09/15/11FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 11-OPA085 EPA…
09/15/11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 11-OPA085
EPA adds Gary site to Superfund National
Priorities List
(CHICAGO – Sept. 15, 2011) The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency today added the Gary Development
Landfill in Gary, Indiana, to the Superfund National Priorities
List of hazardous waste sites. Superfund is the federal program
that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or
abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.
Before it closed in 1989, the Gary Development
Landfill accepted hazardous waste including volatile organic
compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, asbestos, metals and
pesticides. The landfill lacked a lining and other waste
containment features, which allowed hazardous substances to
contaminate an adjacent wetland that borders the Grand Calumet
River. The area provides habitat for several state endangered
species, including the Marsh Wren.
In 2002, EPA supervised the removal of numerous
containers of oil, paint, insecticides and antifreeze from the
site. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management conducted
an expanded site inspection in 2007 providing data to take action
under Superfund. After further investigation, a cleanup strategy
will be developed.
Currently, 1,302 sites are on the NPL including
the 15 added today. Sixty-two additional sites await final agency
action, including 11 new proposed sites announced today. For
information on the Superfund NPL, see the Federal Register notice
at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm
For more information on the Gary Development
Landfill site, contact the EPA’s community involvement
coordinator for the site, Janet Pope, 800-621-8431, Ext. 30628,
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, or via email at
[email protected]. More information is also available online at https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-5