(EAST CHICAGO) – The federal government shutdown has forced the cancellation of a public hearing on a cleanup proposal for the site of a former housing complex in northwestern Indiana.
The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency says the Jan. 10 hearing on the West Calumet Housing Complex site won’t be held.
Public comments on the EPA’s cleanup plans were being accepted until Jan. 14. Those plans include a 2-foot-deep removal of lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil. The agency estimates the cleanup will cost about $26 million.
More than 1,000 people, including about 700 children, were forced from the housing complex after 2016 tests found high lead levels in blood samples from some children and some yards with lead levels over 70 times the U.S. safety standard.
Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.co
