Potential Gary/Chicago Airport Expansion Sites Get Superfund Grant

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky announced today that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had awarded a $75,000 Superfund Redevelopment pilot grant to the City of Gary.

The funding will be used to help pay for the cleanup of four potential development sites, two of which could potentially be used for expansion of the Gary/Chicago Airport.  The other two are in close proximity to residential areas.

The Midco I and Midco II Superfund sites are within the Airport Development Zone and are scheduled for environmental cleanup this year, with an eye toward redeveloping them for airport/commercial uses. Visclosky on Tuesday had language passed in the House of Representatives that gives the Gary/Chicago Airport full consideration for federal expansion and improvement funding.

“Remediation of the Midco sites comes at the perfect time,” Visclosky said.  “With the Gary/Chicago Airport poised to expand, the Midco sites can play a vital role in development there.  This is a great example of environmental responsibility meeting economic development.  By doing the right thing in cleaning up these contaminated sites, we can also create the potential for jobs in Northwest Indiana.”

The four-acre Midco I site, located within the Airport Development Zone, was used for the storage of more than 14,000 tanks and drums containing waste solvents and other wastes from 1973-79.  The site was abandoned in 1979.  The seven-acre Midco II site, also within the Airport Development Zone, was used for the storage of waste solvents for eight months in 1977.

Fires damaged more than 50,000 drums at the two sites in 1976 and 1977, and both areas have contamination in the subsurface soil and groundwater.  Both sites will receive soil vapor extraction and solidification/stabilization treatment.

Funding will also be used to pay for two projects that have already been completed on Gary’s West Side.

The 40-acre Lake Sandy Joe Superfund Site is adjacent to a residential area bordering the Borman Expressway (Interstate 80-94).  It was used as a landfill from 1971-80, and its groundwater, sediments, surface water, and soil were contaminated with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, and polychlorinated biphenyls.  A clay cap has been built there, completing remediation, and the site is now available for use.

The 17-acre Ninth Avenue Dump Superfund Site is in a mixed industrial, residential, and conservation area, adjacent to several ponds and wetlands.  It was once used as a dump for chemical and industrial wastes.  Cleanup was completed in 1995, with a slurry wall installed to contain groundwater, and a pump and treat system installed to mitigate contaminants.  The area is attractive to developers because of its size and close proximity to Cline Avenue.

“Cleaning up these Superfund sites not only increases public safety, but it also creates new areas for the economic development and growth that Gary and all of Northwest Indiana need,” Visclosky said.  “I will continue to work for solutions that protect our environment and provide opportunities for economic growth.”