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EPA proposes cleanup plan for Evansville Superfund Site; comment period under way; meetings Feb. 8

Release Date: 01/30/2007
Contact Information: Mick Hans, (312) 353-5050, hans.mick@epa.gov Bill Omohundro, (312) 353-8254, omohundro.william@epa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 07-OPA018

CHICAGO (Jan. 30, 2007) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has proposed a cleanup plan for the Jacobsville Neighborhood Soil Contamination site in Evansville, Ind. A comment period has been extended through Feb. 28. A pair of public meetings to explain the proposal will be held Feb. 8 at 3 and 6:30 p.m, at the Central United Methodist Church, Family Life Center, 300 Mary St., Evansville.

EPA, in consultation with Indiana Department of Environmental Management, evaluated three cleanup options. The agency's preferred approach is a $22.8 million plan that involves excavation of lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil that does not meet EPA's cleanup standards, backfilling with clean soil and restoration of yards to their original condition.

Comments may be submitted orally or in writing at the meetings, or they may be mailed or e-mailed. EPA and IDEM will select a final cleanup plan after review and consideration of public comments. The final plan could differ from the proposed plan depending on the comments received.

The site covers 45 city blocks and hundreds of homes and commercial properties. Several long-closed manufacturing companies used lead in their operations, which has contaminated soil in the area. Since placing the site on the Superfund National Priorities List in July 2004, EPA has done four rounds of soil testing.

A fact sheet detailing the cleanup proposal is at https://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/jacobsville. Documents are also at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Central Branch.

Residents with questions or who need special accommodations at the public meeting may contact EPA community involvement coordinator Yolanda Bouchee, (800) 621-8431 weekdays, Ext. 33209, or bouchee.yolanda@epa.gov.