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Enforcement

Case Summary: EPA Fast-Tracks Corrective Action for City of Toledo Industrial Corridor Redevelopment

In December 2014, EPA entered into an administrative order on consent (AOC) under section 3008(h) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) with the city of Toledo to address corrective action at the former Textileather Corporation site in Toledo, Ohio. The RCRA § 3008(h) AOC requires Toledo to investigate the extent of contaminant releases and transport within the site and outside the property boundary, and to remediate any contaminated environmental media that poses a risk to people and the environment.

The 47-acre property at 3729 Twining Street is within the city’s industrial redevelopment corridor. The property’s location provides easy access to the local interstate and is adjacent to other industrial property, including a large Chrysler automotive facility. The city of Toledo purchased the property from Textileather Corporation in December 2014, and the sale included a substantial remedial fund provided by a previous corporate owner.

The city of Toledo anticipates that several hundred jobs will be created once the property is redeveloped. The purchase also included the buy-out of a number of residences within the redevelopment corridor.

On this page:

Information about the Site and Corrective Action Order

The site was used for manufacturing vinyl products for the auto industry from 1920 until 2009. Former plant operations involved converting raw materials including resins, plasticizers, pigments, and other additives into various widths and thicknesses of rolled vinyl sheets used mainly for car seats. From the early 1950s to October 1990, the operations included solvent recovery and the recycling of waste-inks. While operating, the plant released phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the surrounding soils and storm sewers.

In the 1980s and 1990s, significant releases of PCBs from the plant’s operations and storage tanks contaminated the soil and ended up in the Ottawa River via storm sewers and a nearby creek. Subsequently, a former site owner, GenCorp, remediated the PCB releases on- and off-site pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Ottawa River was dredged under the Great Lakes Legacy Act in 2010.

As the new owner, Toledo assumed environmental liability for the property and is responsible for completing corrective action. At the time of the property transfer, Textileather had completed much of the investigation work required under a previous RCRA § 3008(h) order and the city adopted the corrective action documents already prepared by Textileather.

On August 27, 2015, EPA issued a Statement of Basis document inviting public comment on its proposed remedial measures for the site. In the document, EPA proposed the excavation and removal of contaminated soil, building foundations, and small pockets of buried oil, the replacement of an aging storm and sanitary sewer system, and removal of underground storage tanks. The city of Toledo has completed most of the building demolition begun by Textileather.

The order and redevelopment work are being managed by Toledo’s Department of Development, which assists in the attraction, growth and retention of business and industry.

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Contact Information

For information contact

Carolyn Bury
EPA Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5
Land and Chemicals Division
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL  60430
312-886-3020
bury.carolyn@epa.gov

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