TROWBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that activities to remove PCB contaminated soil and sediment along the Kalamazoo River are continuing.
The ongoing process is part of a partnership with the EPA, NCR Corporation, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
Field staging area at 26th Street Boat Launch. (Photo courtesy of Paul Ruesch and EPA).
This year, the EPA will continue surveying and sampling sediment and soil to define the extent of the PCB contamination to be removed.
Later this summer, crews will be clearing land and preparing a staging area for equipment and materials at the 26th Street boat launch.
Planning and preparations are also underway for construction of a temporary water control structure to manage river levels during the cleanup.
Last year, workers completed removal of a power pole on the dam and relocated high voltage power lines to allow access for safe construction activity. The EPA plans to remove the water control structure and the remaining structures of the dam at the end of the project.
The EPA expects that dredging of sediment and soils will begin in 2022 and that the final dam removal will take place in 2024.
The project will address a 2.4-mile area of PCB-contaminated sediment and soil immediately upstream of the Trowbridge Dam. This portion of the Kalamazoo River is in what EPA calls Area 4 of Operable Unit 5 at the Allied Paper Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site.
Officials say the project may take three or more years to complete.
Further Reading –
- Readers can view an official factsheet for more information at this link.
- Ongoing updates can be viewed at this link.
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