RETURN TO USE INITIATIVE 2014 Demonstration Project RE ILLY TAR & CHEMICAL CORP. (INDIANAPOLIS PLANT): Indianapolis, Indiana THE SITE: The 120-acre Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp. (Indianapolis Plant) Superfund site (the Site) is located in central Indiana. From 1921 until 1972, the Republic Creosote Company distilled coal tar and treated wood on the southern part of the Site, the 80-acre Maywood property. In the 1940s and 1950s, a chemical plant began operating on the northern part of the Site, the 40-acre Oak Park property. Facility operations and disposal practices led to soil and ground water contamination. EPA placed the Site on the Superfund program's National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1984. Reilly Tar & Chemical Corporation (Reilly) led site investigations and cleanup. The remedy included ground water containment, solidification and capping of contaminated materials in a landfill, thermal desorption of soils, a permeable cover for the wood treatment area, a concrete cover over parts of northern area, institutional controls and targeted soil vapor extraction. Ground water containment and monitoring are ongoing. THE OPPORTUNITY: Parts of the Site's southern area were vacant or underused. The property's size and sun exposure, as well as incentives provided by the Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL), a local utility, made it a strong candidate to host a renewable energy facility. Solar developers began contacting property owner Vertellus Agriculture & Nutrition Specialties LLC (Vertellus). HE BARRIERS: The Site's remedy had already been finalized. A restrictive covenant limited use of on-site ground water to industrial operations, prohibited any site uses that might affect the remedy, restricted residential uses, and did not allow any excavation, construction or installation activities without EPA approval. IPL's incentive program was also set to expire within a year's time. PICTURED: Creosote operations on site in 1934. (Source: Indiana Historical Society) BARRIERS: Remedy required land use restrictions that potentially limited the Site's capacity to support a solar farm. SOLUTION: Project partners coordinated with EPA and IDEM and developed an innovative construction approach for the solar farm that was compatible with the Site's remedy. BFPP status, comfort letters and environmental insurance addressed stakeholders' Superfund liability concerns. PICTURED: Maywood Solar Farm. (Source: Hanwha Q CELLS) BEFORE: Southern areas of the Site were unused or underused following cleanup and before development of solar energy facilities. AFTER: 10.8-megawatt solar farm expected to reduce carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 13,235 metric tons per year. SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Redevelopment Initiative November 2014 1 ------- THE SOLUTION: To make sure a solar farm would not impact the protectiveness of the remedy and also qualify for the IPL incentive program, Vertellus and the solar developers contacted EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). After partnering with one company to qualify for IPL's incentive program, Vertellus ultimately selected Hanwha Q CELLS as their solar developer. The company offered a turnkey approach to designing and building a solar facility and provided access to the financial resources and backing necessary for the project. Hanwha Q CELLS and Vertellus met several times with EPA, IDEM and remedial contractor, August Mack to ensure the solar farm's compatibility with the remedy. The project's final design relied on an innovative approach - a driven, pile-based solar module mounting system kept facility infrastructure above ground and mitigated the need for extensive soil excavation and earthmoving during construction. In July 2013, EPA and IDEM approved the design, enabling the project to move forward. Hanwha Q CELLS also took additional steps to address its Superfund liability concerns. The company worked to qualify as a bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP). It requested comfort letters from EPA and IDEM stating that the agencies did not have an interest in the company as a potentially responsible party at the Site. Finally, it purchased an environmental insurance policy to address any unexpected cleanup issues encountered during construction and operation of the solar farm. THE SITE NOW: Hanwha Q CELLS brought Maywood Solar Farm on line in February 2014. The 10.8-megawatt facility includes over 36,000 ground-mounted, fixed-tilt solar panels. Through a power purchase agreement with IPL, Hanwha Q CELLS will sell electricity and environmental attributes from Maywood Solar Farm for 15 years. IPL will purchase 100 percent of its output over the length of the agreement. Hanwha Q CELLS estimates that electricity generated from the facility will reduce carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 13,235 metric tons peryear-the amount of carbon emissions produced by conventionally powering more than 1,800 homes annually. A ribbon-cutting ceremony in April 2014 celebrated the system's startup. EPA Region 5 presented Hanwha Q CELLS with the first-ever Region 5 RENEW Award in recognition of the company's commitment to the Site's safe and beneficial reuse. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Dion Novak,Remedial Project Manager, at (312) 886-4737 or novak.dion@epa.aov: or Tom Bloom, Region 5 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, at bloom.thomas@epa.gov or (312) 886-1967. &EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Redevelopment Initiative November 2014 2 ------- |