Under voluntary cleanup agreements with IDEM, four Indiana utilities -- PSI Energy, Inc. (Cinergy/PSI), Indiana Gas and Electric Company and Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company (Vectren), Kokomo Gas and Fuel Company and Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) -- will remediate twenty-one old manufactured gas sites. The sites are located in Aurora, Franklin, Fort Wayne, Goshen, LaPorte, South Bend, Peru, Plymouth, Rochester, Seymour, Martinsville, New Castle, Jeffersonville, Huntington, Loogootee, Liberty, Washington, Evansville, Vincennes, Princeton and Kokomo. According to IDEM:
Manufactured gas was used as a heating fuel in much of the United States between the mid-1800s and mid-1900's before natural gas became widely used as a heating source. Production of manufactured gas created byproducts or residues, primarily coal tars. The vast majority of these tars were sold for various commercial purposes such as road and street construction, chemical manufacturing and waterproofing structures. On-site storage of these materials has, in some cases, resulted in contamination.
Access the complete press release here.
Posted by Marcia Oddi at March 4, 2004 06:57 PM