A group photo of EnviroForensics employees after the World Cleanup Day event.
This Saturday, September 21st, is World Cleanup Day, a day dedicated to rid the planet of litter and mismanaged waste. 380 million people across the globe are expected to band together with their neighbors, roll up their sleeves, and clean up their communities one trash bag at a time.
We celebrated early by going around our neighborhood in the Indianapolis North Meridian Corridor on Friday to pick up wrappers, aluminum cans, cigarette butts, plastic bags, and other litter. It’s an easy way to show neighborhood pride, and it’s one of the many things we do as a company to protect the environment and give back to the community.
EnviroForensics employees pick up litter around North Meridian Corridor.
We clean up environmental contamination
We’re a national full-service environmental consulting firm solving complex environmental issues. We investigate and clean up environmental contamination for small business owners, large multinational organizations and governments including dry cleaners, municipalities, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, legal, banks and lenders, manufacturers, industrial launders and textiles, petroleum and agribusiness. The ultimate goal of our work is to use our collective expertise in environmental science, geology, and engineering to clean up properties for our clients and the surrounding community.
We’re bound together by our common value to look after the environment
We’re a group of inspired scientists, geologists, and engineers that cares deeply for the planet and understand the importance of protecting our environment. This passion fuels us both inside and outside the office. Our employees regularly volunteer their own time to events that protect the environment and enrich the community. We’re also a proud member of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) Partners for Pollution Prevention.
Our commitment to the environment is what brings us together
We are committed to protecting the environment, and this is part of the company’s DNA. Our employees inspire each other to be environmental stewards and commit to more sustainable behaviors. Here are three quotes to help inspire you to live an environmentally conscious life.
You can download the below graphics and share them on social media with the hashtag #WorldCleanupDay and tag @EnviroForensics.
We invite you to be environmental stewards every day
Making the world a cleaner place doesn’t necessarily require you to volunteer your time with a neighborhood cleanup group, although we highly recommend it. You can pick up litter during your daily routine, whether it’s on the morning jaunt from your car to the office, or your evening walks around the block with your dog. Here are three simple tips to incorporate litter pickup into your day-to-day life:
Carry napkins: One of the biggest mental obstacles to picking up litter is the germ factor. Not wanting to touch it with your bare hands is a reasonable excuse. Carry napkins in your purse or pockets to give yourself an added layer of defense when you pick up that discarded beer can on the sidewalk.
Carry hand sanitizer: If you don’t want to carry napkins around, a small bottle of hand sanitizer can go a long way in giving even the most fastidious germaphobe some peace of mind.
Know what you should and should not pick up: There are some things a napkin or hand sanitizer just won’t protect you from. For these items, it’s better to report them to the proper authorities. Things like:
This post is brought to you by the EnviroForensics Sustainability Council
The EnviroForensics Sustainability Council advances education through community relations and implements sustainable practices in our operations and facilities.
EnviroForensics’ Account Executive, John Neu, and PolicyFind’s Director of Operations, Kristen Brown, share insights from the 2019 MCA Education and Annual Meeting.
EnviroForensics’ John Neuand PolicyFind’s Kristen Brown were pleased to attend the Minnesota Dry Cleaners Association’s Education and Annual Meeting, Unity of the Industry. The Minnesota Cleaners Association (MCA) has existed for 30 years and serves the dry cleaning industry and its customers.
The MCA annual meeting was packed with information about the industry and had a dynamic lineup of speakers, including Dennis Schmitt, President of DLI; Sherry Munyon, MCA Lobbyist; Nathan Landwehr, Minnesota Technical Assistance Program; and us, John Neu of EnviroForensics, and Kristen Brown of PolicyFind.
Attendees sharing knowledge.
Annual Meeting Overview
The educational event kicked off with Keynote Speaker, Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) President Dennis Schmitt. Mr. Schmitt shared with the audience the organization’s deep-rooted history in the drycleaning industry. DLI has been the premier international trade association for garment care professionals since 1883 and represents over 10,000 retail drycleaners in the United States alone. Mr. Schmitt, in his presentation, Unity of the Industry touted the importance of providing ongoing educational opportunities, working together, and providing a clear message and outreach through social media outlets.
DLI President Dennis Schmitt.
Sherry Munyon is a Lobbyist for the MCA and spoke next at the annual meeting. Ms. Munyon shared her expertise regarding legislative processes and procedures and explained how recent legislation impacting the Minnesota Drycleaner Fund passed and what it means for dry cleaners in the state.
Sherry Munyon.
We, EnviroForensics and PolicyFind, addressed the group and shared a presentation about investigating and remediating environmental contamination. We shared information about Insurance Archeology and the potential of finding funds through old insurance policies to pay for investigation, remediation, and legal fees.
Rounding out the presenters, MnTAP’s Nathan Landwehr presented cost-saving measures and practices for dry cleaners. Mr. Landwehr spoke about the MnTAP program and its free assessments that could lead to savings on energy, water, and cleaning chemical usage.
After the educational sessions, we enjoyed networking on a Prime Rib Dinner Cruise on Treasure Island Resort & Casino’s elegant cruise liner, Spirit of the Water, on the scenic Mississippi River, followed by a raffle and silent auction.
Networking aboard the Spirit of the Water.Attendees enjoying the prime rib dinner on the Mississippi River.Attendees at the raffle.
If you want to become a member of Minnesota Dry Cleaners Association, visit minnesotadrycleaners.org
John Neu, Account Executive, EnviroForensics
John Neu has 13+ years of experience in the environmental field. He interfaces with business owners, property owners, developers, real estate professionals, and city officials to help solve their environmental challenges. He is based out of EnviroForensics’ Wisconsin office and works with clients in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Georgia, and Alabama. He is also a board member of the South Eastern Fabricare Association (SEFA) and is an active member of the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute (WFI).
Kristen Brown, Director of Operations, PolicyFind
Kristen Brown combines her profession as an insurance archeologist with 10+ years as an investigative journalist to reconstruct historical insurance coverage for clients. Her approach is both comprehensive and detailed in order to bring historical CGL policies to bear on current contaminated sites. Brown has successfully located evidence of liability insurance coverage on 150+ projects. Her clients include dry cleaners, manufacturers, municipalities, property owners, attorneys, insurance companies, and companies going through mergers and acquisitions. Brown also works on behalf of policyholders defending against environmental toxic tort and asbestos exposure.
EnviroForensics Accounts Director and MWDLI Advisory Board Member, Dru Shields, recaps the 2019 MWDLI Annual Convention.
The Midwest Drycleaning & Laundry Institute‘s (MWDLI) Annual Convention is the perfect opportunity for drycleaners across Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky to come together and network as friends and peers. Most importantly, it’s a time to share knowledge. And that’s what we do through the educational sessions. While every dry cleaner has its own specific issues that they encounter in their businesses, all dry cleaners are encountering the same overall concerns and trends in the industry.
Conference Overview
MWDLI’s conference format gave us the opportunity to network and share thoughts and ideas, which is the most valuable part of association events.
Friday
Friday night was the opening cocktail reception where we socialized with both old and new friends. It was a fun event to kick off the conference.
Saturday
On Saturday, we heard from three dynamic speakers:
1. Jeff Jordan, who presented on “Love’em or Lose’em! Know What Your Employees Want” where he discussed employee retention strategies.
Jeff Jordan of Fabritec/Sanitone presenting on employee retention strategies.
2. Mary Miller presented on “How Creating Value Drives Results” where she shared ideas for how owners of businesses and managers of teams can create successful workplace environments by helping others realize their value.
3. Brian Rashid, who presented on “Helping You Tell Stories that Sell” where he provided useful tips for drycleaners to build their brands, increase their social media presence and thus increase their sales.
Sunday
We had a two-hour presentation from Trudy Adams about the “Psychology of Customer Service” where she discussed the need for consistency across all team members who handle customer service issues, the need for consistency in training and recommendations on how to achieve this. Attendees were then able to break off into groups and discuss issues they had been dealing with and make recommendations to each other on how to fix or improve those situations.
Trudy Adams’ presentation on the Psychology of Customer Service.
As always, it was invaluable for everyone to come together and contribute their unique perspective to the larger conversation. It was great to see that all come together.
If you’re interested in becoming a member, visit mwdli.org to join.
Dru Shields, MWDLI Advisory Board Member & Director of Accounts at EnviroForensics
Dru Shields has over 10 years of account management experience in the environmental consulting and engineering industry. She manages a team of account executives who work across the country. Shields is a member of numerous regional dry cleaning associations in addition to serving on the advisory board of the Midwest Drycleaning and Laundry Institute (MWDLI). Shields has extensive experience in assisting clients in securing funding for their projects through historical insurance policies. As Director of Accounts, Shields helps businesses and property owners facing regulatory action to navigate and manage their liability.
The Indiana State Fair is a celebration of the state’s economy and has been running since 1852. Its roots are based in agriculture and are an annual recreational attraction for Hoosiers. It promotes agriculture through competitive exhibits of livestock and displays of farm products and includes carnival amusement rides and games to automobile racing and concerts.
This year, EnviroForensics’ Sustainability Council, whose mission is to advance the education of sustainability through community relations and implement sustainable practices in our own operations and facilities, is partnering with the American Dairy Association of Indiana to replace plastic straws with biodegradable straws at the Dairy Bar.
A chocolate milkshake and grilled cheese sandwich offered at the Indiana State Fair Dairy Bar. Image Courtesy: Indiana State Fairgrounds
Cities and companies across the U.S. are starting to phase out or even ban plastic straws to start curbing the negative impact plastic pollution has on our oceans and marine animals. According to the National Park Service, “500 million plastic straws are used every day in America. That’s enough to circle the Earth twice”. For reducing plastic consumption, every bit counts and we’re at a crucial point to start changing our habits. If we keep at our current rate of plastic pollution, “by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish” (For A Strawless Ocean).
To combat this trend, the American Dairy Association is switching to biodegradable straws at the 2019 Indiana State Fair. If you’re going to the Indiana State Fair this year, stop by the Dairy Bar and support their switch from plastic to biodegradable straws.
Indiana Dairy’s Facebook post about the straws that are made from a plant-based biopolymer.
EnviroForensics’ Second Environmental Science Education workshop introduces Herron High School’s AP environmental science students to the daily operations of environmental scientists, real-world scientific applications of concepts learned in the classroom and helpful advice on pursuing a degree and a career in the environmental field. The workshop includes hands-on presentations covering topics like chemical properties of typical contaminants, fate, and transport of contaminants in the environment, and investigation and cleanup techniques. The objective is to give students some perspective on how the lesson they’re learning inside the classroom can apply to their future careers. The workshop is hosted in the Field Lab where EnviroForensics personnel and interns come to learn the basics of environmental field sampling or brush up on their own skills.
Presentations Covering topics like: Groundwater and Soil, Vapor Intrusion, Remediation Technologies, Site Redevelopment, Risk Communication, and Education Requirements for the job.
Herron High School is a public charter college preparatory schoollocated in downtown Indianapolis providing classical and liberal arts-based education (math, English, science, social studies, Latin, music, performing arts and visual arts) and serves more than 700 students grade 9-12 of varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The workshop is led by Casey McFall, Director of Field Services at EnviroForensics.
Special thanks to all the people who made today special: Casey McFall, Collin Martin, Morgan Saltsgiver, Matt Bono, Brianne Inman, Grace Randall, and Stephen Henshaw.
Jeff Carnahan shares his experience on environmental remediation for dry cleaning industry with American Drycleaner’s editor Tim Burke. In the interview, Jeff discusses
Environmental remediation for perchloroethylene, also known as Perc (a common drycleaning solvent)
Three different types of subsurface contamination at dry cleaning sites
Reasons to start an environmental investigation
Five common dry cleaning environmental scenarios
Insurance archaeology as an alternative funding source
EnviroForensics’ Senior Project Manager, R. Scott Powell, PE (second from left) accepts a framed copy of the Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention pledge, following the company’s induction. Also pictured (from left): IDEM Assistant Commissioner Julia Wickard, Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention Executive Director, Ben McKnight, and IDEM Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Robert Lugar.
Cleaning up contamination and protecting the environment is one of EnviroForensics’ missions, and for our employees, that mission goes beyond the job description. Protecting the environment drives how we conduct ourselves in our lives and habits. On June 12, EnviroForensics pledged to implement voluntary environmental initiatives at all our offices, share information and expertise with other businesses, foster environmental stewardship among our employees, and help raise public awareness. EnviroForensics is proud to join the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s (IDEM) Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention program. The members are comprised of Indiana industries, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that volunteer for a public-private partnership with the IDEM. Each member takes the Partners Pledge to affirm their commitment to promote pollution prevention and environmental stewardship. The partner members engage in environmental stewardship within their business by promoting practices, procedures, and plans that aim to achieve measurable reductions of pollution.
As an environmental engineering firm, EnviroForensics creates healthier community through remediating and removing environmental contaminants. And by taking the Partners Pledge, we are committed to implementing practices and procedures that can lead to even better outcomes for the environment.
As part of our pledge to raise awareness, we are sharing our internal procedures and best practices for reducing waste and our carbon footprint.
6 Ways to Be an Environmental Steward
1. Recycling
We have clearly marked recycling bins in every common space in our office. Next to each recycling bin is a list of items that can be recycled for the purpose of continuing education. We also collaborate with the Indiana Recycling Coalition for recycling training seminars.
2. Paperless document prep and delivery
We are consistently refining our own approaches and encouraging regulatory agencies in using digital preparation and submittal methods to reduce the amount of paper used during project report submittals, which also reduces fuel consumption that would have otherwise been used to deliver the documents. Additionally, we recycle and shred our used paper, and have saved roughly 39 trees so far this year.
3. Reducing the generation of investigatory waste
We manage project implementation with an emphasis on reducing the generation of investigatory waste while maintaining remedial objectives. This is implemented through the refined boring selection to reduce the number of borings required at a site, and the implementation of the most appropriate drilling methods that will reduce waste generation.
4. Implementing appropriate site controls to prevent the release of contaminants during remediation
Environmental remediation can be the destruction and/or removal of contaminants from impacted media. We pride ourselves on designing and implementing efficient remedial systems that remediate the target media with minimal generation of waste. This is implemented through reuse of system components and includes research and identification of expendable components that are environmentally friendly upon expiration.
5. Partnering with a local high school
EnviroForensics has an outreach program with Herron High School that includes regular educational workshops at our office. Pollution prevention and remediation issues are discussed, and best practices are identified to educate the students.
6. Neighborhood Cleanup Days
EnviroForensics organizes neighborhood cleanup days to pick up discarded waste in the streets, parking lots, and blocks around each office. It shows that we take pride in keeping our corner of the neighborhood clean, and we hope it inspires others to do the same.
At EnviroForensics, we deeply understand the importance of sustainable business practices and encourage everyone to implement these practices in your own businesses and homes.
Help protect the environment in Indiana. The Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention program provides its members with a forum to network with other businesses, share their pollution prevention experiences and ideas, and discuss member integration into IDEM’s environmental policies and programs.
Learn more about how your company or organization can join the Indiana Partners for Pollution Prevention Program.
This June marks the 50th anniversary of the Pride movement, which began with the pivotal riot at New York’s Stonewall Inn. EnviroForensics’ team reflects on this historic event, as well as, LGBTQ+ scientists who made major contributions to their scientific fields as, we look ahead to Indianapolis’ own Pride festival.
We’re Better Together
LGBTQ+ individuals are positive and creative leads of all subgroups in our society. They are members of all races and professional disciplines, all religions, and every branch of government and military service. They are doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, marketers, bankers, accountants, athletes, artists, mechanics, laborers, and every other profession under the sun. They are friends and strangers, family members, work colleagues, and civic leaders. Today, more than ever, we must celebrate our diversity and embrace our commonality. Today more than ever, we must speak of the love for our brothers and our sisters and defy hate, discrimination and bigotry.
We’re stronger together and we are a stronger society when we stand up for the rights of others and cast aside hate and fear. Our best decisions and our best work happen when we are driven by all the identities and perspectives of our team members and clients.
We’re Smarter Together
As scientists, we strive for objective answers to questions. Today, LGBTQ+ scientists are making contributions in every branch of physical, social, natural, engineering, and computer sciences. Here’s a look back at just a few noted LGBTQ+ scientists who have made huge impacts in the scientific community.
Sally Ride, First Woman in Space
Sally Ride was an American astronaut, physicist, and engineer. At 32 years old, she became the first American woman in space in 1983. She left NASA in 1987, after flying twice on the Orbiter Challenger. For two years, she worked at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Arms Control, and then at the University of California, San Diego as a professor of physics, primarily researching nonlinear optics and Thomson scattering.
Alan Turing, Biologist
Alan Turing was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalization of the concepts of algorithm and computation. He’s widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. During WWII, Turing played a pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements. His work gave the Allies the edge they needed to win the war in Europe and led to the creation of the computer. He worked for the National Physical Laboratory, where he designed the Automatic Compute Engine, which was one of the first designs for a stored-program computer. He joined Max Newman’s Computer Machine Laboratory, where he helped develop the Manchester computers and became interested in mathematical biology. He wrote a paper on the chemical basis of morphogenesis, which was a mathematical explanation of how things grow. It became a completely new field of mathematical biology.
Julia Serano, Biologist
Julia Serano is an American writer, spoken-word performer trans-bi activist, and biologist. She earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from Columbia University. She researched genetics and development and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Berkeley for seventeen years. Serano has written three books, “Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity”, “Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive”, and “Outspoken: A Decade of Transgender Activism and Trans Feminism”. She is a national speaker on transgender and trans women’s issues and her writings have been used as teaching materials in gender studies courses across the United States.
These are only a few examples of LGBTQ+ contributions to only one of many aspects of our culture and society. Not only are we smarter together, but we celebrate diversity because we all have something to learn from one another. At EnviroForensics, we don’t just accept difference – we celebrate it, we support it and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our services and our community. So, celebrate with us, the contributions given to all of us from all walks of life. We need them all!
We’re More Valuable Together
Established in 1987, Indiana Youth Group (IYG) is a drop-in center for youth ages 12-20 who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and more. Youth who are allies to the LGBTQ+ community are also welcome. IYG’s mission of creating safe spaces, providing wellness programming, and educating LGBTQ+ youth and the community is accomplished through services, activities, affinity programs, referrals, and providing gather space. IYG is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.
Every May, the National Register of Historic Places celebrates National Preservation Month for the purpose of instilling community pride and to show the social and economic benefits of historic preservation.
As an environmental consulting firm with a deep respect for history and community, EnviroForensics promotes the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. We believe that redevelopment often times brings much-needed economic relief to depressed areas, and when possible the preservation of timeless architectural design provides a beneficial window to the past.
To show our support for National Preservation Month, our Indianapolis team has compiled some photos and stories of our favorite historic structures right here in Indiana.
1. Indiana Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana | View from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument.
Designed by Hoosier architect Edwin May in 1888, the Indiana Statehouse is the fifth iteration and sits at 200 West Washington Street. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Supreme Court of Indiana and other state officials. The interior was modeled in the Italian Renaissance style. When possible, native Indiana materials were used. Doors are made of Indiana oak, and Indiana limestone was used throughout the structure. Over 40 pieces of public art spanning more than 130 years is available to the public. There’s also a time capsule bored into the cornerstone with forty-two items.
📸: Elizabeth Hemingway, Director of Brand, Marketing & Communications
2. Willard Carpenter House
Evansville, Indiana
Completed in 1849, the Willard Carpenter House at 405 Carpenter Street is built of brick and stone, a fine example of Georgian architecture. Materials came from nearby or were shipped down the Ohio River from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Willard Carpenter was known as Evansville’s “pioneer of public charity,” who acted as an agent for the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. The house was one of the first stops after making it across the Ohio River. A stone tunnel led from the river three blocks away north to the Carpenters basement, where people hid until they could be relayed to stations further north. The Carpenter House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
📸: Elizabeth Hemingway, Director of Brand, Marketing & Communications
3. Pearl Laundry
Evansville, Indiana | View from inside.
Pearls Laundry started in 1896 by Al Rust and Daniel Korb and it has been based at the 414-432 Market Street since 1912. It did deliveries by horse and buggy until 1938. In 2017, Pearl Cleaners closed its century-old Downtown Evansville location, amid litigation by the neighboring property, which says it is owed a reimbursement of environmental contamination costs. The business license was purchased, and customers were directed to a new location on Evansville’s East Side.
Like many dry cleaners, Pearls had chlorinated solvent contamination. The contaminated property was purchased by an investor, who retained EnviroForensics to conduct insurance archeology and the environmental investigation and cleanup. The environmental cleanup is almost complete at the historical Pearl Cleaner building in Evansville’s downtown TIF district. It’s undergoing adaptive reuse to become a part of the dynamic downtown community, while EnviroForensics conducts remedial actions necessary to get the site through the regulatory closure process.
📸: Elizabeth Hemingway, Director of Brand, Marketing & Communications
EnviroForensics HQ before (right side of picture) and after (left side of picture) redevelopment.
4. EnviroForensics Headquarters
Indianapolis, Indiana
EnviroForensics’ headquarters at 825 N. Capitol Avenue was originally a transmission repair shop dating back to the 1930s. The 23,000 sq. ft. structure had environmental contamination left behind by auto repair operations. This complicated redevelopment for real estate developers, but, as an expert environmental engineering company, we knew how to remediate the environmental contamination and saw the value of investing in the property and the North Meridian neighborhood. We conducted insurance archeology to locate the historical insurance policies to fund the site investigation and cleanup of the contamination. Once mitigation infrastructure was in place, we started to bring our vision for a revitalized headquarters to life. Now, the building houses more than 70 employees who are committed to our surrounding community.
The original Central Library Building, located just a few blocks east of the EnviroForensics Headquarters, was completed in 1917. The library was designed by French-born architect Paul Philippe Cret, whose other famous work includes the Main Building on the Campus of the University of Texas and the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia. A new six-story curved-glass and steel addition was built onto the original structure in 2001, but issues with the project forced the grand opening of the new atrium back. The new addition opened in December of 2007. The Central Library is home to the Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room, which houses a collection of archival manuscripts and autographed editions from some of the area’s most famous literary minds, including Kurt Vonnegut, James Whitcomb Riley, and Booth Tarkington.
📸: Alex Miller, Communications Coordinator
7. Hirschman-Bryan House
Indianapolis, Indiana
Andrea Bryan’s great-grandfather, Conrad Hirschman, was born in 1854 in Wurttemberg, Germany and emigrated to the United States in 1880. He built this house for his wife, Emma, and their children, one of which was Andrea’s grandmother, Ursula. She married and lived in this house her entire life (after her emigration) and all three of her children were born in the back bedroom of the house, one of which was Andrea’s Father. Ursula’s husband, Andrea’s Grandfather, fought in WWI and came home after the war. He died in the flu epidemic shortly thereafter and my Grandmother never remarried. All three of Ursula’s sons went into the Navy and served in WWII.
The house was built in 1900 at 3100 sq. ft. with an attic, a basement, and a crawl space. The current owner is Angie’s List who used it for office space at one time. There is a plaque inside with the historical information related to Andrea’s family.
📸: Andrea Bryan, Reception and Office Support
8. Indiana University Auditorium
Bloomington, Indiana
The Indiana University Auditorium opened in 1941 as a part of the Federal Works Agency Project. At the time, the country was still recovering from the Great Depression, and most universities were making cuts to their arts programs. Indiana University went in a different direction, building the Lilly Library, the Fine Arts Building, and the Jacobs School of Music; widely regarded as one of the world’s top music schools. The IU Auditorium was the first planned and constructed of this era. It was constructed out of locally quarried Indiana Limestone. The venue seats 3,200 people and has hosted acts from all over the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the touring troupe of Les Miserables, and Jerry Seinfeld.
📸: Joe Miller, Account Executive
9. Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument
Indianapolis, Indiana
The Soldiers’ and Sailor’s Monument is one of the most iconic structures in Indianapolis. The neo-classical obelisk was built over a 13-year period between 1888 and 1902. It was constructed in honor of Hoosier veterans of the American Civil War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War. During the dedication ceremony, a group of musicians played “The Messiah of the Nations,” a piece written for the occasion by the famed composer, John Phillip Sousa. The monument is located at the intersection of Meridian and Market Streets at the center of Downtown Indianapolis. During the holiday season, it is transformed into a giant Christmas tree known as the “Circle of Lights” (pictured), which at 284 ½ feet tall, makes it the tallest Christmas Tree in America each year. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
📸: Joe Miller, Account Executive
10. Gary Aquatorium
Gary, Indiana
The Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium was constructed in 1921. It sits at the southernmost point of Lake Michigan in the Miller Beach neighborhood of Gary. It was originally built to serve as a bathroom and changing area for beachgoers but was shut down to the public in 1971 due to a lack of upkeep and disrepair. The building was renovated and reopened as the “Chanute Aquatorium” in the late 1990s and houses a museum honoring the achievements of Octave Chanute, the grandfather of modern flight, and the Tuskegee Airmen. The Gary Aquatorium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
Other ways you can support National Preservation Month is frequent businesses in historic buildings, such as shopping at your local main street stores, eating at restaurants housed in historic buildings, sharing photos of your favorite historic places with the hashtag #ThisPlaceMatters, and when traveling book rooms in historic hotels and visit historic sites.
EnviroForensics CEO, Steve Henshaw, PG, spoke with Chris Nolte, the host of Lakeshore Public Media’s talk show, Regionally Speaking, to discuss the success of thermal remediation technology used at the former Family Pride Dry Cleaner and Laundry in Crown Point. They also talked about the property’s future, now that it’s back on the market and ready for productive use.
Chris Nolte: Well first, for folks who may not remember our last conversation, tell us what EnviroForensics does and how important it is in particular to the project you guys just finished up in Crown Point.
Steve Henshaw: Sure. Thank you so much. EnviroForensics has been in business for over 20 years and we are a full-service environmental engineering firm. We investigate environmentally contaminated sites, and we design and implement the remediation. We get properties through the regulatory process – and get them back in productive hands to develop, reuse and get back on the tax roll.
What’s unique about EnviroForensics is we have the ability to go back and find old insurance policies that were really written for normal slip and falls; these normal slip and fall Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies can be used to pay for the expensive cost of environmental cleanup and investigation. And, that’s what really sets us apart from the competition; we can go and find the money to pay for these cleanups, which can routinely be a million and a half dollars at a normal dry cleaner.
Nolte: Tell us about this project, which we see here used to be known as the Family Pride Laundry, located on North Main Street in Crown Point. Many people drive by it, even now every day as they’re traveling north and south into and out of downtown Crown Point. This business has been closed for a number of years and I guess it’s been up for sale for some time but it’s not had much luck in finding a new owner because all of its past baggage, so to speak. Tell us what you folks managed to clean up out of that facility to be able to reopen it up again and make it “redevelop-able”.
Henshaw: This was a site that was brought to us through the banks that the previous owner was working with. In many situations, when a business pays a loan to buy equipment and operate they commonly put up the property as a secured asset, and, in the business of environmentally contaminated piece of property, the bank may not realize what the business had as their secured asset. This is because when the business was no longer able to perform on the loan then the bank considered foreclosing on the property, but the bank doesn’t want to be the owner of a contaminated property.
Nolte: Well, yeah.
Henshaw: The bank brought us in and we were able to find a buyer for the note and then pursue the old insurance policy. It’s taken a little bit of time to work out those details, but once we got it all taken care of with the bank and the note was in new hands; we continued to pursue the insurance carrier. Then we investigated the dry cleaning site to determine the extent of the contamination and brought in a unique process of using thermal remediation, which heats up the soil and the groundwater, to fry off the volatile organics that are in the soil and groundwater. Old dry cleaners used chemical solvents, which are carcinogenic, to take creases out of fabrics and the solvents are heavier than water so they fall through the water columns. Really this is just a normal and routine part of the business, but these solvents can enter sewers or cracks in the floors through spills and unfortunately a little bit goes a long way. Many dry cleaners experience this environmental contamination, but in this situation, we brought in and employed a thermal remediation technology that worked with NIPSCO to bring in a high-voltage power line and heated the soil and the groundwater to near boiling. We implemented this in late May 2018 and shut the system down in early September 2018 and we had 99% removal of the contamination in just four months. So that’s what really makes this site unique. These are sites that can go on five, 10, 15 years and then the residual amounts of contamination that are still in groundwater and soil are still at levels that will require long-term monitoring of potentially 15 more years–just to monitor and make sure that the contaminants aren’t migrating off-site. But in this particular situation, we were able to get 99% of the contamination out of the soil and the groundwater in about 90 to 120 days.
Thermal remediation technology reduced contamination by 99% in just four months.
Nolte: Now, Steve, I understand that in this particular site, what used to be the Family Pride Laundry, there on Main street in Crown Point had what they call perc, short for perchloroethylene, which is a solvent that was used commonly in dry cleaning. So, a person takes their clothes in to get the spots taken out; at this point Family Pride was still in business and they’d use the perc in their machines, so what a lot of this was, I’d imagine, were just maybe accidental spills of perc, but somehow or another that didn’t raise concerns, and it still got into the groundwater, didn’t it?
Henshaw: Yes, that’s correct. And the older machines didn’t have the same recycling capabilities, so often times, the perc was transferred to a distillation still to boil down the perc, so it comes overhead, it’s clean again and it gets reused. That’s just the process of recycling. Then you would also have these overfills and spills in the boiler system. You would have inadvertent doors popping open with this solvent. You would have just small releases, but over time, they accumulate into a large enough problem that the state and the regulatory agency gets concerned about the carcinogenic aspects in the soil and the groundwater.
Nolte: This place opened up as a dry cleaner and laundry in 1961, I think if my info’s right, and was open until 2012 when the business finally closed up there, which means that site has been unusable pretty much since then. That is until you folks from EnviroForensics managed to help get the process going and get the cleanup started and finished. How do people feel now that the cleanup is down to 99% clean? You can’t get much cleaner than that short of just pure soil.
Henshaw: Right. Well, we do have some interested parties that are knocking on the doors and would like to use the property. It’s been a bit of an eyesore for some time. So we’re excited about being able to put that back into productive use. That’s the name of the game here; try to get the cleanup done quickly and get the property back on the tax roll.
Nolte: Now for folks that may not be aware what you folks have done. I know this is not the first project you’ve worked on in Lake County or Northwest Indiana. You’ve worked on a number of them before. And some rather environmentally dirty areas, too, I understand.
Henshaw: Mhmm, yes. The dry cleaning industry has been something we’ve been closely involved with, but it’s not exclusive to that. EnviroForensics was involved with the East Chicago Waterway Canal project, the Gary Airport, the sanitary, the old Ralston Street Lagoon to receive wastewater from the sanitary POTW. So, we have been involved in rather large-scale projects, as well, but the interesting thing is these small dry cleaners cause just as much environmental impact as some of these larger manufacturing sites. It sort of goes against the grain of what you might think, but these small dry cleaners, these releases of perchloroethylene, can be upwards of a million and a half to two million dollar cleanups–so they’re really expensive–and, of course, the real problem here is that these small mom and pops just have no way of paying for those cleanups. If it wasn’t for our ability to go back and find old insurance policies that can pay for these expensive cleanups then those sites would end up being orphan sites, that the EPA might have to take over, which means it would be on the taxpayers to eventually clean up.
Image of Downtown Crown Point, Indiana.
Nolte: That would be a tough place to do a Brownfield project with the EPA because that’s right smack in a residential and a commercial area of Crown Point. Can you fill us in on any other related projects that you and your folks at EnviroForensics are working on now?
Henshaw: Well, we’re now embarking on a number of projects in the area. There are some abandoned sites within Hammond and we’re working with the City of Hammond to restore a couple of those old, abandoned sites there. Probably can’t release their names at this point, but there’s still a number of manufacturing sites that EnviroForensics has been asked to come out and take a look at to see if we can use our unique approach of finding those old insurance policies. We have an insurance archeology division that goes all over the country looking for and finding old insurance policies. These policies, again, are not written for cleaning up contamination. They were written as normal slip and fall policies; normal CGL policies, but because they didn’t have exclusions for pollution, they are able to be used to address environmental contamination, asbestos exposure, and other claims that might come about. So that is something we are active in all across the country, and certainly in Northwest Indiana.
Nolte: Well, Steve. Thank you very much for bringing us up to date here on a pending closure with no doubt soon-to-be new owners of the site that used to be so contaminated it had to close up–until you folks with EnviroForensics were able to get in there, and get the cleanup not only done but also make it available for somebody to be able to take on as a new property someday. Thank you for being with us to talk about it.
John Neu, Account Executive, EnviroForensics
Kristen Brown, Director of Operations, PolicyFind
Dru Shields, MWDLI Advisory Board Member & Director of Accounts at EnviroForensics
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Alan Turing, Biologist 
Julia Serano, Biologist
2. Willard Carpenter House
3. Pearl Laundry
6. Indianapolis Central Library 
7. Hirschman-Bryan House
8. Indiana University Auditorium
9. Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument
10. Gary Aquatorium
