Helping Indiana Cities and Towns Pursue Brownfield Cleanups

Plews Shadley Racher & Braun is helping a number of Indiana municipalities redevelop environmentally impaired sites. Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized urban properties with real or perceived environmental contamination or asbestos problems. These troubled sites - a legacy of Indiana’s long industrial history - contribute to the loss of local tax and employment bases and create urban sprawl, thereby increasing pollution and negatively impacting established communities. A significant portion of our firm’s practice is focused on using insurance and environmental laws to aid cities and towns in solving these problems.

There are a number of ways we can contribute to solving Brownfield problems. With respect to funding, we have identified and prosecuted claims against past owners and operators of these facilities, as well as their corporate descendants. Our firm’s work in the area of insurance coverage law - with respect to establishing the rights of policyholders to protection for environmental claims and liabilities - has been particularly useful in securing funds for Brownfields remediation at sites like these. General liability insurance coverage purchased decades ago, even if the original owners and operators presently are bankrupt, insolvent or otherwise no longer in existence, is an asset that can be called upon to pay for environmental liabilities. We also have assisted local governments in tapping sources of federal, state, and private funding and investment. Another way we have helped is by securing access to and owner-ship of environmentally impaired property currently in private hands. In addition, we have worked with federal and state regulators to set and achieve attainable environmental cleanup goals. Through coordinated efforts on a number of fronts, governmental entities often can return these proper-ties to productive use.

Our firm represents a number of governmental entities in Brownfield projects. For instance, we are helping the City of South Bend in its efforts to redevelop the 220-acre Studebaker/Oliver Plow Corridor. This will be one of the largest Brownfield sites in the country. As early as 1878, the South Bend Oliver Chilled Plow Works was the leading manufacturer of horse-drawn farm implements used by settlers, with sales of more than 62,000 plows that year. Tractor-drawn plows and other farm equipment were manufactured at Oliver until 1985. Major portions of the plant still stand on the original site. Studebaker Brothers - later Studebaker Motor Company - founded a South Bend blacksmith shop in 1852. With the help of a fortune John Studebaker earned selling wheelbarrows during the California Gold Rush, Studebaker became the world’s largest carriage and wagon manufacturer after the Civil War. By 1900, Studebaker was a pioneer in the automobile industry. The automobiles produced by Studebaker over the years at its South Bend plant are legendary. During World War II, Studebaker built 60,000 radial engines for B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft and nearly 200,000 military vehicles. At its height, the factory employed 21,000 workers. Studebaker’s main South Bend plant closed in 1963. Most of the facilities remain intact, presenting a major re-development and remediation challenge for the City of South Bend and our firm.

In addition, our firm is helping the City of Mishawaka in connection with another of the largest Brownfield sites in the nation, the former Uniroyal Hill Street plant. Major industrial activities at the site date back to the Civil War. The U.S. Rubber Company, later Uniroyal, manufactured rubber footwear (including Ball-Band sport shoes and boots, Keds and military jungle boots) and other rubber and rubberized-textile products at the plant, beginning in 1914. During World War II, the plant made fuel bladders for B-25 Mitchell Bombers and employed nearly 10,000 workers. The factory closed in 1997, leaving behind a significant environmental problem. The site covers 43 acres and contained nearly 2,000,000 square feet in approximately 57 separate buildings. Our firm negotiated the City of Mishawaka’s purchase of the property out of bankruptcy court, and also crafted a unique "prospective purchaser agreement" with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. We also helped negotiate the demolition contract and have been involved in all aspects of the site’s redevelopment, including planning and land-use issues.

These and a number of other Indiana cities and towns have asked us to assist them in resolving problems like these. Our firm is proud to be able to assist in resolving the complexities posed by Brownfield properties.