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Inventory

BASF/Hercules/Environmental Material Collection
Dates:  1984-1992
Accession Number:  20050624
Donor:  Wally Arnold
Description:  Two document cases


History of the BASF Controversy

In March 1988, the BASF Corporation announced that Terre Haute was one of three Midwest communities under consideration for the construction of an automotive paint manufacturing plant. The prospective plant would be located in the Vigo County Industrial Park in the southern part of Vigo County.   The land had previously been federally-owned land used by the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute as a prison farm.  The prison farm ceased operation in 1983 and in 1986 was purchased by Vigo County from the U.S. General Services Administration with the intent of developing an industrial park.

In September 1988, BASF announced their plans to add the construction of an incinerator to dispose of the hazardous waste accumulated from the plant.   Several environmental groups opposed selling the land to BASF because of the incinerator, including Majority of One, Citizens for a Clean County, and The Environmental Rights Coalition (TERC).  In April 1990, TERC brought suit in federal court arguing that the original sale of the Industrial Park land was illegal.  TERC argued that when the U.S. General Services Administration originally sold the land to Vigo County, the GSA was in violation of federal environmental regulations because it had not completed an environmental impact statement.

In September 1990 BASF abandoned its plans to build the paint plant and incinerator after the court agreed to hear TERC's request for a preliminary injunction against Vigo County selling the land to BASF.

Hercules, Inc.

In May 1989, the Vigo County Board of Commissioners and the West Central Indiana Economic Development District, Inc. assisted Hercules, Inc., an international company, in applying for and receiving state and federal grant money for infrastructure improvements at Hercules Inc.'s polypropylene-film manufacturing plant.  Specifically, Hercules needed to reinforce a creek bank and replace a waste pipe.  According to the grant applications, these improvements would allow Hercules to expand the capacity of its plant by 50% and create 95 new jobs on the production line.

In January 1994, Hercules plants in Terre Haute, Virginia and Canada were sold to Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc.

Content and Scope of Collection

The first part of this collection consists of items concerning the Vigo County Industrial Park and the controversy over BASF's plans to add an incinerator to their paint plant.  The collection also contains two applications for grants on behalf of Hercules, Inc. to make infrastructure improvements.

BASF-related items (D.C. 1, Folders 1-8) include environmental studies, legal documents, and photocopies of newspaper clippings.

Hercules-related items (D.C. 1, Folders 9 and 10) include two applications for grant money from the Indiana Department of Commerce and the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration.  Exhibits in both applications describe the economic and environmental impacts expected from the infrastructure improvements

Also in this collection (D.C. 1, Folders 11-19 and Document Case 2) are local, state and federal laws and publications concerning environmental issues that were probably used as research materials by local individuals and environmental groups.

Document Case 1

 

 

 

 

Folder 1

“Feasibility Study on the Development
  of the U.S. Federal Penitentiary Prison
  Farm for Industrial Use”
  (West Central Indiana Economic
      Development District, Inc.)

1984

 

 

 

Folder 2

Vigo County Industrial Park Study
  (prepared for the Vigo County Commis-
     sioners by United Consulting Engineers,
     Indianapolis)

1987

 

 

 

 

“Findings and Conclusions of the Vigo
  County Redevelopment Commission
  Concerning the Adoption of an
  Economic Development Plan for the
  Vigo County Industrial Park”
   (Vigo County Redevelopment
      Commission)

1989

 

 

 

Folder 3

Announcement of the real estate bidding
  process - Vigo County Board of
    Commissioners

Oct. 2, 1989

 

 

 

 

BASF's bid proposal and Vigo County's
  letter accepting the bid proposal

Nov. 4, 1989,
Nov. 14, 1989

 

 

 

Folder 4

Citizens for a Clean County, et. al
  v. Vigo County Redevelopment
  Commission, the Board of Commissioners
  of Vigo County, and Vigo County

June 30, 1989

 

 

 

Folder 5

The Environmental Rights Coalition, Inc.
  v. U.S. General Services Administration
  (plaintiff's brief to the U.S. District Court,
    Southern District of Indiana, Terre
    Haute Division; pages 1 and 2 are
     missing)

April 11, 1990

 

 

 

Folder 6

The Environmental Rights Coalition, Inc.
  v. U.S. General Services Administration
  (ruling by the U.S. District Court, Southern
  District of Indiana, Terre Haute Divison)

Dec. 23, 1991

 

 

 

Folder 7

Anti-BASF materials

1988-
1990

 

 

 

Folder 8

Anti-BASF newsclippings

1988-1990

 

 

 

Folder 9

Hercules, Inc. - Application to the U.S.
  Dept. of Commerce, Economic
  Development Administration's Public
  Works Impact Projects Program for federal
  assistance to make infrastructure
  improvements

May 17, 1989

 

 

 

Folder 10

Hercules, Inc. - Application to the
  Indiana Dept. of Commerce, Community
  Development Program for state  assistance
  to make infrastructure improvements

May 17, 1989

 

 

 

Folder 11

Vigo County Air Pollution Control
  Department - Reports on pollutants

1988

 

 

 

Folder 12

Vigo County Economic Development
  Plan (pages 21 through 26 only)

n.d.

 

 

 

Environmental Materials

 

 

 

 

Folder 13

Emergency Planning:  “It's Not Over in 
  October - Implementing the Emergency
  Planning and Community Right-to-Know
  Act (Title III of the Superfund Amendments
  and Reauthorization Act): A Guide for
  Local Emergency Planning Committees”

1988

 

 

 

 

Title III Fact Sheet: Emergency Planning
  and Community Right-to-Know

1987

 

 

 

 

Standard Guide for Gathering Emergency
  Response Information from Chemical
  Handling Facilities

n.d.

 

 

 

Folder 14

Hazardous Waste:
Indiana Environmental Management Act
      (Indiana Code 13-7-8.6.1)

 

 

 

 

 

Fact sheet, Hazardous Waste Facility
  Site Approval according to Indiana
  Environmental Management Act, as
  amended

 

 

 

 

 

Indiana Hazardous Waste Facility Site
  Approval Authority (323 Indiana
    Administrative Code)

1988

 

 

 

Folder 15

Hazardous Waste Incinerators
    (Greenpeace)

1987

 

 

 

 

“Hazardous Waste Incineration: Questions
  and Answers” (U.S. Environmental
   Protection Agency)

April 1988

 

 

 

 

Hazardous Waste:
“Are We Cleaning Up? 10 Superfund
   Case Studies:  A Special Report of OTA's
  Assessment on Superfund Implementation”
  (U.S. Congress:  Office of Technology
      Assessment)

June 1988

 

 

 

Folder 16

Landfills:  Multi-Barrier Concept for
  Controlled Landfill Sites: A German
  Concept (Paper presented at the
  International Sanitary Landfill
  Symposium)

1987

 

 

 

Folder 17

Solid Waste:
  Solid Waste Regulations
  (329 Indiana Administrative Code)

1988

 

 

 

Folder 18

Summary of Solid Waste Facility Data for
  Indiana (Office of Solid and Hazardous
  Waste Management, Indiana Dept. of  
  Environmental Management)

1991

 

 

 

 

Revised Solid Waste Management Plan
  for Clay, Owen and Vigo Counties
   (Clay-Owen-Vigo Solid Waste
         Management District)

1992

 

 

 

Folder 19

Toxic Waste:  From Poison to Prevention:
  A White Paper on Replacing Hazardous
  Waste Facility Siting with Toxics
  Reduction (National Toxics Campaign
    Fund)

1989

 

 

 

Folder 20

A Citizen's Toxic Waste Audit Manual
  (Greenpeace, Environmental Research
    Foundation)

March 1989,
May 1989

 

 

 

Folder 21

General clippings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Document Case 2

 

 

 

 

Folder 1

“The Voice of Concerned Citizens Against
  a Low-level Nuclear Waste Dump in
  Clark County [Illinois]”

Oct. 1988

 

 

 

Loose

“Overall Economic Development Program
    1988-1992”
 (West Central Indiana Economic
    Development District)

1988

 

 

 

 

Hazardous Materials Contingency
  Planning Course Materials:

1987

 

 

 

 

Risk Assessment/Vulnerability Users
  Manual for Small Communities and
 Rural Areas

July 1987

 

 

 

 

Student Manual

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 1:  The Need for Hazardous
  Materials Planning

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 2: The National Planning
  and Response System for Hazardous
  Materials

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 3:  Organizing a Local Emergency
  Planning Committee (LEPC) for
   Hazardous Materials

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 4:  Conducting a Hazard/
  Vulnerability Analysis for Hazardous
  Materials

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 5:  Determining Support Systems
  and Resource Requirements for
  Hazardous Materials Preparedness

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 6: Assessing Hazardous
  Materials Prevention and Response
  Capabilities

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 7: Developing Hazardous Materials
  Plans

Dec. 1987

 

 

 

 

Module 8:  Evaluating the Hazardous
  Materials Plan Through Exercising

Dec. 1987