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Environmental groups express concern with Tradebe remediation plan, recent spill

Courtesy of Google Maps

Environmental groups continue expressing concern with an East Chicago hazardous waste facility.

Tradebe Treatment and Recycling is asking the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to approve a voluntary remediation work plan for the Marport site, next to its main facility. That would help Tradebe get a "covenant not-to-sue" from the state, shielding it from liability over certain pollutants.

But a coalition — made up of the East Chicago Calumet Coalition Community Advisory Group, the University of Chicago Law School's Abrams Environmental Law Clinic, the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law's Environmental Advocacy Center, the Conservation Law Center, the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Just Transition Northwest Indiana, Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, Green EC, Highland Neighbors for Sustainability, the Hoosier Environmental Council and two East Chicago residents — says the plan is too vague about what would be covered.

Its comments to IDEM also claim the plan doesn't require any actual cleanup or mitigation measures. While it would prohibit the owner from using groundwater for most purposes, environmental advocates worry that hazardous chemicals could still turn up in nearby wells. They note that there are 16 within a mile.

Advocates say they also recently became aware of a hazardous waste spill that occurred the morning of October 6. In a letter to IDEM a month later, Tradebe said crews were loading waste into a rail tank car, when they discovered a valve had been left open. The company says it was able to recover 5,122 gallons of the 6,744 that had been spilled. It also removed some railroad ballast and soil to try to stop it from spreading.

Michael Gallenberger is a news reporter and producer that hosts All Things Considered on 89.1 FM | Lakeshore Public Media.