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U.S. EPA REGION 5
KALAMAZOO COUNTY
KALAMAZOO

Congressional District # 06

ALLIED PAPER, INC./PORTAGE CREEK/KALAMAZOO RIVER

EPA ID# MID006007306
Last Updated: April, 2008

Site Description

The Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site includes five disposal areas, five paper mill properties, an approximately 80-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River from Morrow Dam to Lake Michigan, and a three-mile stretch of Portage Creek.

At this time, the site is divided into five cleanup projects:

The primary site contaminant is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a hazardous substance and probable human carcinogen. PCBs were introduced to Portage Creek and the Kalamazoo River through past discharges and disposal of PCB-contaminated paper residuals by the paper industry. The five disposal areas are situated on the river banks and contain millions of cubic yards of PCB-contaminated waste. It has been estimated that the river sediments contain over 350,000 pounds of PCBs. The contaminated sediments have largely been deposited in four impoundment areas.   In February 2007 two Administrative Orders on Consent (AOC) were signed by both the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and Millenium Holdings, LLC and Georgia-Pacific, LLC (collectively known as the Kalamazoo River Study Group (KRSG)).  U.S. EPA is currently the lead regulatory agency on this project and is working closely with MDEQ to oversee the cleanup activities. 

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through federal, state, and potentially responsible parties' actions. 

Threats and Contaminants

The site is contaminated with PCBs, a hazardous substance and probable human carcinogen. It has been estimated that the river sediments contain over 350,000 pounds of PCBs, and the five unconfined disposal areas, situated on the river banks, contain millions of cubic yards of PCB-contaminated waste.

Cleanup Progress

The U.S. EPA cleanup approach for the Kalamazoo River is to first eliminate on-going sources of PCBs, which includes the exposed paperwastes along the river banks and flood plain soils (or impoundments), and then address in-stream sediments. The exposed paper wastes are located behind State and privately owned dams along the river. Before evaluating cleanup options for in-stream sediments, U.S. EPA will investigate upstream sources of PCBs and evaluate the existing landfill OUs and paper mill properties to ensure they are not a source of PCBs to the river. Generally, U.S. EPA's cleanup will begin upstream and work downstream on a reach-by-reach and dam-to-dam basis.

INTERIM ACTIONS

To date, a number of initial measures have been taken to reduce the release of PCBs from the disposal areas. In 1992, a fence was erected around the entire OU 1, Allied Paper property, including the Bryant Mill Pond area, approximately 70 acres on Portage Creek, to restrict access and thereby reduce the potential for exposure from direct contact with exposed sediments. Because of concern about the ongoing release of PCBs from the Bryant Mill Pond area to Portage Creek and the slow progress of actions under the state-lead Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS), EPA entered negotiations with H.M. Holdings, Inc. in 1997 to expedite an action to address the Bryant Mill Pond sediments. In November 1997, U.S. EPA and H.M. Holdings, Inc. reached an agreement in principal for H.M. Holdings to fund up to a certain monetary limit a U.S. EPA conducted removal and onsite containment action for the Bryant Mill Pond sediments. The Removal Action began in June 1998.  Portage Creek was temporarily diverted from its normal streambed in order to conduct "dry" excavation of 150,000 cubic yards of the creek bed and floodplain soils.  Excavation was completed in May 1999.  Excavated material was placed in the Historical Residual Dewatering Lagoon and the Bryant Former Residual Dewatering Lagoons.  PCB concentrations, remaining after the removal action, were below 1 ppm.  The cost of the removal action was $7.5 million. 

Other Interim actions that have been completed include:

In March 2007, a Time Critical Removal action (TCRA) began to remove 120,000 cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediment from the Kalamazoo River's Plainwell Impoundment.  This activity is being conducted by KRSG with oversight of U.S. EPA.  This is a two year project.  In 2007, approximately 37,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were removed from the river and nearby banks.  In 2008, an estimated 83,000 cubic yards of material will be excavated and disposed off-site.  Consistent with the federal Toxic Substances and Control Acti, sediment containing PCB concentrations greater than 50 parts per million will be disposed at Environmental Quality Co.'s Wayne Disposal Landfill in Belleville Michigan.  The sediment with concentrations lesss than this, which is considered non-hazardous waste and is 80 percent of the waste material, wil be disposed at Allied Waste's C and C Landfill near Marshall MI, and its Ottawa Farms Landfill near Coopersville, MI.  The estimated cost of this project is $30 million.  Sediment excavation and restoration of this area is expected to be completed by December 2008.

Operable Unit 1:  Allied Landfill

The Remedial Investigation Report for the Allied Site developed by MDEQ was finalized and approved by U.S. EPA in March 2008.  The next step in the process will be the development of the Feasibilty Study which will be conducted by KRSG. 

Operable Unit 2: Willow Boulevard and A-site Landfill

The Willow Blvd/A-Site Landfill OU was under MDEQ control through completion of the RI/FS Report 2006. U.S. EPA completed a Record of Decision for the closure of the landfill in 2006. U.S. EPA is currently in negotiations with the RPs for the implementation of the cleanup for the landfill.

Operable Unit 3:  King Highway Landfill

Cap construction at the King Highway Landfill (Operable Unit 3) was completed in fall 2001. In summer 2002, the cap was seeded for vegetative growth.  In the fall of 2007 a gas collection trench was constructed at the landfill.  The King Highway Landfill remains under MDEQ control as the remedy is currently near completed.

Operable Unit 4:  12th Street Landfill

In September 2001, U.S. EPA signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the 12th St. Landfill. The remedy includes excavation of PCBs residuals that have migrated from the landfill and will be placed back in the landfill. The side slopes of the landfill will be stabilized and a cap will be installed. Monitoring wells for long-term monitoring will be installed. To accommodate the channel diversion as part of the TCRA near the Plainwell Dam, the slope of the 12th street landfill adjacent to the Kalamazoo River was reshaped, upgraded, stabilized and restored in 2007.  Contamination adjacent to the river has been removed in the vicinity of the 12th Street Landfill and Remedial Design work for the remaining portion of the 12th St. Landfill is being developed.  This work was conducted by Weyerhaeuser with oversight of U.S. EPA and MDEQ.

Operable Unit 5:  Portage Creek and Kalamazoo River Sediments

On February 21, 2007, U.S. EPA reached two settlement agreements with Georgia-Pacific Corporation and Millennium Holdings LLC, two of the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) collectively known as the Kalamazoo River Study Group (KRSG).  The agreements were a result of 2 years of mediated negotiations between the PRPs and the U.S. EPA, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Natural Resource Trustees, which include the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, MDEQ, Michigan Department of Attorney General, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

Under one agreement, KRSG agreed to perform the TCRA sediment excavation in the Kalamazoo River near Plainwell, MI.  (This activity is described above under Interim Actions).  Under the other agreement, KRSG agreed to conduct a Supplemental Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study on the 80 mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River rom Morrow Dam to Lake Michigan and Portage Creek from Cork street to the confluence with the Kalamazoo River.   Although large amounts of data have been obtained throughout the river, numerous areas where further investigation were required were identified.  The Kalamazoo River was divided into seven areas.  Currently work is underway in Area 1 which is a 21 mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River from Morrow Dam to the Plainwell Dam and 3 miles of Portage Creek.  Phase 1 of the sampling efforts in Area 1 have been completed and it is antcipated that Phase 2 work in Area 1 will be completed in 2008.

Mill Properties

Several old paper mills exist along the Kalamazoo River and U.S. EPA is investigating these areas to determine if the mill properties, although inactive, are a source of PCB contamination to the river.    

Georgia-Pacific Kalamazoo Mill and former Hawthorne Mills
The work at the site to remove buildings and contaminated soil, and site stabilization was completed in July 2007. 

Plainwell Mill
Preliminary work to remove PCB contaminated sediment from the banks of the Mill began in the fall of 2007 and was completed in March 2008.  Approximately 5,000 cubic yards of material was removed.  U.S. EPA is working with MDEQ, the City of Plainwell, and Weyerhaeuser to complete scoping for additional Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study work at the Mill to begin in 2008.

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
jim saric (saric.james@epa.gov)
(312) 886-0992

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
Don De Blasio
(312) 886-9749

Aliases

ALLIED CORP KALAMAZOO PLT
ALLIED PAPER/PORTAGE CREEK/KALAMAZOO RIV
PORTAGE CREEK
ALLIED PAPER
ALLIED PAPER/PORTAGE CK/KALAMAZOO RIVER

 

Site Profile Information

This profile provides you with information on EPA's cleanup progress at this Superfund site.

 

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