CHICAGO — An Illinois pharmaceutical manufacturing company will pay a $75,000 penality and help fund wetland restoration in the state for allegedly discharging wastewater into the Long Lake tributary.
According to a 2017 lawsuit filed by the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Baxter Healthcare Corporation emptied wastewater from its research and development facility in Round Lake in violation of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit "allowable limits." The discharged wastewater contaminants caused low water oxygen levels which effected the water's ecosystem, the Attorney General's Office said.
“This settlement will help protect Long Lake from contamination and require Baxter to improve water quality in the lake and its tributaries,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement. “I appreciate the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office partnering with my office to help preserve the lake for future generations.”
“I am pleased that we were able to work with the Attorney General’s Office and Baxter to resolve this matter, and that the settlement includes the wetland restoration project which will benefit the natural resources in Lake County impacted by Baxter’s discharges,” added Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim.
As part of the settlement, Baster will pay $20,000 to the Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves, which will go toward the state's Sargent Marsh Kettle Grove Forest wetland restoration, according to Madigan's office.