A Dubuque, Iowa, furniture maker will fund the cleanup of a north Elkhart Superfund site with polluted groundwater.
Flexsteel Industries Inc. will pay $9.8 million for the cleanup of contamination at the Lane Street Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site under a proposed consent decree. It will also reimburse the Environmental Protection Agency for a portion of past costs incurred at the site, the U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA announced.
The 65-acre site is located at Henke and Lane streets on the north side of Elkhart. It includes residential and light industrial properties impacted by a groundwater plume contaminated primarily with solvents and degreasers such as trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene.
Cleanup has included removal actions to address immediate threats to human health and the environment,
according to the EPA. After the Indiana Department of Environmental Management provided bottled water to about 13 homes whose wells were contaminated or that were near contaminated wells in 2007, the EPA provided water filtrationsystems to the homes.
After further investigation of the contamination, the EPA in 2008 connected 26 homes on the street and adjoining streets to the public water supply system.
Flexsteel used to make furniture for the RV industry until it pulled out of that market a few years ago.
To read the full report from Jordan Fouts in the Elkhart Truth here. Please note there is a paywall and a subscription is required.
