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BROWN COUNTY
GREEN BAY
Congressional District # 6, 8
FOX RIVER NRDA/PCB RELEASES
EPA ID# WI0001954841Last Updated: April, 2008
Site Description
The Lower Fox River and Green Bay Site includes a 39-mile stretch of the Lower Fox River as well as the bay of Green Bay. The river portion of the site extends from the outlet of Lake Winnebago and continues downstream to the mouth of the river at Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bay portion of the site includes all of Green Bay from the city of Green Bay to the point where Green Bay enters Lake Michigan. The site has been divided into five discrete operable units (OUs) by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). A OU is a geographical area designated for the purpose of analyzing and implementing remedial actions and is defined on the basis of similar features and characteristics (e.g., physical and geographic properties). The river and the bay operable units are:
• OU1 – Little Lake Butte des Morts
• OU 2 – Appleton to Little Rapids
• OU 3 – Little Rapids to De Pere
• OU 4 – De Pere to Green Bay
• OU 5 – Green Bay
Site Responsibility
The 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 14 million cubic yards of contaminated river sediments contain over 65,000 pounds of PCBs, and at least several hundred million cubic yards of sediments in Green Bay are contaminated with as much as 150,000 pounds of PCBs. Because fish and wildlife are contaminated with PCBs, people who eat contaminated fish or waterfowl may suffer adverse health effects. Fish consumption advisories for the site were first issued in 1976 and 1977 by WDNR and the state of Michigan, respectively. The advisories are still in effect. Wildlife has also documented adverse impacts.Cleanup Progress
In 1989/90, U.S. EPA and WDNR began sediment and water sampling in the Lower Fox River and Green Bay for use in the Green Bay Mass Balance Study (GBMBS). The GBMBS was a pilot project to test the feasibility of using a mass balance approach for assessing the sources and fates of toxic pollutants, spreading throughout the food chain. Key subsequent evaluations were the remedial investigation and feasibility study, conducted by WDNR with funding by U.S. EPA. Based on these evaluations, a proposed plan for site cleanup was issued by U.S. EPA and WDNR on October 5, 2001.
In addition to site investigations, two dredging demonstration projects were conducted on the Fox River.
In 1998 and 1999, WDNR and U.S. EPA sponsored a project to remove PCB-contaminated sediment from Deposits N and O located in OU1, in the Lower Fox River about 31 miles upstream from Green Bay. This project successfully demonstrated that dredging of PCB-contaminated sediment could be performed in an environmentally safe and cost-effective manner. The project also provided for the opportunity for public outreach and education of environmental dredging as well as removal of PCBs from the river. Approximately 8,200 cy of PCB-contaminated sediment was removed, containing 112 pounds of PCBs.
In 1999 and 2000, a dredging project at SMU 56/57 also removed 80,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments, containing 3400 pounds of PCBs. This deposit is located in OU 4 about 3 miles upstream from the mouth of the Fox River. This project began in 1999 by the Fox River Group as a demonstration project. The project was completed in 2000 by Fort James Corporation with U.S. EPA oversight. Similar to Deposit N, this project demonstrated that dredging could effectively remove PCB- contaminated sediments at the Fox River in an environmentally sensitive and cost-effective manner.
After consideration of public comments on the proposed plan, two records of decisions (RODs) for the Fox River and Green Bay were finalized by U.S. EPA and WDNR in December 2002 and July 2003. These decisions were as follows:
• Operable Unit 1 (at the upstream/southerly end of the Lower Fox River): dredging and disposal of approximately 800,000 cubic yards of PCB- contaminated sediments with concentrations above 1 ppm.
• Operable Unit 2: monitored natural recovery
• Operable Unit 3 and 4: (the most downstream / northerly end of the Lower Fox River): dredging and disposal of approximately 6.5 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment with concentrations above 1 ppm.
• Operable Unit 5 (Green Bay): limited dredging and monitored natural recovery.
• Total costs are estimated to be $400 million.
Both RODs contain a contingent remedy for the capping of contaminated sediment subject to approval by U.S. EPA and WDNR and only under certain circumstances. In addition to issuing the two RODs for the site, U.S. EPA has also successfully negotiated remediation-related legal agreements. These agreements are summarized in the following table.
| Legal Document | Date Entered or Signed | Settling Company(ies) or Respondents | General Nature of Agreement |
| Consent Decree | 12/11/2001 | Appleton Papers and NCR Corp. | Interim cashout - Appleton Papers provided $10 million/year for four years for site related projects relating to natural resource damages and remediation of the River. |
| Consent Order | 07/01/2003 | WTM I Company | WTM I agreed to conduct design for OU 1 |
| Consent Decree | 04/12/2004 | P.H. Glatfelter Co.and WTM Co. | Companies agreed to do remediation for OU 1 for costs up to $50 million. Agencies contributed $10 million for remediation with funding from the December 2001 Consent Decree |
| Consent Order | 03/03/2004 | Fort James Operating Company and NCR Corporation |
Companies agreed to conduct Remedial Design for OU 2-5. |
| Consent Decree | 11/03/2006 | NCR Corporation and Sonoco-U.S. Mills, Inc. | Companies agree to remove the PCB-hotspot, including all PCB-sediments in this hotspot that have PCB concentrations greater than 50 ppm |
| Unilateral Administrative Order | 11/13/2007 | Appleton Papers, Inc., CBC Coating Inc., Georgia Pacific Consumer Products, LP, Menasha Corp., P.H. Glatfelter Co., U.S. Paper Mills Corp., WTMI | Companies are complying with this Order to conduct remedial actions for cleanup activities in OU 2-5 |
Implementation of these agreements has resulted in design work beginning July 1, 2003, and March 3, 2004, for OU 1 and OU 2-5, respectively. OU 1 cleanup began in 2004. These activities are underway, as described in detail below. Additionally, in compliance with the Unilateral Administrative Order, companies are presently conducting planning activities and ordering equipment for the start of full scale cleanup activities for OU 2-5 in 2009.
Dredging and disposal of contaminated sediments began in OU 1 in September 2004. Approximately 335,000 cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediments have been removed and disposed off-site through 2007, and work is continuing in 2008, with dredging currently underway.
In a newly identified hotspot just downstream of the DePere Dam, dredging in 2007 also removed approximately 130,000 cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediment. This initial phase of the cleanup for PCB contamination in OU 2-5 removed contaminated sediments with PCB concentrations as high as 3000 ppm, and all sediments in this area having PCB concentrations greater than 50 ppm. Placement of a sand cover over dredged areas will be completed in 2008 where PCB concentrations remain at unacceptably high levels.
A Proposed Plan for possible modification of the 2003 Record of Decision for OU 2-5 was issued November 13, 2006. A comment period ended January 11, 2007. After consideration of public comments, EPA issed a final Record of Decision Amendment on June 26, 2007. The final decision modified the original remedy from dredging 7.1 million cubic yards and capping 500,000 cubic yards, to dredging 3.5 million cubic yards and placing cap or sand cover 3.7 million cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediment. EPA considers this modified approach to be protective, while allowing the remedy to be completed sooner and at less cost ($390 million for the revised remedy versus $580 million for the previously planned remedy).
A Proposed Plan for possible modification of the 2002 Record of Decision for OU 1 was issued November 26, 2007. This Proposed Plan was similar to the one for OU 2-5 discussed in the above paragraph substituting some dredging with capping and sand covering. The comment period for the Proposed Plan for OU 1 ended January 31, 2008. EPA is presently considering comments and will be issuing a final decision.
Contacts
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPAjames hahnenberg (hahnenberg.james@epa.gov)
(312) 353-4213
Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
susan pastor
(312) 353-1325
Aliases
FOX RIVER NRDAFOX RIVER/LOWER GREENBAY 39 STREM MILES
/PCB RELEASES