RACER Trust Conducting Additional Environmental Investigation in Kokomo, Ind.

RACER Trust announced today that it is conducting additional environmental investigation at its property in Kokomo, Ind., with the goal of designing a remedy that will address subsurface soil and groundwater impacts at the property.

The investigation, conducted with the oversight and approval of the U.S. EPA, is taking place over three weeks and involves collecting and analyzing soil and groundwater samples to provide data that will be used to refine the final remedial approach.

The property, at 1723 N. Washington St., is the site of the former General Motors Delco Plant 5, which assembled circuit boards before shuttering in 1991. The plant was demolished in 1993. RACER Trust was given ownership of the property by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2011 and is responsible for conducting a safe, effective environmental cleanup and for selling the property to a new owner who will invest in its productive reuse. The 10-acre property is available for purchase.

“This work is an important step that will give us a clearer picture of the subsurface conditions and allow us to better design a soil remedy and submit for EPA approval a remedial work plan that we believe will address the environmental impacts and be protective of human health and the environment,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “The data will help us focus our remedial efforts and ensure that we are doing the right work in the right place.”

Active remediation is expected to take place in 2019. Remedial options include excavation and removal of unimpacted soil down to the impacted soil, followed by in-situ mixing of ingredients that will create a concrete monolith to encapsulate impacted soil and prevent chemical compounds in the soil from migrating to groundwater. Public drinking water supplies in the area are not impacted by the RACER Trust site.

The primary chemical of concern at the site is trichloroethylene (“TCE”), a solvent that was commonly used in industry for degreasing electronic components and also found in common household items. 

The current phase of environmental investigation is expected to conclude in early April. The soil remedy is expected to begin in 2019 and should be completed within several months.

About RACER Trust: RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and, at the time of its establishment, was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining the Massena property in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.