SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Emergency and
Remedial Response
(5201 G)
July 2000
Superfund Redevelopment
Pilots
Continental Steel Corp.
Kokomo, IN
EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Initiative (SRI) is a nationally coordinated effort to facilitate the return of Superfund
sites to productive use by selecting response actions consistent with anticipated use. The SRI Pilots are intended to
help local governments enhance their involvement in the Superfund decision-making process by assisting EPA in
predicting future land uses for Superfund sites. Under the Pilot Program, EPA will provide up to $100,000 in financial
assistance and/or services to local governments for specified activities. Applicants are offered several types of program
assistance, including funding through a cooperative agreement, access to facilitation services, and/or the availability of
personnel under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA).
BACKGROUND
EPA selected the City of Kokomo, Indiana, for a
Superfund Redevelopment Pilot. Kokomo is home to
the 183-acre Continental Steel Corporation Superfund
site. The Continental Steel Corporation plant produced
nails, wire, and wire fence from scrap steel for 72
years. Operations stopped in 1986, and the company
filed for bankruptcy. The site includes a steel
manufacturing facility, pickling liquor treatment lagoons,
a former waste-disposal area, and slag-processing area.
Various volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated
biphenyls, several metals, and lead have been found
on and near the site, which contaminated groundwater,
the adjacent city's wastewater treatment plant, and
Wildcat Creek. The plant is above three significant
aquifers and 1,600 people gettheirdrinking waterfrom
private wells within three miles. Lead testing for
residents is already underway. In March 1989, EPA
added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites
needing cleanup. The site is in a State Enterprise
Zone, which is a boost to its development potential.
OBJECTIVES
The city's goal is to identify and evaluate potential
reuses for the site and gear the cleanup toward the best
reuse option. The project will help the city involve the
community in identifying future uses and developing a
reuse plan. The city is considering using the site for
storm water and sewer management, and for creating an
environmental education center to evaluate the
development of wetlands and a wildlife habitat.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Continental

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Applicant Name: Kokomo, IN
Site Name: Continental Steel Corporation
Date of Selection: June 2000
Anticipated Award: Cooperative Agreement
($100,000)
Profile: The city will involve the community in
identifying and evaluating potential reuses for
the site, and in developing a reuse plan.
Contacts:
Thomas Bloom
U.S. EPA Region 5
(312) 886-1967
bloom.thomas@epa.gov
Superfund Hotline:
(800) 424-9346 or
(703) 412-9810
(DC Metro Area)
reuse.info@epa.gov
Visit the EPA Superfund Redevelopment Web site
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/pilot.htm

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