Feds raid Illinois village offices in water case

CRESTWOOD, IL — Agents from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), FBI and other federal agencies on April 29 raided the Department of Public Works and other village offices here in connection with allegations that village officials knowingly supplied contaminated drinking water to residents for more than two decades, the Associated Press (AP) and CBS 2 reported on April 29.

Fifteen agents produced search warrants upon entering Crestwood village hall and the public works department, looking for evidence of a possible environmental crime, EPA spokeswoman Anne Rowan is quoted as saying in the AP report. An April 19 Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that officials of Crestwood, a suburban Chicago community, cut water supply costs by supplementing the community’s supply with municipal well water tainted with dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride, two chemicals related to the dry-cleaning solvent perchloroethylene (PCE). PCE is linked to cancer, liver damage and neurological problems.

The well was shut off in 2007 following testing of municipal wells by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, as WaterTech Online® reported. According to CBS 2, Illinois EPA director Doug Scott told CBS 2 that Crestwood’s longtime water system engineer, Frank Scaccia, has now admitted that he and other village officials lied, and that the “mystery water” was pumped from a contaminated well.

Crestwood Mayor Robert Stranczek has maintained the position that the village drinking water always has been safe. According to CBS 2, “When asked if someone could have gotten sick from the water, Scott said, ‘It’s possible.’”