News Releases from Region 05

EPA extends public comment period on proposed cleanup plan for NIPSCO Bailly Generating Facility in Chesterton

Comment period runs through October 18

CHESTERTON, Ind. (July 28, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the public comment period on the proposed cleanup plan for Area C of the NIPSCO Bailly Generating Facility in Chesterton through October 18, 2020. The nearby Indiana Dunes National Park has been impacted by a solid waste management unit in Area C. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, NIPSCO used the solid waste management unit to dispose of ash created from burning coal to generate electricity. The ash is buried about 25 feet underground. Coal ash contains various hazardous metals, and the primary contaminant of concern in the park is a metal called boron. Underground water, or groundwater, is in contact with the ash and carries the underground contamination into the park. 

A pre-recorded presentation on the proposed plan is available online at: http://go.usa.gov/xvuqx. The project’s contacts will be available from 5-7 p.m. CDT on Monday, August 3, 2020 to answer questions live through a conference line, accessible at 312-667-5632, conference code 1344648.  

Comments on the proposed plan can be submitted through October 18, 2020, in these ways: 

• By confidential voicemail at 312-886-6015 
• By fax to 312-697-2568 
• By website, directly at: https://go.usa.gov/xvuqx  
• By email to safakas.kirstin@epa.gov 
• By mail to Kirstin Safakas, U.S. EPA Region 5, External Communications Office, 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-3590 

To read the proposed plan, watch the pre-recorded presentation, or find out more information about the site, visit: http://go.usa.gov/xvuqx.  

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