Indy's Black Mountain reduced to foothill as city begins considering redevelopment plans
It didn’t take centuries of gale-force winds and torrential rains to wear down Black Mountain, a nuisance that had plagued a small east side neighborhood for years.
What it did take was a concerted effort, spanning more than a decade, between the city, state and federal agencies that resulted in the removal of tons of used foundry sand piled 50 feet high near Tuxedo Park.
All that remains on the 12.4-acre site now is a foothill; roughly 5% of the 120,000 tons of sand that formed Black Mountain. The city used the rest of the sand as fill material during the construction of the parking lot at the Community Justice Center on Prospect Street. What is left behind now is overgrown with vegetation making it unfit to haul away.
The site is a brownfield, a designation given to abandoned land polluted by industrial work, and the city is working to redevelop the area with input from surrounding residents and stakeholders.
Previous report: Indy's 'Black Mountain' at center of long-running legal fight
From 2013: 'Black Mountain' nuisance endures 9 years after state, city order clean-up
Since the 1920s the site south of East Washington Street has hosted a variety of businesses, including a coal distribution company, a gas station, a building materials manufacturer and a polishing and plating company.
An industrial recycling facility eventually began accepting and holding 120,000 tons of foundry sand used during casting operations at a former DaimlerChrysler plant. The sand spanned 2 acres and was piled up to 50 feet tall at some points, leading locals to dub it Black Mountain.
“A lot of those operations created environmental impacts on site as we found out as we’ve gone through the process of conducting environmental investigations,” said Piers Kirby, program manager of the city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program. “There’s no smoking gun as to which single operation resulted in the impacts. It could have been one, it could have been a combination.”
The mountain stood untouched for nearly a decade following city and state violations and a legal battle between the property owner and the recycling company.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2019 awarded the city a $600,000 multipurpose grant to help fund the site’s environmental investigation, cleanup and redevelopment.
The city completed its investigation and found volatile organic compounds in the soil and groundwater. These emit vapors that can cause irritation, damage the central nervous system and other organs, and cause cancer, according to the American Lung Association.
The primary concern is something called trichloroethylene, which is used in industrial and commercial processes and found in furniture care products and automotive brake cleaners, according to the EPA.
The city has started planning cleanup operations, and Kirby said work will wrap up by the end of this year.
Investigation: Black Mountain nuisance being dismantled the way it was created — one truckload at a time
More: Indiana one of most polluted states. New report says legislature gets a D+ on green bills.
Work will include a chemical barrier injected into the ground. This will eventually dissipate, Kirby said, but will neutralize the chlorinated solvents as they pass through.
Nearby residences will receive monitors to test for any vapor intrusion from the pollution.
Once the cleanup is finished, the city will start to redevelop the site. That process already began with a public input survey where those interested could tell the city what they’d like to see in the area.
City spokesperson Hannah Thomas said Indy is casting a wide net and getting creative with tools to make sure people in the neighborhood have a hand in this redevelopment.
“Communities are at the heart and soul of our work in ensuring that we’re building strong, sustainable and resilient neighborhoods that are a great place to live, work and play,” Thomas said. “There’s an opportunity for some really catalytic investment.”
The city published the engagement survey online in both English and Spanish. It’s about 17 questions long and asks participants if they’re satisfied with job opportunities in the area, what the housing needs are and what are the top concerns in the neighborhood.
A final public meeting for the Black Mountain Visioning Project will be held June 16 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Purdue Polytechnic High School on E. Washington Street. The city will make any future announcements about the project on its website and social media channels.
Information on the Black Mountain site can be found on the city's website: indy.gov/activity/blackmountainvision.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy seeks public opinion for former Black Mountain site
