NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WTHR) - Hazardous chemicals have reportedly been found leaking from the Indiana Transportation Museum.

City officials notified ITM they are in "serious default" of their lease of their property in Forest Park because of their "unlawful handling of hazardous chemicals", according to a press release from the city. Noblesville is giving ITM 60 days to contain all chemicals and 90 days to develop a plan for the permanent removal of all contamination, and to give the city contact information for a licensed environmental firm or individual who will supervise all the work to make sure the cleanup is handled properly.

“Despite numerous efforts over the years to encourage ITM to address some housekeeping concerns they have allowed within their property, the Parks Board had no idea what hazardous conditions existed on the other side of the fence,” Scott Noel, president of the Noblesville Parks and Recreation board of directors, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that ITM has violated the terms of its lease with the Parks Board and by allowing their carelessness to endanger one of the greatest assets in the City of Noblesville – Forest Park.”

The investigation at Forest Park began after a city inspection of the outside maintenance and storage area leased to ITM. The initial inspection found serious issues with outside storage of fluids and other items that could pose a risk, including container leakage and ground stains of oils, grease, diesel fuel and other products and chemicals used for the maintenance of ITM’s former railroad operations, which it has leased since the 1990s.

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As a result, the city voluntarily notified the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to request a more comprehensive inspection. While no imminent threats were apparent to the city’s inspector, an independent environmental firm also was hired by the city to provide oversight and guidance.

“We look forward to working closely with IDEM so they can complete a much more thorough inspection of the site and help evaluate ITM’s plans for remediation,” said Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear. “We will do everything we can to ensure local taxpayers do not have to pay for the clean-up effort caused by the ITM due to its careless practices.”

John McNichols, ITM Board Chair, released a statement Wednesday afternoon in response to the city's investigation.

“The pronouncement by the City of Noblesville and the Noblesville Parks Department about alleged environmental issues at the Indiana Transportation Museum site comes to us as a complete surprise. It is significant that Mayor Ditsler’s office cancelled a meeting scheduled for this morning (Wednesday, 5/31) with new ITM leaders where this could have been discussed and resolved. We were not aware of their concerns until the city’s news release and we have not been contacted by city officials.” “This is another example of local political leaders’ unwillingness to work with the ITM and its new leadership to resolve differences. This latest release is simply another trumped up charge to reduce the significant public outcry against the cities of Fishers and Noblesville to rip up the rails. “The ITM has been in Forest Park since 1990. The site is a maintenance facility for vintage locomotives and other railroad historic artifacts. Museum maintenance personnel store and handle fuels and lube oils in the maintenance and operation of equipment. There are no known violations on the park property. To the best of our knowledge there have been no violations or complaints registered with IDEM. ITM pledges full cooperation with IDEM and their contractors to resolve any issues. Our new ITM management and staff will be addressing possible ground contamination issues with Hamilton County and IDEM to establish a plan to resolve any issues.” “The Indianapolis Transportation Museum continues to believe in the economic and historic benefits of the Museum’s Nickel Plate trains and the entertainment, dreams and memories they offer. Our trains, crews and track have been certified by the Federal Railroad Administration and we continue to be bewildered at the opposition local leaders have to a true community asset.”

IDEM has informed the city that its staff plans to inspect the grounds this week. The city is allowing ITM to continue normal business operations for the time being but officials said they "will be forced to take further action" if ITM doesn't follow their timeline for fixing the problem.