John Jefferson
A federal judge has ruled that Trump Tower in Chicago is a public nuisance and an environmental hazard for killing thousands of fish.
Last year, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and environmental activists asked the Cook County Circuit Court to rule on their case against the Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Chicago, arguing its operators had failed to comply with environmental laws.
Now, a judge has ruled that Trump Tower is a public nuisance and that its cooling water intake system has killed thousands of fish from the Chicago River, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The tower sits at 401 N. Wabash Ave. and opened in 2009. It has been operating without a proper state water permit and does not accurately report water discharge levels, according to a lawsuit.
Its intake system pulls 20 million gallons of water daily from the Chicago River to cool the building. Groups alleged the building has illegally sucked in and killed thousands of fish.
That amount of water means the building is subject to state and federal regulations about water intake and protecting fish.
Trump Tower “has created and continues to create a public nuisance in violation of Illinois law,” Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus L. Wilson said in his ruling, according to the Sun-Times.
The intake system also operates “in a manner that substantially and unreasonably interferes with the public right to fish and otherwise recreate in the Chicago River,” Wilson continued.
“They were able to kill more fish and aquatic organisms than what would be allowed,” Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, told the Sun-Times. “This decision brings us near the end of a six-year journey.”
“We’ll be monitoring to make sure they obey the law,” Jack Darin, director of Sierra Club Illinois, also told the outlet.
The next hearing is scheduled for November. If the sides do not reach an agreement, it will be up to the courts to how to force the building to comply with regulations.
“Trump Tower failed to follow state and federal regulations that protect the health of the Chicago River,” Raoul said in a statement. “All entities – no matter who they are – must be held accountable when they willfully disregard our laws.”
The Independent has contacted the Trump Organization for comment.
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