Ashtabula River Legacy Act Cleanup

Ashtabula River Area of Concern

Aerial photo of sediment cleanup area. (Click to enlarge)

Work has been completed on the cleanup of the Ashtabula River, a project to remove 25,000 pounds of hazardous PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other contaminants from the river bottom. It is the first cleanup project in Ohio funded by the federal Great Lakes Legacy Act, and the largest of the four Legacy Act projects funded to date.

Workers have removed about 497,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and provided new habitat in the river. Because the sediment can flow into Lake Erie, removing it is good for the lake and the entire Great Lakes basin. A secondary benefit is a much deeper Ashtabula River, allowing for the return of normal commercial navigation and recreational boating in the river and harbor.

Half the funding of this $50 million project was from the Legacy Act and the other half from the Ashtabula City Port Authority in cooperation with other public and private entities, including the Ashtabula River Cooperation Group II, a group of private companies. The state of Ohio provided $7 million for the project. Other organizations, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, played important roles.

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Documents

Sixth Graders Wrap up Great Lakes Legacy Act Ashtabula River Habitat Project with Native Plants - May 2010
Ashtabula River Cleanup Complete - August 2008
Fact Sheet: Ashtabula River Cleanup (PDF) (2pp, 108K) - May 2008
Dredging of Ashtabula River to resume this month - March 2007
Ashtabula River dredging has begun - September 2006
Fact Sheet: Ashtabula River Sediment Disposal Landfill (PDF) (1pg, 138K) - September 2006
EPA Administrator Johnson and Governor Taft celebrate start of Ashtabula River cleanup; $50 million project is Ohio's first under Legacy Act - June 2006
Fact Sheet: Ashtabula River Cleanup Begins; Contaminated Sediment to be Removed (PDF) (2pp, 119K) - June 2006
EPA, state and local partners will fund $50 million cleanup of Ashtabula River; nation's largest Legacy Act cleanup - December 2005
Fact Sheet: Great Lakes Legacy Act Partnership Spurs River Cleanup Ashtabula River Area of Concern (PDF) (2pp, 259K) - December 2005

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