Plans are being made for the reuse of the Tippecanoe County Landfill. The site closed down nearly 25 years ago, and clean-up work has removed the threat to people and the environment. However, the property is still a Superfund site, because contaminants remain in the landfill.
County Commissioner John Knochel says they are talking with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about opening up the site for public use.
“There are four major areas of monitoring (at the site). We have had no problems with these areas for a few years now. We’re just hoping the EPA will release the site early. Whether or not they will – I don’t know.”
He says not much can be built on the ground covering the landfill, so the likely option is a recreational area.
“There’s probably going to wind up being some sort of a park with picnic areas and trails and so forth,” says Knochel. “It is not going to handle building any structures that take any foundations that go down deep in the soil.”
There is no timeline for when the EPA would release the land to the county. The former landfill is in the 13th year of a 30 year use-prohibition.
Indianapolis-based KERAMIDA Global EHS & Sustainability Services oversees monitoring of the roughly 60 acres off North 9th Street. CEO Vicky Keramida says that would continue even if the public is allowed on the property.
“We would still need to be removing the leachate. We would still need to be taking care of the methane,” she says. “But the rest of the site, really does not present any danger whatsoever, any risk.”
More information about the Superfund site is HERE.