Published: March 03, 2008 03:12 pm      

Plainfield receives grant for former Shouse Landfill

PLAINFIELD — The site of the former Shouse Landfill here will soon undergo another assessment through funding by the Indiana Brownfields Program’s Trails and Parks Initiative.

The landfill was one of four sites in the state that received a grant, which was approved through the Indiana Finance Authority Board.

Jim McGoff, director of environmental programs for the IFA, said no monetary value has yet been associated with the grant, because he isn’t sure what the bid from a contractor will be. He estimated that work will begin this spring or summer.

Plainfield Town Engineer Tim Belcher said the grant will be used to take additional samples from the site, as well as from two adjacent properties where trash may have been deposited when the landfill was in operation, up until about 1978.

“We’re still at that phase where this essentially allows us to follow that path of assessing all that is there so we know what we’re up against, and how to make this site completely safe,” Belcher said.

He said the town applied for this particular grant because it hopes to eventually use the site for a trail or park, or even an open space.

“The funding is to continue assessment and remediation to make this a dream come true for them (the town),” McGoff added.

Belcher said he was surprised with how long the assessments of the site — which began a year and a half ago — have taken, and said he hopes plans for reuse of the land can begin soon.

“Depending on how the assessments come back, we want to protect it from any danger,” he said. “It might include putting soil on top of the site to cap it. There are a lot of potential ways to mitigate it from any risk to people. I really hope we can get into the reuse plan this year.”

Belcher said some long-term testing will still be required to monitor the site, including groundwater sampling.

The 13.6-acre site is at 5344 Pike Lane.

For more information about possible future uses of the former landfill or to make a suggestion, visit the website at www.townofplainfield.com.

lindsay.jones@flyergroup.com