vvEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency You're invited An Open House and Public Meeting to discuss the Town of Pines environmental issues are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17, at the Clarion Hotel, 5820 S. Franklin St., Michigan City. Open House: 1-4 p.m. Public Meeting: 6:30 - 9 p.m. At the open house, you can visit with federal, state and local representatives one-on-one. Come to the public meeting to learn the status of the arsenic and groundwater investigations. There will be time for questions following short presentations. Contacts Susan Pastor Community Involvement Coordinator 312-353-1325 pastor.susan@epa.gov Erik Hardin Remedial Project Manager 312-886-2402 hardin. erik@epa.gov Jacob Hassan On-Scene Coordinator 312-886-6864 hassan.jacob@epa.gov EPA toll-free: 800-621-8431, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., weekdays If you need special accommodations at the meeting, contact Susan Pastor by Monday, Sept. 14. EPA Continues Coal Ash Study in Yards, Groundwater Pines Groundwater Plume Site Town of Pines, Indiana September 2015 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating contamination related to coal ash in groundwater and residential soil throughout the town of Pines. Early this year, contractors for Northern Indiana Public Service Co., or NIPSCO, discovered high levels of arsenic and thallium at seven properties throughout the town of Pines. Since then, NIPSCO has sampled more than 50 private and public properties. This sampling will continue until EPA is satisfied that all properties potentially containing coal ash in and around the town have been sampled. This could last well into next year or even longer. Voluntary sampling Additional property access and sampling is now voluntary. Pines residents who would like their properties sampled should contact Jacob Hassan or Susan Pastor at EPA (see contact information, left). EPA will soon begin to oversee yard cleanups with the homeowners" permission. At that time, NIPSCO will also explain the cleanup and restoration process with each homeowner. These cleanups, which will be paid for by NIPSCO, will primarily involve removing the soil containing coal ash and replacing it with clean soil. The coal ash material will be hauled to an EPA- approved landfill. Yard 520, the landfill on the southwest corner of town, is not being considered. Yard 520 is closed and can no longer accept any waste. It could take about a year to complete these cleanups. During that time, Pines residents will probably notice heavy construction equipment and air monitoring devices as well as experience road closures and detours. The town board and NIPSCO have tentatively agreed to limit work to 7 a.m. - 5 p.m., weekdays. However, it may be necessary to work on a Saturday to close out work on a residential property if the homeowner agrees. All of the work is being done under a legal agreement, called an administrative order on consent, between EPA and NIPSCO. Groundwater investigation The groundwater investigation is in its final stages. Groundwater is an environmental term that refers to underground supplies of fresh water. Information gathered by NIPSCO so far indicates unsafe levels of contaminants associated with coal ash are primarily limited to the area under and near the Yard 520 landfill. Samples from monitoring wells just north of the landfill and in a wetland to the east of the landfill have levels of these contaminants that are considered unsafe to drink. However, these are not in places where there are any known drinking water wells. ------- Possible cleanup options will be detailed in a document called the feasibility study report that is expected to be finished by the end of the year. EPA will then complete another document that will recommend a cleanup plan. Both documents will then be made available for public review and comment. A lack of coal ash-related contamination does not necessarily mean the drinking water is free of any contaminants. In fact, some of the results indicate there may be other problems with the drinking water in the area that may not fall under EPA's Superfund program. If you have concerns about your drinking water that are unrelated to coal ash, please contact Environmental Services at the Porter County Health Department, 219-465-3525. Background The town of Pines site is about five miles west of Michigan City and about one mile south of Lake Michigan in Porter County. EPA began testing residential drinking water wells in the town in May 2002. The testing began after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management found high levels of vvEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 Superfund Division (SI-7J) 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-3590 Return Address Requested TOWN OF PINES SITE EPA Continues Coal Ash Studies Printed on Recycled Paper boron and molybdenum when following up on complaints about a bad taste to the water. These metals appear to be primarily from Yard 520 where fly ash and bottom ash were disposed of. Four companies determined to be responsible for the contamination signed EPA legal agreements in 2003 and 2004. These companies - NIPSCO; Brown, Inc.; Ddalt Corp.; and Bulk Transport Corp. - have been investigating the problem. In the meantime, certain homes were also connected to municipal water and were provided bottled water. All of the work has been done by the companies under EPA oversight at no cost to residents. For more information You may read site-related documents at: Michigan City Public Library 100 E. 4th St. On the web www.epa.gov ------- |