Settlements from lawsuits of more than $2.7 million arising from industrial pollution in Waukegan Harbor will be used to improve the city’s infrastructure, bringing some remediation from damage done by letting plastics seep into Lake Michigan.
Mayor Sam Cunningham said the city’s share of major lawsuits against Monsanto, 3M and DuPont is some compensation for the pollution near the lakefront, which helped lead to the identification of five U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites in Waukegan.
“Waukegan can never fully be compensated for so much environmental pollution, but these settlements will help rebuild Waukegan,” Cunningham said. “That is a plus.”
Ald. Lynn Florian, 8th Ward, briefed the city’s Environment & Sustainability Committee on the payments the city received for the lawsuits during a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday at City Hall.
After settlements were reached in the class-action lawsuits and the city received its share, slightly more than $2.7 million was received, according to city documents. More may be forthcoming, but the precise amount is uncertain.
In the Monsanto lawsuit, it is alleged that the company polluted Lake Michigan with PCBs, according to documents. Products made by 3M and DuPont contain FFAS. Florian said both last a long time once dumped into the lake. Plastics account for 74% of Lake Michigan pollution.
“Plastic takes 1,000 years to completely break down; 1,000 years,” Florian said. “It gets smaller and smaller, but to completely disappear, it takes 1,000 years. Those microplastics are what end up in our lake, and then we end up drinking them.”
It did not take long for Cunningham to find a use for the funds. With the city involved in a long-term project to replace lead pipes with copper ones in Waukegan’s older homes, he said the money will help get more done sooner. He has more ideas.
“We can use it for our community development block grants as we rebuild Waukegan block by block,” he said.
Initially, Florian said the city chose to disassociate itself from the Monsanto lawsuit and file its own litigation. When lawyers for Waukegan learned several larger municipalities were doing the same thing, the city’s share rose, and it chose to participate in the multidistrict case.
Approximately $400,000 more will be paid from the 3M and DuPont cases, according to the city documents.
During the committee meeting, Florian suggested revisiting a ban on plastic bags after the city prohibited helium balloon launches two years ago. She said there is one grocery chain that does not use plastic bags. She sees people walking into the store with their own reusable bags.
“Over 127 countries have regulated or banned plastic bags,” Florian said. “We were seen as a leader in the balloon issue, and I would like to see us be a leader in the plastic-bag issue.”
Ald. Victor Felix, 4th Ward, suggested conducting a survey to determine the public’s attitude on regulating plastic bags. When Florian said a survey could be costly, Felix suggested an informal online study or soliciting comments through social media.
