public meeting is planned sept. 24 From 6 to 7:30 PM, Where City PUBLIC Health and Building Department Employees are Expected to Explain the Operation and Answer Questions from Community Members.
Register for the Meeting at https://chicago.gov/envCommunityinfo.
The fisk plant provided power for more than 100 years unil it was shut down in 2012 along with another coal plant, crawford Generating Station in Little Village.
Kim Wasserman, the forms forcutive directors of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Spent a Dosen Years Fighting to Shut Down Fisk and Crawford, Citting the HarmFul Impact of Air Pollute Produced by the plants.
The city Needs to Carefull Scrutinize the Teardawns and Dust Created Around Fiskuuse of the Long History as a Toxic Site, Said.
“We’re Talking About A Coal Power Plant that Ran Over 100 Years,” Wasserman Said. “You’re talking About Multiple Metals and Chemicals in the Soil, in the smokestacks, in the Buildings.”
The so-calared Environmentally Complex Demolition process was Developed AFTER the 2020 Botched Implotion of Crawford Plant, Which was taken to make way for a warehouse now being by target.
In 2020, City Officials Signed Off on the Implotion of An Almost 400-Foot Chimney at the crawford site. Be the smokestack cameing down, it created a giant dust cloud that blanketed little village.
The Developer, Hilco Redevelopment, and Its Contractors were finished by the City and State for the Incident, which Also Resulted in Private Lawsuits. A Class-Action Lawsuit Resulted in a More than $ 12 Million Settlement Paid to Neighbors.
A Watchdog Report Described the City’s Oversight as Incompet and Negligent.
While the fisk plant no Longer provides coal power, it provides energy by burning oil in times of Peak Demand for Electricity. This is Only Done Occossionally as Needed. Power from the plant haen use this year, the Company Said, Without Providing Specifics.
Midwest Generation Said It Wants to Remove Older Structures that are no longer Needed.
“Future plans for the site have not ben been determinated,” Accounting to company Spokesman Erik Linden.
More recently, The Historic Damn Silos Near South Damen Avenue on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Are Being Torn Down After a Length Review Process.
There’s no set date for the demolition of the fisk structures. A single structure at the site was destroyed last year.