CHICAGO (WKZO-AM) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a unilateral order for the three paper companies responsible for dumping PCBs into the Kalamazoo River to clean up 1.5 miles of the waterway.
The next target of the ongoing river cleanup is the river east of the Otsego Township Dam, but the three firms failed to reach agreement on a joint cleanup by the deadline. The order says the river needs to be dredged and PCB-laden dirt from the banks needs to be removed, calling the order “time-critical” to prevent further contamination of the river.
The EPA expects Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser and International Paper to begin the work in August and have it completed by early 2018.
The unilateral order fills two-dozen pages and the attached documents go on for a couple dozen more.
