BACKGROUND:

State Representative Craig Fry contacted LEAF in July of 2008 seeking help for a residential community in his district who, unfortunately, live next to a mobile home recycling plant otherwise known as VIM Recycling, Inc. in Elkhart, Indiana. VIM was in the news in June, 2007 when the facility exploded due to improper maintenance of its process machinery, killing an undocumented worker and requiring  forty-three (43) fire departments over four days to extinguish the blaze.

Not only does VIM pose a fire and safety hazard to the surrounding community, but its operations have been polluting the surrounding air, land and water  resources with adverse health impacts for neighboring residents for years. VIM moved to Elkhart from Goshen, Indiana in 2000 after the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) imposed an $85,000 fine against the facility for six years of Clean Air Act (CAA) violations including: constructing and operating without a permit; failing to control fugitive dust emissions; open burning; failing to grind/process material in an enclosed facility; and creating a nuisance for neighboring businesses. Newspaper articles at the time quote VIM's President, KenWill, explaining that lack of space at the Goshen facility kept him from complying with environmental regulations but moving to the "new state-of-the-art facility in Elkhart" would allow him to operate in compliance with the law.

At the "state of the art facility" in Elkhart, VIM continued to commit the same CAA violations and others according to a January, 2007 Agreed Order entered with IDEM citing the company with: improper handling, processing and storage of regulated solid (and possibly hazardous waste) otherwise known as the "C" pile (includes 149,645 cubic yards or 18,705 tons of scrap wood veneers from mobile homes, plastic, steel, glass, carpet and drywall) stored outdoors in open piles; processing bio-solids from the local sewage treatment plant with "C" pile and selling it as garden mulch or animal bedding; building on-site berms around the perimeter of the building with processed "C" pile thereby exposing ground water to harmful leachate; and grinding/processing "C" pile outdoors releasing tons of hazardous air pollutants and noxious fumes into the community.

LEAF ACTION:

After filing the requisite Notice of Intent to Sue, LEAF filed a lawsuit under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and state common law to stop VIM's illegal activities. Two months later, IDEM brought a limited enforcement action against VIM. Unfortunately, the district court decided that IDEM's subsequently filed action provided grounds for the court to abstain from excercising its jurisdiction over the community's RCRA claims. Consequently, LEAF refiled the state law claims in Elkhart Superior Court and appealed dismissal of the RCRA claims to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals with help from the Appellate Litigation Clinic at Drexel University's Earl Mack School of Law. Setting positive precedent for families fighting polluters in their communities, the 7th Circuit granted LEAF's appeal and overturned the lower court's decision.

MEDIA:

August 18, 2008, Lawmakers Discuss Regulations for VIM,Alana Greenfogel, WNDU.com

September 2, 2008, Ordinance Aims to Improve Safety at VIM, Ed Ernstes, WSBT.com

September 5, 2008, Critics Question VIM Involvement, Tim Vandenack, The Elkhart Truth

September 28, 2008, VIM's Problems Aren't Over Yet, Tim Vandenack, The Elkhart Truth

January 28, 2009, Elkhart Neighbors Suing VIM Recycling, Tom Moor, Tribune Staff Writer, WSBT.com

January 29, 2009, Lawsuit Blames Recycling Plant for Neighbors' Health Problems, Indy Star

January 29, 2009, Neighbors Sue to Close Indiana Recycling Plant Over Stench, ClaimsJournal.com

April 22, 2009, Neighbors Threaten VIM Recycling with a Lawsuit in Federal Court, Tim Vandenack, The Elkhart Truth