Evanston's Lawsuit Against NICOR, ComEd Moves Forward

EVANSTON, IL - A judge decided on Tuesday that a majority of the city of Evanston's lawsuit against the Northern Illinois Gas Company and ComEd can go forward.

The utility companies move to dismiss all six counts of a lawsuit first filed in 2014 was largely denied, which means a response is necessary to the city's claims of a violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, trespass, private nuisance, public nuisance and breach of contract with the NICOR franchise.

Federal District Court Judge John Z. Lee did dismiss one count of the city's lawsuit for a local ordinance violation without prejudice. The city says it could re-file that portion of the lawsuit as well.

The city maintains the utility companies are responsible for contamination from the Skokie Manufactured Gas Plant just outside city limits that has impacted the groundwater in an area of Evanston that includes James Park, the Levy Senior Center and surrounding properties.

The lawsuit states “dense oily waste materials” have leaked from the Skokie plant’s above ground tanks and into the pipelines and soil of an area “generally bounded by Oakton Street to [the] north, Dodge Avenue to the east, Mulford Street on the south and the North Shore Canal on the west.”

Over time, the lawsuit states the oils have released methane gas as a byproduct and that a high concentration of methane gas was found in the impacted area during a survey of the land a few years back.

It has also affected a water line running along Dodge Avenue, according to the city. Despite the alleged contamination, city officials have claimed the water in these areas remains safe for consumption.

The city first brought the suit forth in October 2014, but it was dismissed without prejudice in February 2016 in part because the city’s “original notice was inadequate under RCRA,” according to a minute order of the judge’s decision this week.

The utility companies will now need to file a response to the city's claims that were upheld by the judge, but Evanston Now and others have reported the issue could be years away from a resolution.