Consent order will provide Marengo-area residents with safe drinking water

A consent order will provide residents near Marengo with a permanent source of safe drinking water after an investigation into groundwater contamination, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Friday.

The order, entered with 300 West LLC and The Arnold Engineering Co., was filed in McHenry County Circuit Court this week, according to a news release. Those affected include homeowners whose private well water safety was compromised by groundwater contamination from the site at 300 N. West St. in Marengo.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency tested water samples collected in 2013 that revealed cancer-causing agents in groundwater near the site. Madigan’s office filed a complaint as a result against 300 West LLC and The Arnold Engineering Co., alleging “substantial danger to the environment, public health and welfare, and water pollution.”

The order will require the two companies to investigate and remediate possible soil and groundwater contamination. This will include submitting a plan to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on the proposed remediation plans, according to the release. The two companies agreed to extend, install and fund the city’s municipal water infrastructure to nearby residents.

Those who elect to receive a hook-up to the city public water will receive $2,400 for five years of water bill payments. The two companies also will pay more than $214,000 in civil penalties and reimbursements to the state, according to the release.

“This consent order will provide a permanent source of safe drinking water to homeowners,” Madigan said in a release.