Editing Sauget, Illinois (section)

==History==

Sauget was incorporated as "Monsanto" in 1926. It was formed to provide a lighter regulatory environment and low taxes for [[Monsanto]] chemical plants at a time when local jurisdictions had most of the responsibility for environmental rules. It was renamed in honor of Leo Sauget, its first Village President.<ref name = Yes>{{cite news |url= http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06276/727066-28.stm |title= Yes, in My Backyard: Tiny Sauget, Illinois Likes Business Misfits |first= William |last= Spain |newspaper= Wall Street Journal |date= October 3, 2006 |page= A1 }}</ref>

The village was incorporated in part in response to the failure of government in adjacent [[East St. Louis, Illinois]] to deliver essential services{{which|date=July 2020}}, and in part to take advantage of federal grant funding programs available only to governmental units, as opposed to private industry.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

The village of Sauget operates the American Bottoms Treatment Plant, a large sewage treatment plant that serves much of the Illinois side of the St. Louis metropolitan area. In addition, the village operates a municipal physical/chemical treatment plant that receives [[industrial wastewater treatment|industrial wastewater]] from its factories. This has been cited as one of only three municipal treatment plants of this type in the United States.

The Monsanto plant in Sauget was the nation's largest producer of [[Polychlorinated biphenyl|PCB]]s before a 1977 ban, and the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] has designated the plant site along Dead Creek as a [[Superfund]] site.<ref name="Yes"/>

Sauget has its own 16-member fire department and 16-member police department; this is despite having a population below 250 people. There is roughly one officer and firefighter for every 15 residents in Sauget. Sauget supplies municipal water and wastewater services.<ref name="Yes"/>

Sauget is also home to minor league baseball: the [[Gateway Grizzlies]] of the [[Frontier League]], which are controlled by the Sauget family.<ref name="Yes"/>

Located in Sauget is the [[National Building Arts Center]], a [[historic preservation]]ist and salvage organization which holds one of the largest collections of significant architectural and industrial elements in the US.