EPA to hold meeting on Reilly Tar Superfund Site cleanup

The Environmental Protection Agency has updated its plan to clean up groundwater contamination at the Reilly Tar Superfund site in West Indianapolis.

Groundwater monitors have detected benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, near the former coal tar refinery at 1500 S. Tibbs Ave. 

The EPA will hold public meetings about the plan from 2-4 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. May 6 at the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center, 1920 W. Morris St.

The site has a long history of contamination dating back to 1905 until it closed in 1989. It reopened and changed hands several times throughout the decades until it closed again in 2024. 

Previous cleanups in the 1980s and 1990s removed thousands of tons of contaminated soil. A solar farm now covers about 43 acres.

The EPA drew up a plan to address groundwater contamination in 2021, but never carried it out due to legal issues related to the multiple site ownerships and bankruptcy issues. 

Have questions?

For more information, contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Karen Chen via email or by calling 312-886-6009, or EPA Remedial Project Manager Dion Novak via email or by calling 312-886-4737.

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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.

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