Flexsteel Industries has agreed to a consent decree that requires it to pay $9.8 million for the cleanup of contamination at the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Superfund Site in Elkhart, Indiana, and to reimburse the EPA for a portion of its past costs.
According to the complaint, Flexsteel is liable for the cleanup because its former manufacturing operations contributed to contamination at the site. Previously, EPA entered into administrative settlements with two other potentially responsible parties for alleged contributions to the contamination.
The Lane Street Site consists of approximately 65 acres of residential and light industrial properties impacted by a groundwater plume contaminated primarily with solvents and degreasers such as trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene.
In 2016, EPA issued its record of decision for the Lane Street Site that selected a remedy for treating the groundwater plume by breaking down the contamination into harmless compounds. The proposed consent decree funds implementation of the selected remedy.