More tests done on soil, groundwater around old Reid buildings
Jason Truitt
RICHMOND, Ind. — Demolition crews haven't been the only people busy on the former Reid Hospital property this year. Work also continues to determine what, if any, remediation must be done on the grounds surrounding the buildings.
And according to the latest report from the company hired by Reid Health to do that testing, their work might be just about finished.
In late 2015, Reid Health hired Environmental Resources Management, a United Kingdom-based firm with offices in Indianapolis, to develop and implement a plan for a third round of testing at various places around the three parcels that make up the former hospital property at 1401 Chester Blvd.
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The Indiana Department of Environmental Management signed off on that plan, and ERM first presented its findings to IDEM in a report submitted in September 2017.
Two previous rounds of testing at the site had indicated the presence of several different potentially hazardous materials, including arsenic, chromium, thallium, lead, Aroclor 1232, petroleum aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, lithium and radionuclides.
Reid Health hired ERM to determine whether any of those materials existed in levels that would pose a risk to the public. According to ERM's first report, none of the potentially hazardous materials met that threshold.
After taking a look at the results, IDEM asked the company to do more testing, which took place this January, and ERM produced a new report in May. That report recently became available on IDEM's website.
As with the 2017 findings, ERM has come to the conclusion that none of the latest test results show anything in the soil or groundwater samples that would pose an immediate public health risk.
"Based on the findings from the past investigation work and the 2018 site investigation activities, ERM requests IDEM's concurrence that no further site investigation activities are needed at the site," the new report says.
City Controller Beth Fields, the interim head of Richmond's Department of Infrastructure and Development, said IDEM has yet to give a final decision about whether it will require more testing before moving on to the next stage.
Should IDEM concur with ERM's findings, the next step would be to prepare an environmental restrictive covenant for the property that would outline any restrictions on possible future development and uses of the land.
Fields said at this point, the only expected restriction would be that a future developer would have to use city water instead of any wells on the site.
Reid Health operated a hospital on the site from 1904 to 2008 but hasn't had a hand in the management or ownership of the property since that time.
The land and buildings were sold to Whitewater Living Center LLC in 2006, which then sold the land to Rose City Development LLC in 2008. Rose City became Spring Grove Development LLC, owned by two Delaware investors, in 2009.
Spring Grove Development stopped paying property taxes owed on the land and structures in 2011. The group also stopped paying its fees to do business in Indiana and as of 2014, no longer was recognized by the Secretary of State's office as a registered company.
Mayor Dave Snow's administration spent most of last year putting together the pieces of the puzzle for how to finally clean up the property and eventually put it back to use.
The plan initially included seeking a pair of loans from the state to pay for what was thought to be the more than $8 million price tag that the project would carry, but when bids were opened in October, the winning one came in at less than half that number.
County officials agreed to put up $1.42 million, and Reid Health said it would pitch in another $1 million, allowing the city to forego taking out the loans.
Work to clear the buildings of asbestos began in December with the newer portions. Demolition began in earnest in April, and only a few buildings remain standing today.
Overall, the project remains on schedule to finish by the July 2019 expected completion date.
Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at (765) 973-4459 or jtruitt@pal-item.com.