Jin Zheng says he’s not the kind of person who runs away from his problems and he will clean up the mess in Morris. He says he loves the community and feels bad about the fire. In an interview he didn’t want recorded, Zheng told WCMY today that he bought the former paper mill site to develop a warehouse where batteries are charged before they’re sent to customers. Intending to make a future in the city, he also bought a house across the street.
His future will be more complicated because of the fire that’s still burning. More than 3,000 people have been out of their homes since Tuesday because burning lithium batteries let off toxic fumes and explode. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is accusing his Superior Battery Inc. of polluting the air and water and of improperly handling waste. It’s taking a case to the Illinois Attorney General and demanding a cleanup plan. The Illinois EPA also wants Zheng to hire a consultant to look into the fire’s cause. Zheng thinks a battery shorted and got hot.
Zheng says he expected to repair the roof and install solar panels this year and then open part of the warehouse next year. Other sections would open during the next three or four years until his operation filled the whole building. Zheng says he had a slow development plan because he doesn’t have a lot of money to start up quickly. Acknowledging that cleanups are also expensive, Zheng says he’ll talk with his battery industry contacts about what he needs to do.