City of Elkhart, EPA, IDEM prepare for removal of contaminated soil
ELKHART, Ind. — The City of Elkhart, The US Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management are preparing to remove contaminated soil from a site on East Beardsley Avenue.
The site once held the production space for Conn Musical Instruments, where brass instruments were created in the late 1800s. From the 1970s to 2012, various RV companies used it. Now, officials want to use that land to bring more people to the city with a heart.
"It's one of administrator zones first priorities, to make sure that there's clean air, land and water for all Americans," said EPA Regional Administrator, Anne Vogel. She shared her excitement for the partnership with the state to clear the soil.
Elkhart Mayor, Rod Roberson, is ready to move forward after a 2023 clean up revealed lead in the soil.
"We're at a place where we're repurposing this land and other land in order for it to meet the needs of our community today," said Mayor Roberson.
Repurposing the land that once held a space used to create trumpets and trombones. Over the years of producing brass instruments, the ground became toxic — contaminated with lead. Now, the process to remove that soil involves a partnership between local, state and federal government.
"We're looking forward to EPA investments in cleaning up lead that will allow this land to be put back into productive redevelopment that ultimately will serve the people of Elkhart, the people of Indiana," shared Clinton Woods, Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner.
According to the EPA, the cleanup involves crews securing the site, excavating the lead contaminated soil and transporting it for proper disposal. The excavated areas will be filled with clean soil and plant vegetative cover to prevent erosion.
EPA will conduct monitoring and dust suppression measures to prevent lead from migrating from the site. The whole point of this project, according to Mayor Roberson, is to bring the 11-acre site back to residential use.
"We want to make sure that we bring it back to a level in which it increases the property values that are in the area. So ,we're going to look at different opportunities in order to do it, but we'll make sure that it fits within the neighborhood, and it's the context that we'd like to use in order to grow this particular community as a whole," Mayor Roberson explained.
EPA says the soil removal will begin in April and the project is expected to take two to three months.