Opinion | Write Team: Are we condemned to repeat the same mistake?

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

By Paul Wheeler, Shaw Local News

March 27, 2023

“Potassium permanganate. It is an oxidizer used throughout the country in the water purification process. The highlights of its classification include its ability to intensify fires and its known potential for explosion when in contact with combustible substances….

Following the Jan. 11 Carus explosion in La Salle, plans were made to move all stored materials from the La Salle location to an alternative site. Though investigation of the fire and explosion has not been completed, it might be fair to assume potassium permanganate was involved, with Carus being the largest producer of the substance in the country and the fact it was a substance released in the fire’s aftermath.

Oddly, that “alternative storage site” has turned out to be in the very midst of three of Ottawa’s primary elementary schools. Two of those schools, Central and Shepherd, are 300 yards from the main storage building. McKinley Elementary School is located approximately two blocks away….

There are about 1,000 students occupying all three schools on any given day. Young minds utterly unaware of the decisions being made on their behalf, or not being made on their behalf, by the adults in charge. Yet, given all the warehousing alternatives present in spacious La Salle County, why would one prefer a site so closely situated to so many vulnerable children? It boggles the mind.

Read the full article: 👇

https://www.shawlocal.com/mywebtimes/opinion/columns/2023/03/27/write-team-are-we-condemned-to-repeat-the-same-mistake/

Is Toxic Wastewater From Carus Chemicals Manufacturing Plant in LaSalle, Illinois, Contaminating the Vermillion River & Ending Up In The Gulf of Mexico?

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

How much toxic waste from the Carus Chemical plant in La Salle, Illinois, ends up in the Vermillion River, pictured in these photographs, right next to Carus’ wastewater lagoons?

The Vermillion empties into the Illinois River just a few miles from Carus Chemicals’ LaSalle manufacturing plant. The Illinois River empties into the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico .

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there is a 6,334 square mile dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, an area of low oxygen which kills marine life. https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/deadzonegulf-2021/welcome.html#:~:text=The%202021%20Gulf%20of%20Mexico,over%20the%20past%20five%20years.

Agriculture chemical runoff has been blamed for this dead zone, but have chemical factories, industrial polluters and mines along rivers that connect to the Mississippi River been taken into consideration or studied for their contribution to the dead zone?

The effects of Carus Chemicals’ actions have consequences far beyond LaSalle.

Chemical Wastewater Pipe Discharging into the Vermillion River from Carus Chemical

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Carus Chemical Fire | Moment of Ignition | YouTube Video

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

Carus Chemicals company burst into flames on the edge of a residential neighborhood, and not one alarm can be heard.

Neighbors who saw the smoke and flames didn’t know what was happening.

One resident, Jamie Hicks, ran out of his house, got in his truck, and drove down the street to check on his neighbor whom he thought her house was on fire.

When he Jamie got out of his truck, a purple granular chemical fell from the sky and covered his entire body.

The chemical cloud forming above the fire in this video rained chemicals over three communities.

Samples of air filters taken from residents’ homes show barium, copper, lead, manganese, zinc and mercury.

Homes where chemicals landed are damaged from the oxidation of the chemicals and metals.

Paint is peeling, shingles are deteriorating, metal is rusting, and neighbors have been experiencing health problems that not exist before the fire.

Carus has not taken responsibility for cleanup since this event and has moved illegally stored chemicals out of the Apollo Warehouse to an old mall in Ottawa located near a residential neighborhood.

Do you think there should be alarms on chemical plants and tier 2 storage facilities in fence line communities to warn neighbors if a disaster occurs?

Illinois Fire Marshal Report & Secrutiy Footage inside the Carus warehouse:

Don’t Be Fooled by Local Food and Craft Beer at Tangled Roots.

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

Tangled Roots is one of many companies owned by Inga Carus, CEO of Carus Chemical.

Don’t be fooled by local food and craft beer at Tangled Roots in Ottawa. https://tangledrootsbrewingco.com/about-us/

CL Enterprises. the parent company of Tangled Roots and the Lone Buffalo, is owned by Inga Carus, the CEO of Carus Chemical, LLC, in LaSalle, Illinois. https://cl-enterprises.com/who-we-are/

According to CL’s website, they’re committed to investing in small towns. https://cl-enterprises.com/

However, LaSalle residents say CL does not maintain their properties, and they have several unfinished projects downtown, including the historic Kaskaskia Hotel building, which they purchased from the city for $1 in 2003, and have not done anything with. The once stately hotel is deteriorating in downtown LaSalle.

In addition, Carus has not taken responsibility for damage or cleanup of residents homes and property after the Carus Chemical plant blew up on January 11 and rained chemicals onto the community.

Tangled Roots, the Lone Buffalo and CL Enterprises are just a few of many companies that are owned by Inga Carus. https://cl-red.com/projects/

Complaints about Carus’ Apollo building go back to 2017

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

Below are meeting minutes from the March 13, 2017, LaSalle City Council meeting. At the meeting, Jamie Hicks complained about truck traffic and damage to the neighborhood from Carus’ truck. Despite his many complaints over the years, he was never told there was a chemical storage building in his backyard.

lasalle-city-hall-meeting-minutes-3-13-2017-jamie-hicks-apollo-building-complaints-1Download

About Protect Starved Rock

Posted on by Protect Starved Rock and the Illinois Valley

Protect Starved Rock is a resource for communities surrounding Starved Rock State Park, LaSalle County, Illinois.

Protect Starved Rock was founded during the mining hearings in 2014 when mining companies descended upon the rural community of Utica, Illinois, and began buying up the thousands of acres of rich Midwest farmland to strip it for silica frac sand. Over 2,000,000 pounds of frac sand are used in each fracking well to hold open the well during gas and oil extraction. As domestic drilling has increased so has the demand for silica frac sand. A public hearing ensued but the community lost. Farmers affected by the mines filed an appeal, but it was dismissed. We continue our efforts to raise awareness about the loss of prime Midwest farmland. Meanwhile, the mines grow larger and deeper every day.

One January 11, 2023, the Carus Chemical factory in LaSalle, Illinois, exploded and started on fire. The explosion caused a cloud of chemicals to rain down on the City of LaSalle. We are now helping with recovery and efforts to gather and disseminate information about the event and resulting contamination.