Posted on September 28, 2017
By Javonte Anderson, Post-Tribune
After months of public outcry, state and federal officials have agreed to investigate an alternative option for off-site disposal of contaminated sediment dredged from the Indiana Harbor and Shipping Canal.
The decision comes after East Chicago residents and local environmentalists publicly objected to the U.S. Army Corps receiving a permit that would allow the disposal of toxic material from the canal containing PCBs into an open-air confined disposal facility (CDF) at 3500 Indianapolis Blvd.
This is a small victory for East Chicago residents who publicly pushed back against the permit, including a protest in front of U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky’s Merrillville office.
“We really want to see the permit withdrawn or denied, but we are cautiously optimistic,” said the Rev. Cheryl Rivera, an organizer in the Community Strategy Group, an environmental advocacy group that led the opposition to the permit.
The Army Corps has not been allowed to remove the most toxic locations in the canal because they don’t have the authorization to store it at the facility in East Chicago, officials said.
These “hotspots” have been sitting in the canal for decades. The permit the Army Corps is seeking would allow them to dredge and store this toxic material for the first time.
After hearing public comments, the Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Environmental Management opted to stall on granting the Army Corps the permit, and determined that investigating an alternative option for off-site disposal of the toxic hotspots was warranted.
“EPA is committed to addressing contamination in the Indiana Harbor Canal and protecting the health and safety of East Chicago residents,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in a release. “After visiting East Chicago earlier this year, ensuring close coordination with the state of Indiana has been one of my top priorities. Together, we are exploring new ways to address concerns raised by the community.”
The Indiana Harbor and Shipping Canal looking west from Indianapolis Boulevard, East Chicago, July 16, 2017. (Joe Puchek / Post-Tribune)
The CDF is less than a mile away from the new Carrie Gosch Elementary School and East Chicago Central High School, both at Indianapolis Boulevard and Columbus Drive. When standing on the site, Central High School’s gymnasium is visible over the trees.
Despite owning the property where the CDF is located, the East Chicago Waterway Management District formally expressed disapproval to the Corps storing the dredged material from the canal in East Chicago.
The Waterway District wrote a letter in March addressed to IDEM and EPA outlining their concerns with the Army Corps storing more toxic material at the site in East Chicago.
“IDEM heard the concerns of the community and took action,” IDEM Commissioner Bruce Pigott said in a release. “We are very thankful to our partners who came together to make this option available to the residents of East Chicago.”
If the off-site disposal option is determined to be feasible, all dredging and construction activities are expected to be complete by the end of 2018. The Army Corps will continue dredging the canal, but will not remove the sediment with higher contamination levels.
“I think we’re seeing it as a shift in policy that benefits the community and certainly we believe it has the potential to improve public health outcomes and reduce the hazards and risks to a very vulnerable environmental justice community,” Rivera said.
Source: Post-Tribune
