The East Chicago Waterway Management District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, will give an update on the Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal project at the Citizens’ Advisory for the Remediation of the Environment (C.A.R.E.) committee meeting to be held at Calumet College of St. Joseph, Room 300, 2400 New York Avenue in Whiting, Indiana on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2002, from 6 to 8:00 p.m. The perimeter air monitoring program, which was initiated in November 2001 to measure background air conditions, will be discussed in greater detail. All interested parties are invited to attend. Project status meetings are held quarterly in order to provide an on-going dialogue with the public about the project.

Additional project information about the Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal project is accessible from the Corps website at www.lrc.usace.army.mil. This project web page is part of an effort to keep the public informed about status of the project, which was approved for construction in 1999. Initial activities will include constructing a facility to contain the contaminated sediment at the former ECI site, located at 3500 Indianapolis Blvd., on the Lake George branch of the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal. Dredging is planned to start in 2005.

The first item to be constructed at the site is a below-ground cutoff wall or barrier to control groundwater flow, and its construction is expected to start in Spring 2002. The cutoff wall will serve to contain the contaminated sediment dredged from the harbor and canal, and also contaminants that currently exist at the site in the soil and groundwater. At the request of the community the Corps has initiated air monitoring at the former ECI site in conjunction with the dredging and disposal project. To measure air conditions prior to construction and dredged material placement, four air-monitoring stations have been installed at the site and one air monitoring station was installed at the East Chicago Central High School located approximately one-half mile from the site. The initial air monitoring data through December 15, 2001 has been posted at the project web page, accessible from the Corps website at www.lrc.usace.army.mil.

-30-