The City of Mishawaka was the location of the former Uniroyal facility. The Uniroyal industrial site was a 43 acre site having over 100 buildings encompassing 2 million square feet under roof. The former Uniroyal facility used the buildings on site as a dry-goods warehouse until 1987 when it closed. Some of the buildings on site dated back to 1870 and 1912 with remodeling of the buildings occurring in 1928. Other site uses included a roller skating rink, a wagon company and a blacksmith shop. Qepi was contracted by the City of Mishawaka to conduct an asbestos inspection of the 2 million square feet under roof. After the completion of the asbestos survey and its detailed report, Qepi was also contracted to prepare the asbestos specifications and abatement plan for the removal and disposal of all asbestos-containing material prior to the building demolition.

In addition to the preparation of the asbestos report, abatement plans and specifications, Qepi was then contracted to provide asbestos abatement oversight including air and clearance sampling and health and safety oversight during the removal. Qepi also completed a soil and groundwater investigation of one area of the site that was impacted with petroleum hydrocarbon constituents. The former facility went through demolition in late 1999 and early 2000. Since the completion of this project Qepi has continued to work for the City of Mishawaka. Other environmental projects include an emergency response to the City when an oil slick was observed on the Mishawaka River. Qepi responded to the Mayor within hours of his call and obtained samples of the product and many water samples. The sampling results revealed that this product did not require additional support and was not hazardous or toxic in nature. Qepi also has completed several property transactions for the City of Mishawaka. Qepi works with the Mayor of Mishawaka on the Indiana Chapter of the National Brownfield Association (NBA) and continues to work for Mishawaka on many on-going brownfield assessment transactions.

Qepi was contracted to provide oversight services for the removal and disposal of six underground storage tanks (USTs), two hydraulic lift tanks and to conduct a Phase II Investigation to determine if impacts to the environment were present due to historic operations at the property.

The site had previously been used as a vehicle maintenance facility for various companies dating back to the early 1910s. The petroleum hydrocarbon chemicals of concern (COC) include gasoline, diesel fuel, lubricating oil and solvents.

The purpose of these activities was to prepare the site for future redevelopment. Qepi was able to determine risks associated with the environmental concerns at the property and to provide recommendations to address those risks and proceed with redevelopment.

The former Gatke Corporation property was first used as the Winona Lake Interurban Railroad power plant, which is believed to begun operations in 1906. In 1926, the Gatke Corporation purchased the property to utilize the on-site power plant to manufacture friction and bearing products and sheet packing. These products were manufactured using asbestos until approximately 1976 when the use of asbestos was banned.

The power plant produced steam from the burning of various fuels including coal, heating oil (bunker fuel #6) and natural gas. Gatke operated the facility until 1993 when the facility was closed. The property has been vacant since 1993. Qepi was hired by the City of Warsaw to complete a grant application for conducting a Phase II investigation to evaluate soil and groundwater for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) metals, volatile organic compounds (VOC), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Additionally, product samples were collected from the 1 remaining underground storage tank (UST), which contained a phenolic resin compound, and from a heating fuel oil tank contained within a concrete vault. The purpose of sampling was to determine if any waste products had been disposed of in the tanks. Of particular concern were pesticides, metals and PCBs. Qepi completed a building asbestos inspection and also provided construction management oversight of asbestos abatement, building demolition, waste product removal and disposal.

Quality Environmental Professionals, Inc. (Qepi) was contracted to conduct a Phase II Investigation at the former Flexel Inc. facility in Covington, Indiana. The Flexel Corporation operated as a cellophane manufacturing facility from 1955 until November 1997, when it ceased operation. The site is comprised of approximately 150 acres of production facilities including a wastewater treatment plant, powerhouse, and landfill areas. The goal of this investigation was to identify the presence or absence of potential environmental impacts.

The site received funds from the State of Indiana’s Environmental Remediation Fund, also known as the Brownfields Fund. Qepi prepared the investigation workplan that was included with the application requesting monies from the fund. Following the grant award, Qepi collected soil samples at 47 locations and groundwater from 9 locations at the site.

As a result of the investigation, Qepi prepared a subsurface investigation report detailing the findings. The report concluded that there are no negative environmental impacts that would halt redevelopment efforts. Qepi submitted the report to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Brownfields Program requesting a letter supporting the reports' findings. With Qepi’s assistance, the Covington Community Foundation is attempting to return the Flexel property to productive use, ideally, an industrial or technology park.