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Brownfields Success Stories
East Chicago Turns Garbage Into Gold
Thanks to the work begun by the Northwest Indiana Cities Brownfields Pilot, the effects of 20 years of illegal dumping have vanished from a 10-acre property. The site is now home to a new $5 million automobile shredding facility providing more than 10 new jobs. Prior to its inclusion in the Pilot, the piece of land was a vacant lot favored by midnight dumpers. Over the years, the accumulated garbage reached monstrous proportions. Fears of environmental contamination preventing redevelopment of the site were ultimately allayed through the combined efforts of the Pilot, the State of Indiana, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Pilot coordinated a Phase II environmental assessment indicating that once the toxic mountains of trash were removed, the site's soil and groundwater would be clean enough to allow redevelopment without further cleanup. By October of 1997, the state had identified the illegal dumpers, who were forced to assume the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cleanup costs. By the end of November 1997, cleanup was complete, and Industrial Scrap purchased the site and commenced with plans to expand its metal recycling facility onto the newly recycled plot next door. The community has been kept apprised of the site's progress throughout the assessment, cleanup and redevelopment process. Industrial Scrap's new automobile shredder became operational in July 1998, and the plant's increased business and the additional paychecks are contributing to East Chicago's tax rolls. Selecting sites for assessment that will lead to successful redevelopment and job creation is a continued goal of the Northwest Indiana Cities Pilot. For more information on the Northwest Indiana Cities Pilot, contact Ted Smith at (312) 353-6571.