Warsaw Chemical Property Acquired For Street Extension

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer-

Four "slivers" of land were deeded to the city of Warsaw from Warsaw Chemical Co. Tuesday during a special Warsaw Board of Works meeting.

The parcels will enable the city to extend McKinley Street to Winona Avenue under the railroad overpass.

In the agreement is an option for the town to abandon a portion of Durbin Street from Hendricks to Argonne streets, as Warsaw Chemical owns land on both sides of Durbin.

The land acquisition has to be complete prior to the end of the month to facilitate the final release of the $300,000 Community Development Building Grant from the Indiana Department of Commerce. The grant will pay for the street construction.

Board member Charlie Smith expressed concern about toxic chemicals on the property being deeded.

Solvents were discovered in groundwater and traced back to Warsaw Chemical by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1988.

To eliminate the sources of contamination, Warsaw Chemical ceased operating its older bulk plant in April 1990 and replaced it with an environmentally compliant plant. Nine underground storage tanks were removed and two underground storage tanks were closed in place.

An air stripper system is being used to remediate the groundwater contamination with two air stripper towers in service. The system continues to operate and will operate until it has been determined the contamination has been removed. Groundwater samples are taken from monitoring wells on and near the site and from residential wells near the site on a quarterly, semi-annual and annual basis to verify that the contamination is being reduced.

City attorney Mike Valentine said the contamination is a risk he would take due to the well even though the city may have to assist in potential contamination.

The solvent plumes were not found next to the deeded parcels.

Kel-Con Construction was given notice to proceed with demolition of several buildings at the Gatke site, where asbestos removal was completed by Heartland Corp.

Kel-Con has done outside work, removing brush and preparing the area for further demolition work over the last week. All buildings are to be removed by April 1. The only structure left will be the original Interurban Rail System building.

Camden Construction was given notice to proceed on the Beyer Farm Trail branch of the Lake City Greenway.

Board of Works members are Mayor Ernie Wiggins, Jerry Patterson and Charlie Smith. [[In-content Ad]]

Four "slivers" of land were deeded to the city of Warsaw from Warsaw Chemical Co. Tuesday during a special Warsaw Board of Works meeting.

The parcels will enable the city to extend McKinley Street to Winona Avenue under the railroad overpass.

In the agreement is an option for the town to abandon a portion of Durbin Street from Hendricks to Argonne streets, as Warsaw Chemical owns land on both sides of Durbin.

The land acquisition has to be complete prior to the end of the month to facilitate the final release of the $300,000 Community Development Building Grant from the Indiana Department of Commerce. The grant will pay for the street construction.

Board member Charlie Smith expressed concern about toxic chemicals on the property being deeded.

Solvents were discovered in groundwater and traced back to Warsaw Chemical by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1988.

To eliminate the sources of contamination, Warsaw Chemical ceased operating its older bulk plant in April 1990 and replaced it with an environmentally compliant plant. Nine underground storage tanks were removed and two underground storage tanks were closed in place.

An air stripper system is being used to remediate the groundwater contamination with two air stripper towers in service. The system continues to operate and will operate until it has been determined the contamination has been removed. Groundwater samples are taken from monitoring wells on and near the site and from residential wells near the site on a quarterly, semi-annual and annual basis to verify that the contamination is being reduced.

City attorney Mike Valentine said the contamination is a risk he would take due to the well even though the city may have to assist in potential contamination.

The solvent plumes were not found next to the deeded parcels.

Kel-Con Construction was given notice to proceed with demolition of several buildings at the Gatke site, where asbestos removal was completed by Heartland Corp.

Kel-Con has done outside work, removing brush and preparing the area for further demolition work over the last week. All buildings are to be removed by April 1. The only structure left will be the original Interurban Rail System building.

Camden Construction was given notice to proceed on the Beyer Farm Trail branch of the Lake City Greenway.

Board of Works members are Mayor Ernie Wiggins, Jerry Patterson and Charlie Smith. [[In-content Ad]]

Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Fat & Skinny Tire Festival’s 20th Year Feels Surreal To Co-Founder
WINONA LAKE - For Fat & Skinny Tire Fest co-founder and co-director Greg Demopoulos, the fact that this weekend is the 20th year for the three-day bicycling event is surreal.

Nappanee Man Injured In Turkey Hunting Accident In Fulton County
A Nappanee man was injured in a turkey hunting accident Saturday in Fulton County.

Breakfast Optimist Club Car Show Is Sunday
Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club is hosting the 15th Annual City of Lakes Car Show on Sunday, May 18 from noon to 5 p.m. in downtown Warsaw at the courthouse square.

Huntington Teen Arrested On Rape, Child Molesting Charges
A Huntington teen was arrested after allegedly forcing a minor under 14 to have sex.

Attorney General Rokita Sounds The Alarm On Fake TxTag Emails That Target Hoosiers’ Wallets
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is alerting Hoosiers to a surge in spam emails falsely claiming to be from State of Indiana departments regarding TxTag, the Texas toll collection system.