Chemtool Fire Information
UPDATE: July 15, 2021
If you wish to address any questions or concerns specifically to the Village of Rockton regarding the Chemtool fire, Mayor Peterson encourages you to email the Village at chemtoolquestions@rocktonvillage.com.
Message from Mayor Peterson on June 29, 2021:
"It is hard to believe that just 2 weeks ago all of our lives were impacted by the Chemtool fire. I am grateful to the emergency responders for keeping us safe with their skill and bravery. The fire is out, and our focus remains on recovery and clean up. If you have debris from the fire in your yard, please call Clean Harbors. We encourage everyone to look to the Illinois EPA, US EPA, and Winnebago County Health Department websites for the most accurate information. The Village is working with them on updates regarding what the next steps should be. We are all in this together, and I am encouraged when I hear about neighbors helping each other out. While some have been able to return to home life with few effects, others are still experiencing difficulties and continue to need help. I am meeting with members of the community to try to find a way to help those who still need help, and I remain ready to organize a public meeting with our partner agencies when they have next step information for us. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me, whether it was a message of support or a message of frustration. Like most of you, I am finding my way through this. Please continue to help, love, support and have patience with each other."
Regarding the Village's Prairie St. municipal water tower: Since the start of the Chemtool fire incident, the Village public works department has been in frequent, regular contact with the IEPA. One of the primary areas of attention was the Village’s Prairie St. municipal water tower. The concentrations for all detected PFAS parameters are below any of the Illinois EPA Health Guidance Advisories. The majority of PFAS parameters are below the detection limit or not detected. Additionally, water samples collected from the tower for VOCs, SVOCs, and inorganic parameters were not detected or at concentrations below any level of concern. The IEPA’s Division of Public Water Supplies has no reservations with the Village of Rockton resuming normal operation of the water tower for the municipal/public water supply, and it was returned to regular service on June 24th. Those test results can be found at the bottom of the page.
Winnebago County Health Department has an informational hotline for residents to call for info and resources. Dedicated Chemtool fire information can be found at www.wchd.org/fire. Please call 815-972-7300 or email rocktonchemfire@wchd.org.
The Illinois EPA has a website with updates and testing summaries at IEPA Chemtool Fire Info.
The US EPA Region (Great Lakes Region) has a website with updates and testing summaries at US EPA Region 5: Chemtool Fire.