The EPA says the cleanup of a six-acre segment of the Allied Paper/Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site is complete. It's proposing removing that segment from its Superfund National Priorities List (those are the most contaminated sites in America).
In a statement, the EPA said, “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.”
The Kalamazoo River was historically used by paper mills for waste disposal and as a power source. The waste was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and was dumped in the area. The river, Portage Creek and an old landfill were contaminated with PCBs.
PCBs are toxic to both people and animals. Since the early 1990s, the EPA and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has worked to clean up the site.
The EPA said the collective effort has “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.”
The EPA is accepting public comment through March 18.
