Noblesville wants to develop vacated Firestone plant site
John TuohyThe toxic and polluted land where an auto parts plant once thrived in Noblesville could soon be ready for redevelopment, nearly a decade after it closed and moved 300 jobs to Mexico.
It’s still uncertain what will be built at the old Bridgestone Firestone factory site, but officials know what can’t go there — houses.
That’s because the plant at 1700 Division Street in Noblesville left tons of pollutants behind. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency already has conducted cleanup of potentially cancer-causing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at nearby Wilson Ditch and Stony Creek, but there is more to be done at the site.
The company made air springs for trucks and buses before closing in 2009, and the PCBs leaked from overhead condensers and into the soil in the creek and ditch.
“There are still soil samples we have to take. That’s a much slower process,” said EPA project manager Michelle Kaysen. After that is complete in a couple years, one restriction will be that people can't live on the land, though they will be able to work there.
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For years, the factory that was built in 1936 buried large drums of burned trash, rubber, solvent-based cement, sulfuric acid, limestone and cyanide waste under a 17-acre parcel of the 70-acre site. The estimated 7,700 barrels are still buried and will remain deep underground because it’s too risky to dig them up, Kaysen said.
“Because of the depth and the integrity of the drums, it would be unsafe to try an excavation,” Keysan said. At the same time, the drums require close scrutiny to make sure they are not leaking contaminants into the ground.
The landfill is next to a 40-acre plot that is being eyed for development.
Noblesville, the EPA and Bridgestone America held a community meeting Wednesday to get public input about what they would like to see on the land, which is now a slab of concrete east of downtown and north of Pleasant Street.
Kaysen said the land can be used for industrial and commercial purposes. The EPA said it could be a couple years before it is ready for development, and they are satisfied with tests showing that the groundwater is safe.
Bridgestone America spokeswoman Emily Richard said the company still owns the land and hasn't been approached by any developers.
"It isn't for sale right now, and we are still trying to determine what uses the EPA will allow," Richard said. She said other abandoned Bridgestone sites have been sold to tire makers and are used for other industrial purposes.
Two years ago, Noblesville announced plans to build a dog park on six acres at an estimated cost of about $700,000.The EPA gave permission for the park to be built, but city spokesman Robert Herrington said the plan has stalled. The park was supposed to open in 2016.
"It kind of lost momentum along the way, but it's still a possibility," Herrington said.
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.