Reilly Tar & Chemical aka Vertellus

The Reilly Tar & Chemical (more recently known as Vertellus) Superfund site at 1500 S. Tibbs has been in our neighborhood for generations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked out an agreement with the new owners, 1500 S Tibbs LLC, to clean up the site. EPA is currently working to clean up groundwater in surrounding neighborhoods as well.

 

EPA conducted interviews with residents over the summer of 2024 and compiled feedback to create a Community Involvement Plan. The plan outlines community involvement in site cleanup efforts in the past, present, and going forward into the future.

 

We recommend reading the whole thing, but many neighbors are likely most interested in Sections 2 and 3.

  • Section 2 (page 10) focuses on The Community: Community History, Government Structure, Demographics, and Environmental Justice
  • Section 3 (page 21) focuses on Community Involvement: Community Interviews, Community Involvement Activities

 

On Tuesday, May 6, 2025 EPA held an open house to discuss the planned updates to the groundwater cleanup at the Reilly Tar Superfund site. Later this year, crews will begin constructing components of the cleanup technology. EPA will install air sparging wells, which inject air through groundwater in order to break down contamination.  This Fall, drilling will begin and will continue through winter. They expect to wrap up construction and turn on the equipment for operational testing in Spring 2026. The current remdediation method (groundwater extraction) will continue until EPA is convinced that the air sparging method is working. Aurorium, owners of 1500 S Tibbs, will be responsible for submitting monitoring data to EPA. You can see the powerpoint that was presented at the Open House here.

 

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about the plan or the site in general, you can contact Karen Chen at 312-886-6009 or at chen.karen01@epa.gov.

 

To learn more about the site, contaminants, and what’s been/is being done, visit the Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp. Superfund Site page.

 

Marion County Health Department (MCHD) recently completed a Health Impact Study from 2003-2023 focusing on West Indy to include zip codes 46221 and 46241, as well as census tracts 342300, 342300, and 342500. See the presentation of results here.