MILWAUKEE — The owners of Community Within the Corridor (CWC) apartments are facing a Friday deadline to share documents and data after tenants were evacuated due to toxic vapor.
Under an emergency order issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), property developers must submit various documents, including the specifications of a vapor mitigation system, which is designed to keep toxic vapors out of buildings on contaminated soil. The original deadline was Tuesday, but the state extended it to Friday at noon.
A first-round test of the mitigation system earlier this year revealed elevated levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, still in the building. According to the CDC, it's commonly used as a metal degreaser and is a known carcinogen.
After the state DNR learned about the TCE risk, it alerted the Milwaukee Health Department, which led to an evacuation of around 150 people from the apartments on March 25.
Nearly two weeks later, those people are still unable to return home. In a statement this week, the CWC said it's "hard to provide an exact time frame [of return] at this point."
Bridgett Wilder, a CWC tenant, has been in living in two different hotels with her children and believes she may be moved to another hotel shortly.
"When we look at the feeling of what's associated with displacement, although they have us in a hotel, I hate to say it like this, but it's a measure of homelessness," said Wilder.
According to CWC, they're providing temporary housing as well as stipends for daily meals, parking, and transportation. But for Wilder, a small business owner and masters student now missing classes, she said she's losing far more than a home.
"The way that I imagine getting back what I am losing, is holding people accountable for what has happened to us," said Wilder.
The state DNR said the owners should've done more testing for TCE before opening their east block to tenants. But the owners, an entity called Community Within the Corridor Limited Partnership, said their mitigation system to protect against toxic vapor worked fine before people moved in.
Progress reports this week shared by the developer's consultant to the state show that some units are still testing with unsafe levels of TCE.
Wilder, who said she's speaking not just for herself but other tenants, wants answers — including why they were allowed to move in and when they'll have a more permanent housing solution.
"When you're not clear of what your next steps could be, of where you going to live, that's mental torment," said Wilder.
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