Jump to main content.

ESI Environmental Inc Site

Site Information
IMPORTANT NOTE

Residents should call this number to report odors:
Mayor's Action Center
317-327-4MAC (4622)

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Janet Pope (pope.janet@epa.gov)
312-353-0628 or 800-621-8431, ext. 30628

On-Scene Coordinator
Verneta Simon
(simon.verneta@epa.gov)
312-886-3601 or 800-621-8431, ext. 63601

Federal Attorney
Nola Hicks
(hicks.nola@epa.gov)
312-886-7949 or 800-621-8431, ext. 67949


Additional Contacts

Cheryl L. Carlson
Environmental Coordinator
City of Indianapolis
2700 S. Belmont Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46221
(317) 429-3569


Harry Atkinson
(hatkinso@idem.in.gov)
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
State Cleanup Section - Remediation Service Branch
317-234-0347


Private Wells Concerns
Jason Doerflein
Marion County Health Department
(jdoerfle@hhcorp.org )
317-221-2266

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund
Superfund Frequent Questions

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

OSC's Home Page Exit EPA Disclaimer

Update: ESI managers sentenced for criminal violations

A vice-president and two managers of ESI were sentenced  for felony violations of the Clean Water Act on April 4, 2011. They were convicted of intentionally discharging untreated wastewater and stormwater from the facility directly into the Indianapolis sewer system. More information >>

Background

ESI began operation in December 1999 as a commercial used oil processing facility. The facility collected, processed, recovered, and disposed of nonhazardous wastewater from industrial and commercial manufacturing plants. All materials received into the facility were treated and processed to separate the contaminants. The water collected during this process was discharged separately into the city of Indianapolis sanitary sewer system. The contaminants were further processed into a form that allowed for proper recycling or disposal. Any oils recovered in the process were shipped off-site to be reused. The site was designed so that the stormwater at the site was captured in its internal sewer system and ultimately run through its wastewater processing equipment prior to being discharged into the city sanitary sewer system.

On March 15, 2007, during a heavy rainfall, untreated oil and water from the site flowed into the city sewer system through a by-pass sewer that had been left open. This release resulted in contamination of surrounding commercial and residential properties. The resulting cleanup lead to the by-pass sewer being permanently sealed. In 2007, ESI was notified by a customer that a shipment of used oil from the site had contained PCBs. As a result, the equipment was decontaminated. Another release occurred in 2009 resulting again in contamination of area commercial and residential properties. Another cleanup took place, but these two releases indicate the need for runoff from the site to be controlled.

In October 2010 ESI filed bankruptcy leaving behind tanks containing hazardous chemicals such as sulfuric acid and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.  EPA began a cleanup to address potential imminent health threats posed by these abandoned chemicals. One of the primary concerns was the potential for chemicals from the site to be released into the city sanitary sewer system or area surrounding the site in the event of a heavy rain or snow melt. For this reason, a primary focus of the work was and continues to be managing stormwater runoff.  

Site Updates | News Releases | Presentations | Fact Sheets || Technical Documents || Legal Agreements

You will need the free Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Site Updates

April 2011

EPA continues to address stormwater issues around the site.  EPA will be giving an update on the present activities at the site at a  public meeting for Pike Township scheduled for Monday, April 11, 2011, at from 2:00PM - 3:30pm (Eastern Time) at 1200 Madison Avenue, Suite 100, Indianapolis.

News Releases

Top of page

Presentations

Fact Sheets

Top of page

Technical Documents

Top of page

Legal Agreements

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.