EPA’s recommended cleanup plan for contaminated groundwater and soil is outlined in the attached fact sheet which was also sent in the postal mail over a week ago. As a reminder, our comment period on the plan runs through Friday, July 15 and a public meeting to explain the plan, answer your questions and accept your comments is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 8 at the Clarion Hotel in Michigan City. In the meantime, please check out: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/town-pines-groundwater. Technical documents pertaining to the project can be found under the heading “Administrative Records” in the lower right-hand corner of the web page.



We won’t make a final decision until all of the comments have been reviewed. If you would like additional information, please feel free to contact me or Project Manager Erik Hardin at hardin.erik@epa.gov or 800-621-8431, Ext. 62402.

he United States Environmental Protection Agency is making a renewed effort to secure permission for soil sampling from Town of Pines landowners whose properties may be affected by toxic coal ash.

The agency's push comes as some local residents have raised concerns that the EPA's planned cleanup efforts will not be extensive enough, owing to faulty data on the "background" level of contaminants in the area. The agency says it will investigate the claim.

Around four dozen Town of Pines residents gathered at Michigan City's City Council chambers on Thursday for the first public meeting on the topic held by the EPA since 2016.

Roughly 400 land parcels in the small lakeside community still need to be checked for potentially dangerous concentrations of arsenic, thallium, lead and other heavy metals, EPA community involvement coordinator Kirsten Safakas told attendees. Exposure to high levels of toxic heavy metals in soil — which can enter the body through inhalation, skin contact or consuming tainted produce — can cause cancer, nervous system disorders and other health problems.