EnviroForensics was recently able to achieve regulatory closure from the State of Indiana and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) for a valued dry cleaner client in Jasper, Indiana. Our client has shown immense gratitude that this issue has been cleared up as quickly as it has. She is looking to sell the business and with this NFA status, she will be able to move forward and finalize the sale. This adds to a growing list of closures which we have obtained for our clients, allowing them to move past their environmental liability and utilize their property for its highest value, unencumbered from contamination and stigma.
We take pride in assisting our clients with all facets of an environmental investigation – from the initial response of contamination being detected, to investigation of the site, all the way to remediation and subsequently, site closure. We handle this all while helping our clients utilize their past insurance policies to pay for the costs of such work. Perchloroethylene (Perc) and other chlorinated solvents are complicated in nature and makeup, and due to this are difficult to clean up. That being said, EnviroForensics has obtained more regulatory site closures of sites contaminated with dry cleaning and chlorinated solvents than any other company in the Midwest.
About the Site
Our client began their operation in 1997 after converting the property from an ice cream parlor; there was no evidence found in historical records of dry cleaning operations prior to our client. Contamination was discovered late 2012, as Perc was detected in soil and groundwater samples collected from beneath the building. Under a demand for action by the IDEM, and under their oversight, the investigation and characterization of the site began. Of some concern during our investigation was the close proximity to a river. However, following our last investigation in January 2014, we concluded that minimal chlorinated concentrations in soil and in the initial water-bearing zone are isolated to a small area beneath the site near the current dry cleaning machine.
Using multiple lines of evidence we were able to prove that the contaminants were not migrating through groundwater or preferential pathways to offsite receptors or to the river. Based on this information, we requested that the IDEM approve Site Characterization and recommended that the site pursue an Environmental Restrictive Covenant. The IDEM responded in May 2015 stating that no further response actions are necessary and the site is available for closure.
