E.P.A. orders PCB removal along the Kalamazoo River

For Immediate Release No. 16-OPA011

CHICAGO (April 15, 2016) - E.P.A. today announced a unilateral order to Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser and International Paper which requires the removal of PCB-contaminated sediment and soil from a 1.5-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River upstream of the Otsego Township Dam, Otsego, Mich. This stretch is part of the Allied Paper Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site. E.P.A. expects work to begin in late summer and be completed by spring 2018.

"Given the ongoing threat of PCB releases, E.P.A. is ordering this time-critical removal action to prevent further contamination of the Kalamazoo River," said Region five Superfund Director Richard Karl. "EPA's effort to reach an arrangement with Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser and International Paper to conduct the PCB removal was unsuccessful."

The PCB-contaminated sediment and soil resulted from paper manufacturing and disposal operations that stopped in the late 1970s and early 1980s. For more information: https://www3.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/alliedpaper/index.html.

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