Lane Street Investigation Site

Site Information

Elkhart, IN (Elkhart County)
EPA ID# INN000510229
CERCLIS listing
Alias(es): Lane Street Groundwater Contamination

Contact Information

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

Remedial project Manager
Bernard Schorle(schorle.bernard@epa.gov)
312-886-4746 or 800-621-8431, ext. 64746

Links

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund
Superfund glossary
Superfund Frequent Questions:
Superfund Information Systems Frequent Questions

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Fact Sheet about Chlorinated Solvents:Trichloroethylene (PDF) (2pp, 53K)

Background

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) have identified elevated levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) in ground water and well water samples collected from residences on Lane Street in Elkhart, Ind. TCE is a type of industrial solvent. (see ATSDR fact sheet about Trichloroethylene (PDF) (2pp, 53K))

IDEM began a site investigation in the Lane Street residential area in response to a telephone call from the Elkhart County Health Department on August 22, 2007, stating that a resident on Lane Street in Elkhart, Ind., had submitted a drinking water sample to an independent laboratory for analysis. The analysis of the water revealed highly elevated levels of TCE.

On August 23 and August 31, 2007, IDEM staff collected water samples for analysis, including samples from all residential wells on and around Lane Street. Additional wells were found to be contaminated with elevated levels of TCE, and IDEM supplied bottled water to those residents. U.S. EPA, in a cooperative effort with IDEM's environmental investigation, provided filtration systems to those homes found to have contaminated drinking water. In April 2008, IDEM expanded its investigation and conducted further ground water sampling at additional homes in the Lane Street area, which confirmed elevated levels of TCE contamination.

In October 2008, due to the TCE contamination identified by IDEM, EPA announced to the residents living in the Lane Street area of groundwater contamination that they would be eligible for a connection to the City of Elkhart municipal water supply system, without a connection charge.

IDEM and EPA are working further to investigate the source of the chemical contamination and identify appropriate long-term measures for ground water remediation.

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