Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site - PDF document

Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site Briefing Book Georgia-Pacific LLC Kalamazoo and Allegan Counties, Michigan February 2011

Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site Fast Facts The Kalamazoo River was added to the National Priorities List � (the formal designation for the Superfund program) in 1990. The Site and associated investigation areas span nearly � 80 miles of river in urban, rural, forested, agricultural, and SAUGATUCK marshland areas. Area 7 Investigations of the Site since 1993 by USEPA, the State of � Michigan, and companies involved in the work have resulted in DOUGLAS LAKE MICHIGAN an extensive, robust, Site-specific database: Sediment: 3,000+ sediment cores, � 7,100+ sediment samples Exposed Sediment: 1,400 samples � Floodplain Soils: 1,270 samples Lake Allegan � Lake Surface Water: 900+ samples � Allegan Allegan Biota: 2,300+ samples � Area 4 Dam Area 6 City Dam There are fish consumption advisories in place cautioning the � public to avoid or restrict consumption of Kalamazoo Trowbridge Area 2 ALLEGAN River/Portage Creek fish; however, according to the Michigan Dam Otsego Department of Public Health, “recreational activities and water Area 5 City Dam sports on the river are safe to enjoy.” Plainwell In the February 2007 Supplemental Remedial � Dam Investigation/ Feasibility Study Administrative Order on Otsego Consent (SRI/FS AOC), the river portion of the Site OTSEGO PLAINWELL Dam was divided into the seven Areas shown on the map. Plainwell No. 2 12th St. Area 3 Each Area is bounded by a dam, and future work Dam Area Landfill will proceed on an Area-specific basis. Field work Operable in Area 1 began in September 2007. Area 1 Unit Work on the Time-Critical Removal Action (the � formal name for the cleanup project) in the King former Plainwell Impoundment began in Highway 2007; restoration efforts finished in June Landfill 2009; a second removal action/cleanup KALAMAZOO Operable Morrow Unit project in the Plainwell No. 2 Dam Area Area 1 : Morrow Dam to Plainwell Dam; Dam began in August 2009 and was lower 2 miles of Portage Creek completed in October 2010. Area 2 : Plainwell Dam to Otsego City Dam Area 3 : Otsego City Dam to Otsego Dam Willow Allied Paper, Inc. Morrow Area 4 : Otsego Dam to Trowbridge Dam Boulevard/ Operable Unit Lake Area 5 : Trowbridge Dam to Allegan City Dam A-Site Area 6 : Allegan City Dam to Lake Allegan Dam Operable Unit Area 7 : Lake Allegan Dam to Lake Michigan Portage Creek 01/11 MFE Page 1 Kzoo/2011TourBook/Page 1.cdr

Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site Overview of the River Study Areas The Kalamazoo River has long been influenced by the presence and operation of its dams. There are seven dams between Morrow Dam and Lake Michigan. Only one – Lake Allegan Dam – is still an operational hydroelectric dam. The other six are no longer used to produce power. The dams provide useful geographic boundaries within the river portion of the Site (see table below and map on page 1). Lake Allegan Dam and the dams that created the former Plainwell, Otsego, and Trowbridge impoundments have been particularly important in the consideration of fate and transport of PCBs at the Site. Average Average Length Slope Area River Reach/ Area Water River (miles) (ft/mile) (acres) Depth (ft) Width (ft) Area 1 Morrow Dam to Plainwell Dam 21.9 2.7 3.4 181 487 Area 1 Portage Creek 2.0 1.9 2.3 32 8 Area 2 Plainwell to Otsego City Dam 1.7 0.88 2.5 450 96 Area 3 Otsego City to Otsego Dam 3.4 4.3 3.8 200 83 The Otsego City Dam – a retired The waterfront in Allegan owes its character Area 4 Otsego to Trowbridge Dam 4.7 1.5 5.0 248 131 hydroelectric dam – marks the to the presence and maintenance of the Area 5 Trowbridge to Allegan City Dam 9.1 2.1 4.3 292 317 boundary between Areas 2 and 3 Allegan City Dam (the downstream Area 6 Lake Allegan 9.8 1.2 6.7 1,500 1,650 of the river. boundary of Area 5). Area 7 Allegan Dam to Lake Michigan 26 0.68 5.5 212 670 The extensive database compiled since 1993 shows continuing and consistently declining PCB concentrations in fish, sediment, and surface water. While the erosion of the river banks in certain formerly impounded areas of the Site is the largest ongoing source of PCBs to the river, an extensive series of response actions throughout the Site (summarized on page 4) has greatly reduced or eliminated the contribution of PCBs from a number of the former landfills associated with the historical operation of the paper mills along the river (the Operable Units of the Site) and other locations. The cleanup projects in the former Plainwell Land use varies along the Impoundment, the Plainwell No. 2 Dam Kalamazoo River. Area, and future actions, in conjunction with ongoing natural processes will continue to reduce the presence and availability of PCBs in the Kalamazoo River system. Page 2 01/11 MFE Kzoo/2011TourBook/ Page 2.cdr

Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site Former Trowbridge Impoundment, Lake Allegan, and the Lower River Former Trowbridge Impoundment & Lake Allegan Area 4 of the Site is the nearly 5-mile stretch of river called the former Trowbridge Impoundment – its downstream boundary is the Trowbridge Dam, shown at the left, one of the former hydroelectric dams on the river. Views of the Lower River Further downstream is Lake Allegan (shown below, left), which covers nearly The lower 26 miles of the Kalamazoo 1,600 acres, making it the largest surface River (Area 7 of the Site), which runs water feature on the Kalamazoo River. from Lake Allegan to Lake Michigan, is The Lake Allegan Dam (shown below, filled with expansive, high-quality habitats right), which marks the downstream and is home to nesting pairs of bald boundary of Area 6, is a functioning eagles. Several marinas are located in hydroelectric dam that was relicensed by and near Kalamazoo Lake (seen below, the Federal Energy Regulatory left), and the recreational boating Commission (FERC) in 2010. industry is a significant component of the local economy – particularly in Saugatuck and Douglas. Lake Allegan Kalamazoo Lake Lake Allegan Lake Michigan Page 3 01/11 MFE Kzoo/2011TourBook/ Page 3.cdr

Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site Cleanup Progress Across the Site SAUGATUCK LAKE MICHIGAN DOUGLAS Lake Allegan Lake Allegan Allegan Dam City Dam Trowbridge ALLEGAN Dam Otsego City Dam Plainwell Dam Otsego OTSEGO Dam PLAINWELL Plainwell No. 2 12th St. Dam Area Landfill Operable King Unit Highway Landfill Operable Unit KALAMAZOO Morrow Dam Morrow Allied Paper, Inc. Lake Operable Unit Willow Boulevard/ A-Site Portage Creek Operable Unit Extensive cleanup work has already taken place across the Site, particularly at the locations that were used as disposal sites for paper-making residuals and wastes and at the former paper mills . In addition, as a result of a second Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent between the USEPA, Georgia-Pacific, and Millennium Holdings signed on February 21, 2007, a Time-Critical Removal Action (TCRA) was conducted in the former Plainwell Impoundment between April 2007 and June 2009 . Georgia-Pacific has moved ahead with more cleanup work, signing two additional agreements with USEPA – one to perform a follow-up TCRA in the Plainwell No. 2 Dam Area and another to complete the final cleanup of the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Operable Unit . Work in the Plainwell No. 2 Dam Area began in August 2009 and was completed in October 2010. Work on the Willow Boulevard/ A-Site project will begin in spring 2011. Page 4 01/11 MFE Kzoo/2011TourBook/Page 4.cdr