Village of Lemont Environmental Advisory Commission met Feb. 26
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
Attendees: B. Reinke, J. Weigard, B. Warsinske, J. Rath, and B. Peters
Excused: E. Carusiello, J. Gawle, and M. Nichols
There were 3 Lemont residents in attendance.
In Memoriam: Pastor Glenn Bergmark and Tom Ballard
In Recognition for Commission Service: Chris Albrecht
Village directive: The Village responded to the LEAC regarding guidance and expectations for the Commission moving forward. The Municipal Code Chapter 2.36 was reviewed by the LEAC. The LEAC members feel that the code accurately describes the LEAC’s role in the Village of Lemont. The commission members would like additional guidance from the Village if it would like to modify the purpose of the LEAC. We welcome Village representatives to attend our meetings.
New Items
Active Items
#0016 – High Road Tankers:
During the community concerns discussion, it was mentioned that there are upwards of 50+ tankers that are sitting idle along High Road to 127th St at any given time causing emission pollution for neighboring residents. Photographs have been taken, next steps are being discussed among the LEAC commission members.
In addition to the above complaint, there is a resident that lives on the other side of town near the Gas & Go on 171st and 83rd with a similar issue. Action is being taken as there were specific restrictions in place for idling trucks when the Gas & Go had opened.
#0015 – CITGO Community Workshops: move to active
CITGO hosted (3) workshops in late 2025 into January 2026 that were open to the LEAC commission members as well as the community. Commission members B. Reinke, M. Nichols, E. Carsueillo and J. Weigard were in attendance as well as friend of the commission L. Parker. CITGO discussed a variety of different topics summarized below:
-Improved communications, continued discussion on how CITGO is able to reach the community in the event of unusual activity. The community is requesting direct communication, method of communication is still being determined.
-Mass notifications, Will County EMA (WCEMA) issues warnings for life-threatening emergencies by CITGO. Residents will receive a text massage update, Lemont Fire Department is also informed. The village of Lemont is still in discussions regarding the new alert system called RAVE.
-Deep dive into Benzene, Benzene was not chosen to monitor because of its health risk, but because it acts as a surrogate to monitor overall status of the refinery complex including releases other chemicals.
-Real-time monitoring for emissions, there are (2) existing environmental GC units that CITGO will be reactivating. The units will monitor Benzene and potentially SO2, readings will take place every (10) minutes. Presently, the stacks at CITGO monitor NOX, SO2 and CO2 real time.
-Visible flaring, NOX (Nitrogen Oxide) and SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide) are typical chemicals that are burned during flaring ensuring 98% HAP destruction. Flaring is an essential part of the emergency system.
-Health risks, potential health risks associated with Benzene were presented during the CITGO community training sessions and fenceline monitoring was reviewed. Focus needs to be on realtime monitoring of Benzene, publishing alerts when thresholds have been reached.
CITGO plans to host additional community workshops in the future. Dates will be published in our minutes of meeting once we have heard from CITGO.
CITGO has also made improvements to their website showing a “Lemont” tab that will keep all residents up to speed on anything happening at the refinery. The CITGO website will now show content used in the workshops as well as real time alerts, status and benzene monitors, a contractor is working on the logistics to get this live for the community. Initial pass goes live mid-March.
#0014 – LEAC Motions:
LEAC welcomes new commission members Jeff Rath and Ben Warsinske. Ben is a certified urban planner and landscape architect, Jeff oversees fire protection and permit reviews for all above ground storage tanks for flammable liquid in the state of Illinois. Jeff also has 25 years of hazmat experience in the southwest suburbs.
A workshop for commission members will be held in March (Bill Peters will provide the date) and a group photo of the LEAC will be taken. Milt and Elva to be in attendance, date of meeting TBD.
#0013 – Air Monitoring Equipment for the Village:
The Village has asked the LEAC to research type and cost of equipment needed to monitor potential chemical releases in Lemont. Research has included portable units as well as stationary units. The Village appears to be leaning towards a stationary unit. The sensors would be able to monitor Sulfur Dioxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, 3 sizes of Particulate Matter and 21 other VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). A weather station would be included in each unit to record local wind speed, direction, dew point, etc.
The Village is on board with the suggestion from Brian Reinke and the commission, next step is funding.
#0012 – Lemont Road Gas Station:
Residents are concerned with the new gas station planned for 97th Street and Lemont Road. The area has been annexed by the Village of Lemont, with rezoning pending. The rezoning would require a period for public comments. This process can be tracked at https://lemont.il.us/development. The planned volume for the Gas & Wash station is 50,000 gallons per month. The Pleasantdale neighborhood is on private well and septic systems. There is concern for contamination to the groundwater from leaking tanks, runoff from surface spills, and increased air pollution as well as traffic issues.
#0011 – Form R Reports and Tier II Reports:
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided the final toxic release inventory (TRI) database through 2023 for the U.S., including Illinois. Brian Reinke provided a summary of chemical releases for Lemont, Lockport, and Romeoville as well as a maximum inventory of chemicals stored. The local industrial representatives are to be contacted in the near future to review and discuss the past year reports. The EPA provided a screening methodology document for releases for fence line communities. The federal government shutdown has delayed the completion of the updated data.
● ILEPA registered emitter data (TDI copyright)
The Village of Lemont requested (via FOIA), for information on entities registered with IEPA as Permitted, Small Source and Exempt entities. We will use this information to help identify potential sources of reported odors.
● Benzene fenceline monitor tracking system (TDI copyright)
● 2025 ILEPA database has been posted and made available to the public. The report includes PFAS new class of chemicals – companies need to start tracking this.
Better analyze data downloaded from the US EPA WebFire database (tracks Benzene emissions at refinery fence lines in the USA).
#0010 – Copyrighted Resources
Brian Reinke has invested time and resources from his company, TDI Consulting Inc., in developing the following applications for the Village of Lemont and OAN to use free of charge.
● Odor Complaint Tracking / Analysis System (TDI copyright)
Increase awareness of odor complaint issues and help identify potential sources of the odors being reported. Inputs to the system include data from resident call logs, weather station data (at 5-minute increments), OAN reports / resolutions and events that may have been associated with odors that have been observed. Access to this system will be tightly controlled, to respect privacy and other concerns of residents and the Village.
● EPA annual toxic release inventory system (TDI copyright)
Better understand data from US EPA databases for annual toxic chemical releases and inventory levels. Annual data is typically available for download at the end of a calendar year.
The data analysis now includes new Risk Screening Environmental Indicator (RSEI) metrics from the EPA. These will help assess the potential dangers posed by specific chemicals present at companies reporting releases within the Village area. This information will allow meaningful discussions with stakeholders to try to improve safeguards and reduce emissions. The RSEI metrics will provide useful insight for ongoing analysis.
● Dew point has been recently linked to the weather conditions that seem to affect the quantity of OAN reports. Brian and Tom conducted an analysis and determined that when the dew point and the air temperature are closer together, this results in additional OAN reporting.
#0009 – Odor Alert Network:
The OAN utilizes data from the weather station located at the Lemont Township Building on 127th Street. The weather station provides real-time weather data as well as a long-term archive of weather readings from the weather station. This information is available for anyone interested at: https://www.tdi-energysolutions.com/environmental-services
There were seventeen (18) odor complaints received during January 2026 and (36) odor complaints received so far during February 2026 with a total of (54) complaints YTD. All complaints with sufficient information have been included in our Odor Report database.
The Village of Lemont website has a new Odor Alert Network page that includes the Odor Reporting Procedure, with the IEPA link and OAN email link for reporting odors. The complaints should be submitted to the OAN in order to track the information. Odor complaints can be submitted via the following methods:
1. OAN email box at OAN@lemont.il.us (forwarded to Jim Boyer and Brian Reinke)
2. Jim Boyer (LEMA), taking over temporarily due to the passing of Tom Ballard
3. Lemont Fire Department
The complaint should include the date, time, location, and description of odor at a minimum. Please call 911 in case of an emergency.
Numerous conversations have been held with the IEPA Air Division regarding future reporting of odor incidents. To ensure that complaints are investigated, all complaints (air, land, water, public drinking water) should be submitted to the IEPA at the following: https://epa.illinois.gov/pollutioncomplaint/submit-a-complaint.html.
The Village of Lemont has issued a replacement position for Tom Ballard (LEMA), the position is to be filled within the next month or two.
Sentry training for LEAC members took place on January 6, 2026 and again at the February 25, 2026 CAER meeting.
#0008 – Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) Meeting Summary:
These meetings are held by CITGO and are intended to provide important updates on activities at the CITGO facility for local area first responders. Brian Reinke, Julia Weigard and Ben Warenski were in attendance for the last CAER meeting held on February 25, 2026.
A major turnaround is scheduled for March 9th & 10th, 2026 at CITGO and lasts for (50) days. There are (2) major gasoline processing units that will be involved with this turnaround (part of a 6 year turnaround term). AIT certified inspectors need to approve all work before the plant begins normal procedures. 2,000 contractors will be brought in for the duration of the turnaround.
This quarterly meeting also included a guest speaker from AEC, LLC on “Environmental Odors and Public Health”.
#0007 – Lemont’s Trees and Plants: The LEAC is looking for an annual budget of $3,500 to initiate a tree planting program starting in 2026. The LEAC is looking at funding options for this project. Options include the Village of Lemont, the ComEd Tree Program, the MWRD Tree Program, Morton Arboretum and Waste Management sponsorship as part of their community outreach program. The LEAC may have an opportunity to use the space behind the library as an option to house any trees for the future tree propagation program.
The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanical Garden have a seed collection project that the LEAC may be able to utilize in the future.
MWRD donated 50 oak trees for the Fall Recycling Event in September of 2025 to support the LEAC Tree Planting/Giveaway program and we are hoping for a similar contribution this year.
#0005 – Waste Management (WM) At Your Door Program (www.wmatyourdoor.com):
For the January 2026 reporting period, a total of 3,206.5 pounds of material was collected and 3,170.01 pounds were sent for recycling (98.86% was recycled).
Hold Items
#0006 – 2025 Recycling Events:
The Fall 2026 Recycling Event is scheduled for September 19, 2026. Franciscan village wants to provide volunteers for this event this year. LEAC will provide an introduction to our Recycling Day Event to Franciscan village and involvement can be determined from there.
● 50 Oak Trees will be provided by MWRD for Recycling Day on 9/19/26 per Brian, Joe to confirm.
● All Vendors have confirmed their attendance for the 9/19/26 Annual Recycling Day event. Julia to distribute the spreadsheet with vendors and marketing contacts.
● Fransiscan Village to provide (20) volunteers, in (2) shifts of (10) volunteers each for the event.
#0004 – Guide to Year-Round Recycling (Reference Catalog):
1. Village of Lemont Household Special Waste Program
The Village of Lemont, through Waste Management, offers a collection service for residents to dispose of household special waste materials. See the Village of Lemont Garbage and Recycling Services and At Your Door Special Collection Service information for scheduling a pickup.
2. Household Hazardous Waste
The Naperville Household Hazardous Waste Facility is located at 156 Fort Hill Drive. The facility is available to all residents of Illinois and open every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 2pm. No appointment is necessary, and there is no fee for using the facility.
3. Electronics Recycling
Naperville Electronics Recycling is also located at 156 Fort Hill Drive and is open to residents Monday – Friday from 7am to 3pm. A fee is charged for all TVs, CRTs, flat screens, and monitors.
Will County has a FREE Electronic Drop-Off Program at multiple locations, including Bolingbrook and Lockport. An ID is required to prove Will County area residency.
Goodwill Industries is a Dell Reconnect Donation Site for electronics recycling (no TVs), located at 1146 State Street in Lemont. Hours are Monday – Saturday from 9 am to 9 pm and Sunday from 10am to 8pm.
4. General Recycling
Will County has a Green Guide Database on how to recycle or reuse just about everything.
Earth911 helps find local recycling centers for various recyclable materials.
#0002 – BP LUST Incident (#20060901/LPC#0311620022): (Updated February 2026)
▪ An Amended Corrective Action Plan (CAP) was approved by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) in November 2022. The additional investigation included the installation of new monitoring wells, which were sampled in December 2023. The results indicate the groundwater has been delineated to the north.
▪ A Status Update Report was submitted to the IEPA in August 2024. The report detailed the results of the most recent groundwater and soil sampling events conducted at the site. The IEPA indicated that the report is under review and will be posted to the IEPA website once complete.
#0001 – NRG Energy (Will County Generating Station): (Updated February 2026)
According to the NRG plant manager, Will County Generating Station operations were shut down in 2022 and are in the process of decommissioning. The asbestos abatement for the facility has started prior to the demolition. Once the plant has been decommissioned, NRG is considering installing large, industrial-scale battery storage systems on the property and connecting them to the electric grid.
https://lemont.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=lemont_03faff437030b75fbd543de1403e07a8.pdf&view=1
