x>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Comments welcome
Interested people are invited to
submit comments on the proposed
NIPSCO cleanup plan during the
Public Comment Period
July 14, 2011- August 28, 2011.
A Public Meeting to discuss the
work is also planned Thursday,
July 28, 2011, at the Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore Visitor Center,
1215 N. State Road 49, Porter,
Indiana from 6pm - 8pm.
For more information
The following EPA team members
can be contacted for questions,
comments or more information about
the NIPSCO and lakeshore
environmental situation:
Michelle Kaysen (technical
questions)
EPA Remedial Project Manager
312-886-4253
kaysen.michelle@epa.gov
Jennifer Dodds (eco risk questions)
EPA Ecological Risk Assessor
312-886-1484
dodds.jennifer@epa.gov
Rafael P. Gonzalez (general
questions)
EPA Public Affairs Specialist
312-886-0269
gonzalez.rafaelp@epa.gov
Region 5 address:
EPA Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
Region 5 toll-free:
800-621-8431, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.,
weekdays
Fly Ash-Tainted Soil Removal
Proposed in Cleanup Plan
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. Site
Chesterton, Indiana
July 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to dig up and remove
soil contaminated with fly ash on portions of a generating station located on
the southern shore of Lake Michigan. An ongoing environmental
investigation at Northern Indiana Public Service Co.'s Bailly Generating
Station has been concluded for the operating sections of the facility. The
power plant borders the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Under a 2005
legal order between NIPSCO and EPA, the utility was required to investigate
whether contamination from the Bailly site is affecting soil, underground
water supplies (called "ground water") or Lake Michigan itself. This fact
sheet is an update on the conclusions of that work and the proposed cleanup
plan for certain parts of the site.
EPA will not make its proposed cleanup plan final until after it reviews
comments received from the public at a meeting and public comment period
(see left-hand box for ways you can participate in the decision-making
process). The Agency may modify the proposed cleanup plan based on new
information or public comments so your opinion is important. This fact sheet
summarizes complete details about the site contained in a document called
"the statement of basis." That report is available online or at the document
repositories (see Page 2).
In an effort to streamline the investigation and cleanup process, at this time
Aerial photo shows the outlines of the NIPSCO facility and Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore. Areas A andB are ready to be cleaned up, while the adjacent
dunes and former landfills continue to be studied.
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EPA is only proposing a plan for the operational portions
of the facility. Former landfill locations and adjacent
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IDNL) remain under
investigation to ensure the sensitive park habitat is
properly protected.
EPA's cleanup plan and site background
EPA is currently proposing cleanup for the on-site
portions of the facility that are involved in the industrial
processes that generate electricity. The operational areas
that have been assessed are referred to as Areas A and B
(see map Page 1). At a later time, EPA will propose a
cleanup plan for the former landfills and IDNL.
The Bailly facility (see map Page 1) covers 320 acres in
an L-shaped property bordered to the north by the lake
and to the northeast by the national lake shore. The plant
is coal-fired and supplies electricity to the northern half
of Indiana. Some on-site sections have already been
cleaned up by NIPSCO including contaminated soil at
seven locations where, for instance, old tanks had leaked.
EPA's proposed cleanup plan for the remaining
contamination involves soil excavation where the facility
formerly stored fly ash directly on the ground. Fly ash is
a coal combustion byproduct. The waste contained metals
that soaked into the soil and ground water of the facility.
Removing the contaminated soil will remove the source
of metals found in the underground water. Earth
excavated in this project will be backfilled with clean
soil. EPA is proposing this plan after thorough
investigation. As mentioned above, more cleanup details
can be found in EPA's statement of basis. The statement
of basis is a summary of the investigations, risk
assessments and cleanup plans considered.
Cleanup details
As mentioned, seven areas of soil contamination located
within the operational or industrial portion of the facility
have already been cleaned up. This occurred during the
environmental investigation. As areas of obvious
contamination were identified, they were surveyed with
sampling and then cleaned up by the excavation method.
Where appropriate, infrastructure upgrades were made to
ensure contamination does not happen again. Over
24,000 ft3 of contaminated soil was removed.
The remaining contamination area was not handled so
simply due to its size and because the investigation
required determining how much soil to excavate.
Therefore, EPA is proposing this cleanup plan and
opening a public comment period.
Although there was no human health risk associated with
these fly ash areas, EPA decided to clean up the
remaining contamination to protect the ground water
aquifer and Lake Michigan. An aquifer is an underground
layer of rock and other material containing drinking
water. As such, any soil capable of filtering or releasing
contamination into the ground water will be removed.
The other component of the proposed cleanup plan
ensures any future use of the facility is safe. NIPSCO will
be required to file appropriate land-use restrictions with
the local government to document the industrial nature of
the land.
Next steps
As mentioned earlier, EPA officials say controlling the
source of the ground water contamination by removing
the tainted soil will protect the underground water
supplies and Lake Michigan in the future. EPA urges
interested people to read the statement of basis document
and provide any comments you may have on the
proposed cleanup plan during the public participation
period.
Protecting the lake shore while ensuring reliable electrical
power to the area will require the cooperation of all
stakeholders. EPA looks forward to your input and
serving the Northwest Indiana community.
View the documents
To read the files about the NISPSO site, an official
document repository has been set up at the Portage
Public Library, 2665 Irving St.
Information can also be found on EPA's website for
the NIPSCO Bailly Generating Station:
www.epa.gov/reg5rcra/wptdiv/sites/nipsco/index.html
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