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Pines Ground Water Plume Site

Background

The Pines Groundwater Site is located about 5 miles west of Michigan City and about 1 mile south of Lake Michigan in Porter County, Indiana.  In May, 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began testing residential drinking water wells in the Town of Pines based on elevated levels of the metals boron and molybdenum discovered in water wells by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The metals appeared to be leached from coal combustion by-products (CCBs) composed of fly ash and bottom ash that were disposed of in a landfill near the Town of Pines called Yard 520.  Other areas in the town were also identified as having been disposal sites for CCB deposits, including residential yards, road surfaces, and road subsurfaces.  CCBs are produced as a result of burning coal to make electricity. (more...)

Site Updates | Fact Sheets || Technical Documents || Legal Agreements || Public Meetings

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Site Updates

Fact Sheets

• EPA and Responsible Companies Sign Agreement, April 2004 factsheet
• Students at Pine Elementary Will Receive Bottled Water, April 2004 factshee
• Town of Pines Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (22pp, 190K), June 2003 factsheet
• EPA Announces Investigation Results at Pines Site (PDF) (4pp, 106K), January 2003 factsheet
• Town of Pines Ground-Water Sampling Activities Continue (PDF) (110K), July 2002 factsheet

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Technical Documents

• Radiation Survey and Risk Assessment (PDF) (9pp, 511K) February 2012
• Responsible Parties/PINES TAP Agreeement (PDF) (17pp, 352K) April 2011
• Post-Remedial Investigation Groundwater and surface water analytical results (October 2008 to May 2011) (PDF) (6pp, 68K) October 2011
• Groundwater level data recent datasets (April 2009 to May 2011) (PDF) (2pp, 13K)
• Remedial Investigation Report (PDF) (230pp, 1.6MB) March 2010
  • Pines AOC II - Yard 520 Report (PDF) (403pp, 13.2MB) March 2010
  • RI Report Figures (PDF) (92pp, 28.0MB) March 2010
  • Remedial Investigation Report Tables (PDF) (153pp, 618K) March 2010
  • Report Addendum (PDF) (2pp, 413K) May 28, 2010
  • The appendices to this report are very large so we have not put them on the web site. To obtain them on CD, please contact the Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager.
• Town of Pines Groundwater Superfund Site Chemical Analysis Data, July 2007 (PDF) (234pp, 728K)
• After a meeting USEPA held in 2004, representatives reported to Beverly Shores residents that test results from their water had low levels of boron. Shortly after the meeting, several residents in the Beverly Shores area had their water tested; some of the tests showed high boron levels. The U.S. Geological Survey did a study and survey for the groundwater in the Beverly Shores area. The results of this survey stated that the boron in the Beverly Shores water was not from the landfill, but the boron was naturally occurring. View the results of the water sampling study (PDF) (7pp, 72K) May 2005
• Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study Work Plan - September 2005
• Technical Assistance Plan (PDF) (99pp, 667K) April 5, 2005
• Site Management Strategy - January 2005

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Legal Agreements

• Final Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (24pp, 323K), December 2004
• Town of Pines Administrative Order on Consent (PDF) (47pp, 3.3MB), April 2004
• Administrative Order by Consent (PDF) (30pp, 134K), July 2003

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Public Meetings

• On October 12, 2011, EPA held an open house with availability sessions for residents to discuss concerns about the Town of Pines Superfund Site.
• Pines Superfund Site Remedial Investigation Update (PDF) (45pp, 1.7MB) March 2010
• Pines Superfund Site Remedial Investigation Update (PDF) (41pp, 963K) June 14, 2007 in Michigan City, IN. EPA updated the community on the work planned as part of the remedial investigation and feasibility study.
• A public information meeting was held April 19, 2005 in Michigan City, IN. Representatives from EPA, U.S. Geological Society and the state of Indiana updated the community on the construction activities, status of the remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) and the EPA Technical Assistance Plan (TAP).
• Town of Pines Public Meeting (PDF) (95pp, 393K), April 2004
• EPA updated area residents on what the recently signed consent orders mean for the community and discussed future plans to address water contamination around Pines, Ind. in two public meetings April 13, 2004.
• Town of Pines Public Meeting (PDF) (6pp, 40K), January 2003
• EPA and its partner, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, presented complete results of the testing and discussed next steps at a public meeting February 4, 2003.

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