Sheboygan River and Harbor Superfund Site

Site Information

Sheboygan, WI (Sheboygan County)
EPA ID# WID980996367
NPL Site Narrative
NPL Fact Sheet
Superfund Site Progress Profile
Alias(es): N/A
Site Photos

More photos from Summer 2011 tour

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Susan Pastor (pastor.susan@epa.gov)
312-353-1325 or 800-621-8431, ext. 31325

Remedial Project Manager
Pablo Valentin(valentin.pablo@epa.gov)
312-353-2886 or 800-621-8431, ext. 32886

Assistant Regional Counsel
Richard Nagle (nagle.richard@epa.gov)
312-353-8222 or 800-621-8431, ext. 38222

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Mead Public Library
710 North 8th Street
Sheboygan, WI

Links

WPSC Campmarina MGP Site

Sheboygan River Area of Concern

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Background

The Sheboygan River and Harbor site includes the lower 14 miles of the river from the Sheboygan Falls Dam downstream to, and including, the inner harbor. This segment of the river flows through Sheboygan Falls, Kohler and Sheboygan before entering Lake Michigan. The former Tecumseh Product Co. plant in Sheboygan Falls is located on the upper river and is considered the primary source of PCB contamination in river sediment. Soil and surface water is also contaminated with PCBs and heavy metals including arsenic, chromium, copper, lead and zinc.

Cleanup of the upper portion of the Sheboygan River is done. This involved dredging contaminated sediment from the former Tecumseh Products plant in Sheboygan Falls to the Waelderhaus Dam. The sediment was stored in large geotextile "tubes." Water was squeezed out of the tubes and the remaining cleaned sediment was taken to a licensed landfill for proper disposal. Other phases to clean up the middle river, lower river and inner harbor will be done separately. The upper river will be monitored to ensure that the cleanup measures are working.

Cleanup of PCB-contaminated soil, floodplain soil and ground water at the former Tecumseh facility in Sheboygan Falls was finished in 2005. Sources of PCB contamination were identified and controlled. Ground-water PCBs heading toward the river, surface soil and riverbank soil have been cleaned up.

Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) and Community Advisory Group (CAG) are two ways the community can get involved. Learn more about CAGs and TAGs

What are PCBs?

PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, are toxic chemicals that were once widely used as industrial coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs can concentrate in the environment and the food chain, resulting in health hazards to people, fish and wildlife. Because of these dangers, the U.S. government banned the manufacture of new PCBs in 1976. PCBs still in use are strictly regulated.

PCB Information

EPA's PCB home page
PCBs and your health (WI DHFS)
ATSDR's Toxicological profile for PCBs
ATSDR's Tox FAQs for PCBs

Site Updates | Latest Update | News Releases | Fact Sheets || Technical Documents || Five-Year Reviews || Legal Agreements || Public Meetings

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Site Updates

Great Lakes Legacy Act

The Sheboygan River and Harbor Site and the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation Campmarina Manufactured Gas Plant Site are being cleaned up under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program. The EPA is also using Great Lakes Legacy Act funds to clean up additional areas in the Sheboygan River that are outside the jurisdiction of the Superfund program. The Legacy Act is designed to tackle the problem of “legacy” sediment contamination. At least 35 percent of Legacy Act project costs must come from state, local or private sponsors. At the Sheboygan sites, the non-federal funds are coming from Wisconsin DNR, city of Sheboygan, Sheboygan County and WPSC. Superfund cleanup work may be counted toward the nonfederal cost share for the Legacy Act cleanup.

April 2012

Dredging of PCB-contaminated sediment in the lower river and inner harbor areas of the Sheboygan River has resumed. This work, which is detailed in a design document(PDF) (14pp, 776), involves removing more soft sediment (mud). By the end of the year, we will have removed 16,158 cubic yards of sediment in the lower river and 34,390 cubic yards in the inner harbor. In addition, there will be close monitoring of fish tissue and sediment to ensure that the cleanup was successful.

EPA modified its original cleanup decision in 2010. The changes are outlined in an EPA document called an Explanation of Significant Differences (PDF) (15pp, 776). EPA believes these changes will be the best approach for cleaning up PCB-contaminated sediment.

EPA is also using funds under the Great Lakes Legacy Act to clean up additional areas in the river that are outside the jurisdiction of the Superfund program. The Great Lakes Legacy Act is administered by EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office (see box above).