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
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

Presentation for Public Meeting

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
  • Two local Walgreens distributed gardening and other information for Zones 1-3.
  • Riley Park & MLK Center distributed gardening and other information for Zones 2 and 3.
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
  • Received list of owners in Zones 1-3 from Water Department to find owner names and phone number to send packets to
  • Received list of owners in Zones 1-3 from East Chicago Assessor's office to find owner names and phone numbers to send packets to
November 2015
  • Mailed packets to residents in Zones 3 that were not home or those that denied access (packets included access agreement, fact sheet: Agreement Helps Start Project to Clean Up Contaminated Soil (PDF) (2 pp, 185 KB), property values info, ATSDR fact sheet)
  • Called and left messages regarding access agreements for residents in Zones 3 that were not home or those that denied access
  • Letter and access agreements sent to (5) City alderman asking for assistance in getting access agreements for Zones 1-3
  • Letter and access agreements sent to (9) Local Churches asking for assistance in getting access agreements for Zones 1-3
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
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