oEPA
Superfund
Redevelopment
Initiative
Celebrating	Success:
Southside Sanitary Landfill
Indianapolis, Indiana
Innovative thinking on the part of site stakeholders has
allowed for the Southside Sanitary Landfill Superfund site to
become a leading example of alternative energy, commercial
and industrial use.
In addition to continuing to operate as a municipal solid
waste landfill, the 312-acre Superfund site in Indianapolis
supports a variety of new land uses. Reuse activities include
methane gas production for multiple local businesses, a golf
course and an outdoor education center.
The landfill opened in 1971 and in 1989, EPA learned that
toxic chemicals were migrating from the landfill and added
the site to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). EPA
required the owners of the landfill to take measures to
prevent further migration of the chemicals and to collect the
chemicals and treat them. After these measures were taken,
EPA determined that the site was safe and in 1997 deleted it
from the NPL. Today, more than 100 landfill gas recovery
wells and an intricate pipeline system collect and transport
methane gas produced by the landfill to businesses around
the site.
Since 1989, Crossroads Greenhouses, one of the largest
methane-powered greenhouses in the United States, has
pulled more the 2.2 million cubic feet of methane gas each
day from the landfill. All energy used in the 6.5-acre
greenhouse is extracted from the decomposing waste of the
adjacent landfill. More than 400,000 poinsettias, bedding
plants, and hanging baskets are grown and supplied from the
greenhouse each year.
In addition, the Rolls Royce Allison Aircraft Engine Plant
signed a multi-year contract with Southside through Granger
Energy in 1998 to obtain methane gas from the landfill.
Because methane burns much more cleanly than other fuels,
the use of this energy source has reduced nitrogen oxide
emissions from the Allison plant by 22 tons per year. Some
of the landfill gas collected is also used to heat the vehicle
maintenance shop and power the landfill's liquid pumping
system.
"This truly has been a "win-win-win-
win" situation for Rolls-Royce, Granger,
Southside Landfill, and the environment."
- Thomas Jennings, Manager of Power &
Utilities at Rolls-Royce
"This project is an excellent example of
what can be achieved when all parties
are working together for a common goal.
We hope to use this project as a model
for additional new projects."—Joel
Zylstra, President of Granger Energy
For more information, please contact Melissa Friedland at
friedland.melissa@epa.gov or (703) 603-8864 or Frank
Avvisato at avvisato.frank@epa.gov or (703) 603-8949.

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