Return to Use Initiative
2006 Demonstration Project
AugUStUS HOOk: Frankfort, Indiana
THE SITE: The 13-acre Augustus Hook site is located immediately south of and across State Road 28 from
the former Ingram-Richardson plant in Frankfort, Clinton County, Indiana. Ingram-Richardson Inc., a porcelain
enamel manufacturing plant, purchased the Augustus Hook property and used the site as a disposal area for the
plant operation wastes beginning some time after 1953. The plant wastes were used to fill in a four- to six-acre
wetland area at the Augustus Hook site. The wastes were believed to include broken porcelain, rejected products,
clay, ash, metal, general factory debris, and frit. Of these wastes, frit was believed to be the only potential waste
of environmental concern. Frit is a grainy, ground glass material. When fired at high temperatures, it is converted
into porcelain glaze. Some of the metals used in frit are potentially toxic and include lead, nickel, cobalt, and
chromium. Cleanup actions began in 1996, when EPA conducted a removal
action to excavate waste materials from the north area of the site. The area
was then backfilled with clean clay and tested with an x-ray fluorescent unit
to ensure it was clean. EPA performed a second removal action in 1997 to
pump and treat lead-contaminated water. According to a 1997 Pollution
Report, all contaminated soil has been removed from the site, and the site
is available for industrial, commercial, or recreational use.
Barrier:
Superfund site stigma
Solution:
Ongoing efforts to provide clear
and understandable information
about the site and protective future
uses through a Ready for Reuse
Determination
THE OPPORTUNITY: The site, which is in an ideal commercial location
in Frankfort, has been cleaned to allow for commercial, recreational,
or industrial future use. The property owner and local government are
interested in seeing the property used for commercial purposes. Commercial
and industrial growth in Clinton County has increased in recent years and the surrounding region has sustained
significant economic growth.
THE BARRIER: Despite its remediation status, information about the cleanup and possible future land uses is
not well known in the community. Its history as a contaminated property and its long-vacant status have led to
stigma. The site has remained fenced but clean for the past eight years.
THE SOLUTION: During stakeholder involvement processes, it became
clear that the predominant barrier to reuse of the site was uncertainty
about the levels of cleanup and protective future uses. The information
maintained by EPA provided sufficient detail about the level of cleanup to
allow Region 5 to create a Ready for Reuse (RfR) Determination for the
site. The RfR Determination is the first of two such environmental status
reports written for removal sites.
Before:
Former dump for a manufacturing
facility
After:
Potential commercial opportunity
for the City of Frankfort
THE SITE NOW: The RfR Determination for the site was signed on
July 13, 2006, by Richard Karl, the Superfund Division Director for EPA
Region 5. Region 5 is also considering ways to highlight how the Region and local community were able to work
together to remove barriers at the site and return it to productive use in the local community.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
updated August 2009
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Tom Bloom, the Region 5 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator
at (312) 886-1967 or bloom.thomas@epa.gov.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
updated August 2009
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