![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
HOUGHTON COUNTY
HOUGHTON COUNTY
Congressional District # 01
TORCH LAKE
EPA ID# MID980901946Last Updated: September, 2008
Site Description
The Torch Lake site is located on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Houghton County, Michigan. Copper mining activities in the area from the 1890s until 1969 produced mill tailings (called stamp sands) that contaminated the lake sediments and shoreline.
The Torch Lake Superfund site is comprised of several areas ranging in size from approximately 10 acres to over 200 acres in size. The areas are located around the Keweenaw Peninsula, Upper Peninsula, Michigan. The area is mostly forested with numerous lakes. There is some industry in the area, but the primary business and commerce in the area today centers around recreation and tourism.
About 200 million tons of copper mill stamp sands were dumped into Torch Lake itself, filling about 20 percent of the lake's volume. The contaminated sediments are believed to be 70 feet thick in some areas, and surface sediments contain up to 2,000 parts per million (ppm) of copper. The stamp sands deposited in Torch Lake and on the shoreline were dredged up during the early part of the 1900s and were processed with flotation chemicals to reclaim copper. The stamp sands and much of the flotation chemicals were returned to the lake and the shoreline. Torch Lake has also received mine pumpage, leaching chemicals, explosive residues, and by-products. In 1972, an estimated 27,000 gallons of cupric ammonium carbonate were released into the lake from storage vats. Barrels have been found at several sites along the shoreline of the lake.
The only active industry on the Torch Lake shoreline is the Peninsula Copper Company, which reclaims copper oxide from scrap electronic circuit boards. During the early 1980s, the company dumped processing water, containing 2,400 times the local sewage authority's allowable limits for copper and 100 times the limit for ammonia, into the Tamarack lagoon system.
Approximately 4,000 people live within one mile of the lake.
Site Responsibility
This site is being addressed through federal and state actions.Threats and Contaminants
Coming into direct contact with, or ingesting contaminated sediments and surface water, poses a low level health hazard. The site's primary threat is its impact on the ecosystem. The most significant ecological impact is the severe degradation of the benthic (bottom dwelling) organisms in Torch Lake and other area water bodies, as a result of the metal loadings from the mine wastes.
The Michigan Department of Public Health issued a fish consumption advisory for Torch Lake due to the presence of PCBs and mercury in fish tissue; but it is not known if this fish contamination is specifically related to the Torch Lake Superfund site.
There also is concern about the physical hazards present on the site. These include abandoned buildings, old machinery and equipment, and other discarded metal objects such as rusting barrels, which can be found on the shoreline and in the water.
Cleanup Progress
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) began investigation activities in 1988 at Torch Lake, which included a survey to locate drums buried in the tailings piles on the western shore and at the bottom of Torch Lake. Approximately 20 drums were located on the surface, and samples were taken to determine if the drums contained any toxic materials. In 1990, twelve additional drum locations were excavated and sampled. As a result of the testing, U.S. EPA removed the contaminated drums from the lake as well as contaminated soil beneath the drums. In 1990, U.S. EPA completed field work, involving the characterization of tailings and slag piles. In 1992, U.S. EPA selected a remedy which called for about 800 acres of these piles to be covered with soil and vegetation and long-term monitoring of Torch Lake. Design of this remedy began in the fall of 1992 and was completed in September 1998. Also in 1992, U.S. EPA completed sampling surface water, sediment, and groundwater underlying all stamp sand piles. Based on the sampling results, U.S. EPA, in early 1994, selected a "No Action" remedy for the sediments, surface waters and groundwater, since contamination levels were within safety standards.Construction of the soil and vegetative cap was initiated in September 1998. Long-term monitoring of Torch Lake was initiated in 1999. A baseline study was completed in August 2001. Results of the study are included in the Baseline Study Report, dated August 2001.
By the fall of 2005, 800 acres of stamp sands and slag had been remediated. This included stamp sands along the western shore of Torch Lake, Dollar Bay, Point Mills, Calumet Lake, Boston Pond, North Entry, Scales Creek, Isle Royale Sands and Michigan Smelter.
A partial National Priorities List (NPL) delisting of the Lake Linden portion of the site and all of operable unit 2 (sediments, surface water, and groundwater) was finalized in April 2002. The partial delisting of the Hubbell/Tamarack City portion of the site was finalized in 2004.
In addition the first five-year review was completed on March 4, 2003. On September 30, 2005, U.S. EPA declared the construction complete on the site. What this means is that the remedy (6 inches of clean cover with plants to stabilize the cover) was completed at each parcel scheduled to have the remedy implemented in the 1992 ROD. U.S. EPA will continue to monitor the operation and function of the remedy to make sure that it performs as it was designed.
Additional work on the site includes a pilot project on Gull Island, located in the middle of Torch Lake. In the spring of 2003, U.S. EPA, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) planted approximately 15,000 fast growing plants on the island to determine if they would grow without the addition of clean soil cover. This project has been monitored closely by U.S. EPA, and in 2004 an additional 20,000 plants were planted. Field Inspections during the summer of 2007 showed a lack of growth for some of the most recent plantings, however, the areas where trees and shrubs were planted are successfully established.
In 2007, U.S. EPA's Removal Program completed the Torch Lake Area Assessment, which consisted of a wide-ranging sampling effort of mining impacts in the Keweenaw Peninsula. A report summarizing the sampling effort was finalized in 2007, and the conclusions of the report are being considered by U.S. EPA and MDEQ. The Removal Program identified an area in Lake Linden with elevated levels of arsenic and lead in soils. In August 2007, approximately 1,010 cubic yards of contaminated soils were excavated from this area by Removal contractors. In 2008, U.S. EPA's Removal Program also began asbestos abatement activities at Quincy Smelter.
A second five year review was completed in March 2008. This Five Year Review identified several issues that U.S. EPA and MDEQ plan to address, including implementation of institutional controls at certain properties, investigation of residential wells in the site area, further assessment of the Lake Linden and Mason Sands area, and completion of removal actions at Quincy Smelter.
Community Involvement
U.S. EPA initiated a unique outreach and monitoring program for this site. In 2003, U.S. EPA trained teachers from four local high schools, who in turn, trained their students to do bird and plant diversity and soil fertility studies. An additional high school was added in 2004. The project is a resounding success and continued through 2006.
On August 17, 2006 U.S. EPA celebrated the construction completion milestone with a ceremony in Lake Linden and by placing commemorative signs at four of the parcels. The ceremony was well attended and the majority of local citizens have apparently been relatively satisfied with the implementation of the remedy.
Congressional Interest
Senator Levin's office has been involved in advocating the clean-up of Quincy Smelter, and it's use for historical interpretation.Property Reuse
The Hubbell/Tamarck City parcel of the site was deleted from the NPL in 2004. The landowners of this parcel are currently developing the property for residential use.
The Village of Lake Linden has developed portions of the area as a campground and there is an adjacent public beach area.
Contacts
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPApatrick hamblin (hamblin.patrick@epa.gov)
(312) 886-6312