CHICAGO (February 16, 2024) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to delete a 6-acre portion of the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River site in Kalamazoo, Michigan, from the Superfund National Priorities List, the list of the most contaminated sites in the nation.
The agency has determined that cleanup is complete in two areas within the former landfill known as Operable Unit 2:
- Area east of Davis Creek, and
- Non-easement portion of the area east of Davis Creek extension area, which excludes the sewer and the unfenced phone line easement portions of the area east of Davis Creek extension area.
No further response action is necessary in these areas other than periodic inspection and maintenance of the restored banks and vegetation, continued monitoring and maintenance of the land and groundwater use restrictions, and five-year reviews.
Historically, the Kalamazoo River was used as a power source and waste disposal site for the paper mills and the communities adjacent to the river. The portion of the site proposed for delisting includes a landfill that received waste such as carbonless copy paper contaminated with chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In the early 1970s, PCBs were identified as a problem in the Kalamazoo River.
In 1990, in response to the nature and extent of PCB contamination, the site was added to the NPL. Since then, EPA, working along with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, has cleaned up three of the six operable units, removed nearly 470,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from the site, cleaned up and restored about twelve miles of the Kalamazoo River and banks, and capped 82 acres worth of contaminated material.
EPA’s comment period begins February 16, 2024, and closes March 18, 2024. The public can submit comments by:
If you have questions about the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Site please contact EPA Community Involvement Coordinators, Diane Russell at 989-395-3494 or russell.diane@epa.gov, or Phil Gurley at 312-886-4448 or gurley.philip@epa.gov. You may also call EPA toll-free at 800-621-84631, 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., weekdays.
Visit EPA’s website for more information.
from EPA News Releases https://ift.tt/OK2RzCM