USS Lead Superfund Site Community Involvement Activities
EPA has had a consistent community involvement presence at the USS Lead Superfund site, since before it was listed on the National Priorities List in 2009. EPA has provided residents with updates about the cleanup and with information about how to protect themselves and their families from lead exposure. Below are highlights and documents that outline these past activities.
Date | Community Involvement Activities |
---|---|
2006 | |
January 2006 | Established local repository at East Chicago Public Library; established site web page |
March 2006 | Fact Sheet: EPA to Begin Testing for Lead Contamination in Yards (PDF) (5 pp, 352KB) |
March 22-23, 2006 | Held informal meetings to explain sampling process and asked for access agreements for sampling in Zone 1 |
June 2006 | Remedial Project Manager provided info to East Chicago council member regarding Superfund process |
December 2006 | Mailed postcard to residents thanking them for letting EPA take samples from yards in Zone 1 |
2007 | |
Oct. 2007 | EPA/IDEM Fact Sheet announcing availability session (PDF) (4 p., 245KB) |
Nov. 8, 2007 | Held Town Hall Meeting in Zone 1 |
Dec. 5, 2007 | Held RCRA/Superfund informational meeting in Zone 1 |
2008 | |
June 2009 | Mailed “EPA Begins Cleanup” postcard to Zones 1-3 |
Sept. 3, 2009 | Site added to the NPL (National Priority List) |
2009 | |
June 2009 | Mailed “EPA Begins Cleanup” postcard to Zones 1-3 |
Sept. 3, 2009 | Site added to the NPL (National Priority List) |
Summer 2009 | Collected additional access agreements for Zone 3 |
Nov. 30, 2009 | Placed ad in Gary Post Tribune announcing December 7-8, 2009 information sessions for Zones 1-3 |
Dec. 7-8, 2009 | Held informational meetings to discuss sampling activities in Zones 1-3 |
December 2009 |
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Dec. 17, 2009 | Held informational meeting to explain residential testing process and answer questions for Zones 1-3 |
2010 | |
March 9, 2010 | Attended meeting with the city of East Chicago Department Heads |
April 2010 | Mailed sampling results from December 2009 sampling event for Zones 2 and 3 |
May 23, 2010 | Placed ad in Northwest Indiana Times announcing interviews (English and Spanish) for Zones 1-3. |
June 2, 2010 | Placed second ad in Northwest Indiana Times announcing interviews (English and Spanish) for Zones 1-3. |
June 8-10, 2010 | Held community interviews for Zones 1-3 to develop Community Involvement Plan (CIP); Spanish translator was on site to assist |
July 24, 2010 | Participated in Calumet Day and distributed lead-prevention information |
August 2010 | Collected additional samples; collected additional access agreements for Zones 2 and 3 |
2011 | |
April 2011 | Published Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (26 pp, 6.3 MB) |
May 2011 | Mailed sampling results from August 2010 sampling event to Zones 2 and 3 |
October 2011 | Hand delivered sampling results with color-coded pages explaining results and levels of contamination to Zones 1-3 |
December 2011 | |
2012 | |
July 2012 |
|
July 25, 2012 | Held public meeting regarding proposed plan for Zones 1-3 |
July 12 - Aug 11, 2012 | Held public comment period for Zones 1-3 |
Aug. 26, 2012 | Placed ads in Gary Post Tribune and Que Viva (Spanish) announcing extension of public comment period for Zones 1-3 |
Aug. 11 - Sept. 10, 2012 | Held extended public comment period for Zones 1-3 |
2013 | |
August 2014 |
|
2014 | |
Oct. 2, 2014 | Task Force Meeting |
Oct. 24, 2014 | Task Force Meeting |
October 2014 | Mailed Agreement Helps Start Project to Clean Up Contaminated Soil (PDF) (2 pp, 185KB) fact sheet and information session announcement and next steps for Zones 1-3 |
Nov. 18-19, 2014 | Held information sessions to discuss cleanup activities for Zones 1-3 |
December 2014 | Mailed letters requesting access agreements and information about cleanup for Zone 3 |
2015 | |
February - September 2015 | Went door to door to get access agreements; left "missed you" flyers on doors in Zone 3. |
July 2015 | Mailed packets to residents in Zone 3 who were not home or those who denied access (packets included access agreement, fact sheet, property values info, ATSDR fact sheet) |
September 2015 | Met with local health department regarding upcoming result letters to residents, and what action they can take |
October-December 2015 | Provided on-site support in local neighborhood office |
October 2015 |
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November 2015 |
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December 2015 | Called and left messages regarding access agreements for residents that were not home or those that denied access for Zone 3 |
2016 | |
March - May 2016 | Went door-to-door to get access agreements; left “missed you” flyers on doors in Zone 3 |
June 2016 | EPA met with the city of East Chicago officials and provided them with draft education brochures for their review and comment. |
July 5, 2016 | Went door to door to the residents of the Housing Complex in Zone 1 and left lead prevention flyers that provided ways to avoid exposure to contaminated dirt and mulch. Flyers also contained ways to contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator. |
July 11, 2016 | Established site trailer at the corner of 149th Street and McCook Avenue which is staffed by EPA outreach personnel to answer resident questions |
July 20, 2016 |
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July 22, 2016 | Placed additional “Do not play in the dirt or mulch” yard signs throughout the neighborhood of the Housing Complex in Zone 1 |
July 25-27, 2016 | Collected signed access agreements from residents regarding indoor dust sampling. |
Aug., 2016 | Published Residents Guide to Temporary Relocation |
Aug. 2-6, 2016 | Canvassing Zone 2 for soil sampling |
Aug. 3, 2016 | Meeting with mayor and East Chicago Housing Authority |
Aug. 2016 | Distributed Temporary Relocation Flier |
Aug. 4, 2016 | Four canvassing teams contacted 24 units to date, 23 expressed interest in getting their units cleaned |
Aug. 8, 2016 | School District Meeting Availability Session with ATSDR & School District |
Aug. 16, 2016 | Meeting at First Baptist Church with East Chicago Ministers Alliance |
Aug. 18, 2016 | West Calumet Housing Complex Resident Meeting |
Aug. 26, 2016 | Distributed Drinking Water Safety: Information for East Chicago Residents fact sheet and EPA's Home Cleaning Process: What Residents Need to Know |
Aug. 29, 2016 | Distributed Delivered results letters to residents in Zone 1 fact sheet |
Aug. 30, 2016 | Held Multi-Agency Open House for Zones 1-3 (post card announcement) |
Aug. 31, 2016 | Hand delivered result letters to residents in Zone 1 |
Sept. 1, 2016 | Delivered 2 CD’s with Administrative Record to local library repositories. |
Sept. 7, 2016 | Participated in HUD Fun Day. |
Sept. 12, 2016 | Post cards mailed to Zones 2 & 3 announcing Open House |
Sept. 14, 2016 | 500 postcards to local CAG for Mexican Day Parade |
Sept. 14, 2016 | Door to door canvassing in Zone 2. |
Sept. 16, 2016 | Canvassing in Zone 1 to collect access agreements from non-responsive residents.. |
Sept. 20, 2016 | Yard signs place in yards in Zones 2 & 3 announcing open house. |
Sept. 24, 2016 | EPA open house presentation |
Dec. 10, 2016 | Multi Agency Open House postcard |