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Chicago

Riverside Investment, Howard Hughes pay Chicago River pollution fine but admit nothing

An EPA suit accused Riverside Investment and several other firms of dumping contaminated water into the river while building the office tower

Riverside Investment and Development’s John O’Donnell and Howard Hughes Corp.’s David R. Weinreb
Riverside Investment and Development’s John O’Donnell and Howard Hughes Corp.’s David R. Weinreb

UPDATE, July 17, 3:30 p.m.: Riverside Investment & Development, Howard Hughes Corp. and two contractors will pay a fine to settle a lawsuit over the alleged discharge of polluted water into the Chicago River at the 110 North Wacker Drive build site.

The state attorney general sued the developers of the planned 55-story riverside office building in November, along with Case Foundation and Clark Construction, accusing them of dumping more than 6,000 gallons of contaminated water into the river in June 2018.

The four firms last month agreed to pay the Illinois EPA $75,000 to settle the suit, according to Loop North News.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District said a contractor digging a caisson at the construction site dumped the water into the river without a permit.

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Clark on Wednesday issued a statement acknowledging groundwater was improperly pumped in the river during the caisson work.

“The groundwater should have been placed in a settlement tank onsite before disposal into the city sewer in accordance with the project’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. That protocol was not followed in this instance. Groundwater testing confirmed that there were no chemical additives or construction materials contained within the discharge,” the statement said.

A settlement approved last month said the companies are not admitting to the violations but are agreeing to pay the fine to resolve “disputed claims without having to incur the expense of contested litigation,” Loop North News reported.

Bank of America is set to lease 500,000 square feet in the new tower, which is expected to open by the end of next year. The building is rising on the former site of the six-story General Growth Properties Building, which mall landlord GGP left for new space across the river at River North Point. [Loop North News]—John O’Brien

This story was updated to include Clark Construction’s statement on the matter.

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