In a victory for the people of Illinois, the EPA was ordered today to end nine years of delay and to act on a dangerous hazardous waste incinerator in East St. Louis. In his decision federal judge Wayne Anderson ordered USEPA to present in court a plan of action to either approve or deny an operating permit to the Veolia (formerly Onyx) hazardous waste incinerator.

The ruling comes as a result of Sierra Club and American Bottom Conservancy efforts to draw attention to the public health risks posed by the facility in East St. Louis.

“The US EPA and the Illinois EPA have failed the citizens of East St. Louis by allowing one of the most dangerous facilities in the country to operate for almost a decade without a permit,” says Verena Owen, Clean Air Chair of the Illinois Sierra Club. “This permit is long overdue.”

The waste incinerator in Sauget, Illinois, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, burns highly dangerous toxic chemicals and has a troubling operating history. The facility has been prone to explosions and toxic chemical releases that have forced nearby residents to evacuate their homes. Despite facing fines of more than $3 million for failing to protect public health, the incinerator continues to operate without proper regulation, putting the community of Metro East at risk.

“The judge today found that when the laws says EPA 'shall' do something, it does not mean 'whenever EPA feels like it.' We hope this decision means that all of the outstanding permits for the biggest polluters in the Metro East area will finally get issued,” says Kathy Andria, President of the American Bottom Conservancy. “It is high time that the people in this area of Metro East get some justice.”

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division by Attorney David Bender of Garvey, McNeil & McGillivray of Madison, Wisconsin.