by: Ma’rico Holland | Posted: Sep 16, 2026 / 05:52 PM CDT
SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. (WTVO) — South Beloit is set to begin environmental remediation on an 11-acre brownfield property on Shirland Avenue along the state border. The cleanup project is scheduled to start Sept. 21.
The property has sat vacant for approximately 20 years. Previous operations by automotive plants and component manufacturers led to an accumulation of dangerous levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil. To address the contamination, the city secured $317,000 in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency.
City Administrator Sonya Hoppes discussed the effort required to obtain financial assistance for the property. “It took us a really long time to find some EPA dollars to assist with this site, but all of that is finally behind us,” Hoppes said.
The cleanup process will involve clearing contaminated earth from the parcel. “Because of some of the history on this site, it’s had a lot of industrial and manufacturing uses. We do have to remove some soil and haul it to a landfill,” Hoppes said.
Read the full article from My Stateline here