The plant just north of Henry operated by Mexichem Specialty Resins, Inc. The new plant owner is Henry IL LLC.

A Different Corporation Will Be Producing the Discharges.

By Joyce Blumenshine

The transfer of a state water pollution discharge permit for a chemical plant north of Henry, on the Illinois River, caught the attention of an alert Sierra member. The new company owning the plant is Henry IL LLC, which has the same address as Environmental Liability Transfer/ELT company in St. Louis, Missouri. These new plant owners will be leasing the plant itself to a different corporation which is Mexichem Specialty Resins, Inc. Mexichem is a subsidiary of Orbia, an international corporation headquartered in Mexico City. The Mexichem production north of Henry is expected to produce a variety of vinyl resins and their production will result in whatever discharge occurs.

HOI needs local citizens to alert us to environmental concerns and events such as this permit notice. A native of Henry contacted HOI about this Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) water pollution discharge permit transfer application notice. Thanks to this heads-up we were able to reach out to several key volunteers and to send in comments to the IEPA by their August deadline. The good news is, IEPA has taken steps in this permit to protect the Illinois River from excessive ammonia discharges, which had plagued the earlier owners of this facility and resulted in high levels of ammonia going into the Illinois River. All six of the chemical plant’s NPDES outfalls are listed as discharging into the Illinois River. HOI concerns include the many downstream areas that are designated for migrating waterfowl and other habitat.

Thanks to all HOI members who responded to our contact on this issue!