No. 10-OPA056
Toledo, Ohio (May 20, 2010) - E.P.A., the Ottawa River Group and the state of Ohio have begun dredging 240,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from a 5.5-mile section of the Ottawa River in Toledo, Ohio. The 1st phase of the plan - removing 10,000 cubic yards of sediment from Sibley Creek - was completed in April. The $49 million cost of the total plan will be split between EPA, using Great Lakes Legacy Act funds, and the Ottawa River Group.
"Removing contaminated sediment from the river will ultimately benefit water quality in Maumee Bay and Lake Erie," said E.P.A. Great Lakes National Plan Office Director Gary Gulezian. "We expect this 8th cleanup funded by the Great Lakes Legacy Act to be another successful plan that will help enhance the environment and the local economy."
"Today we celebrate the start of dredging work that will create a rebirth of the Ottawa River," said Chris Korleski, Ohio E.P.A. Director. "This plan is a prime example of what the Great Lakes Legacy Act funds were intended to do. The federal, state and local partners have been given an opportunity to change the legacy of this river, and I look forward to the day that we can stand on the bank and admire a very different kind of river than the one we see today."
"The Ottawa River Group (ORG) is pleased to partner with U.S. EPA's Great Lakes National Plan Office in an effort to cleanup historical contaminants from the Ottawa River and provide a revitalized Ottawa River system for residents of northwest Ohio," said Bob Rule, plan coordinator for the Ottawa River Group.
The goal of the plan is to reduce impacts to human health and the environment from the Ottawa River. Sediment (mud) in the river is contaminated with a mixture of heavy metals, PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons called PAHs. The sediment contamination in the Ottawa River is a key contributor to the fish advisories currently in place and limit the amount of fish that can be safely eaten.
Dredging activities in the Ottawa River began May one and are expected to be completed by late 2010. The sediment will be removed using hydraulic cutterhead dredges -- large suction systems that pull in the sediment and river water and pump them to the Hoffman Road Landfill where they are processed. The water is collected and treated to meet discharge requirements before it is returned to the river.
About 7,000 cubic yards of sediment with the highest concentrations of PCBs will be treated separately. Because of high PCB levels, this sediment will be sent to a specially permitted landfill in Michigan that is licensed to accept this type of waste.
E.P.A. is providing $24.5 million for the plan through the Great Lakes Legacy Act, a federal Plan targeted at cleaning up contaminated sediment in Great Lakes Areas of Concern. The Ottawa River Group
will provide the remaining $24.5 million. The city is providing space in its municipal landfill as its cost share.
The Ottawa River Group is an unincorporated consortium of private businesses in partnership with the city of Toledo including Allied Waste North America, Inc, the City of Toledo, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, GenCorp, Inc., Honeywell, Inc., Illinois Tool Works, Inc., United Technologies Corporation, Varta Microbattery, Inc., The Mosaic Company, Perstorp Polyols, Inc., and Grand Trunk Western Railroad.
For more information on the plan is accessible at
http://www.epa.gov/glla/ottawa/ or contact Scott Cieniawski, U.S. E.P.A. Region 5, 312-353-8547,
[email protected].
