Judge deems Trump Tower a ‘public nuisance’ after groups say it killed thousands of fish
Trump International Hotel & Tower violated multiple environmental protections while using millions of gallons of water from the Chicago River, an Illinois judge ruled.
An Illinois judge has deemed Trump International Hotel & Tower, which sits among skyscrapers on the Chicago River, a “public nuisance” after it illegally killed thousands of fish with a water intake system, the Sierra Club said in a Sept. 12 news release.
“For years, Trump Tower failed to follow state and federal regulations that protect the health of the Chicago River and the balance of critical aquatic ecosystems therein,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said regarding the Sept. 11 decision.
Each day, Trump Tower pulls approximately 20 million gallons of water from the Chicago River cutting through downtown to cool the skyscraper’s heating and air conditioning systems, according to a news release from the attorney general.
Fish would get caught in the intake system, and thousands were killed, the Sierra Club said.
McClatchy News reached out to Trump Hotels and the Trump Organization but did not immediately hear back.
The litigation started in 2018 with a lawsuit brought by the state that accused Trump Tower of violating multiple environmental protections.
“The lawsuit alleged Trump Tower failed to obtain the necessary permit and submit information to the (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) IEPA, as required by the Clean Water Act, to demonstrate compliance with federal regulations relating to the building’s operation of a cooling water intake system,” according to the attorney general’s office.
The Sierra Club and Friends of the Chicago River filed an intervening lawsuit that same year, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act and Public Nuisance.
At the time, Trump Tower and the plaintiffs agreed that the building would report the average daily volume of heated water it pushes into the river each month, according to the release. Trump Tower had been doing that since 2013, the AG said.
The lawsuit was amended in 2023 after the state learned that Trump Tower had been under-reporting the amount of heated water it pushed into the river, officials said.
“The Trump Tower also failed to accurately compute and report the rate at which the skyscraper’s cooling system withdraws water by approximately 44% for more than 10 years,” the Sierra Club said.
The skyscraper is one of the “largest users of water from the Chicago River for cooling,” according to the Sierra Club.
“The Trump Tower’s complete disregard for the rules carelessly killed countless creatures and degraded the value of the significant public investments over decades to bring about the healthy transformation of the river for people, fish, and other aquatic wildlife,” Friends of the Chicago River executive director Margaret Frisbie said in a statement.
A hearing will determine the penalties for Trump Tower. The Attorney General’s office said they seek relief for violations of state law.
The date of the hearing has not been set.
This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Judge deems Trump Tower a ‘public nuisance’ after groups say it killed thousands of fish."
