Resources for Developers

Map of Thorium Monitoring Area

Developers planning to do subsurface construction work in in the Thorium Monitoring Area (TMA) are required to submit a work plan to EPA for review and approval. Once the work plan has been approved by EPA, a developer must then obtain the appropriate permit for the project from the City of Chicago. 

Before You Dig

The TMA is part of an ongoing removal action within the Lindsay Light Superfund site, and materials generated by subsurface work may be subject to EPA’s Off-Site Rule.¹ The law requires that hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or "Superfund") that are leaving the TMA only be disposed of at a facility that EPA has determined to be in compliance with the Off-Site Rule. The purpose of the Off-Site Rule is to prevent hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from one Superfund site from contributing to environmental problems elsewhere. Developers who plan to remove any materials from a site within the TMA should screen for CERCLA hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants, and—if transferred off-site —treat, store or dispose of those materials at an Off-Site Rule compliant facility.

Federal funds are available for potential cost reimbursement(PDF) for the investigation of thorium, and the transportation and removal of Lindsay Light-related thorium-contaminated materials at the property. Developers are required to conduct a complete investigation of the property from property line to property line to be eligible. Developers must also enter into an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent (ASAOC)(PDF) with EPA to qualify for reimbursement. This signed ASAOC is an example of the terms and conditions possibly included in an agreement with EPA. Agreement details will vary from project to project. Work conducted after the ASAOC is signed is potentially eligible for reimbursement. 

If you are conducting work on behalf of a utility company in the TMA, please contact Verneta Simon (simon.verneta@epa.gov) or Eugene Jablonowski (jablonowski.eugene@epa.gov) to discuss the investigation, excavation, and disposal of hazardous materials at your work site.

¹EPA’s Off-Site Rule at 40 C.F.R. § 300.440 is promulgated under Section 121(d)(3) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9621(d)(3).