Case Summary: $23 Million Settlement Reached at the Cedar Creek Superfund Alternative Site
On August 21, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Mercury Marine Corporation (Mercury Marine) entered into an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent (ASAOC) where Mercury Marine will produce an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) for a Non-Time-Critical Removal Action at the Cedar Creek Superfund Alternative site for the Ponds Operable Unit in Cedarburg, Wis. The estimated cost associated with the work at this site is approximately $23 million.
- Information about the Mercury Marine Corporation
- Information about the Cedar Creek Site
- Summary of the Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent
- Contact Information
Information about Mercury Marine Corporation
Mercury Marine Corporation, founded in 1939, is a division of Brunswick Corporation in Lake Forest, Ill. Mercury Marine provides engines for private, commercial and government sales, primarily for small boats.
Information about the Cedar Creek Site
The Cedar Creek Site is located in Cedarburg, Wis. a suburban residential area north of Milwaukee. The entire site consists of Mercury Marine's Plant 2 and the segment of Cedar Creek from below the Ruck Pond dam to the point where it meets the Milwaukee River. This segment includes open stretches of creek as well as areas known as Columbia Pond, Wire and Nail Pond, and the former Hamilton Pond for a total of 5.1 creek miles.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from Mercury Marine's boat manufacturing operations contaminated Cedar Creek and the Plant 2 property. Mercury Marine operated a plant on St. John Avenue from 1951 to 1982. Fluids, containing PCBs, leaked from equipment and were washed into floor drains. These drains emptied into storm sewers, which emptied into Ruck Pond and flowed into the Milwaukee River.
Mercury Marine's Plant 2 building was demolished in May 2005. The building, which was in poor condition, also contained PCB contamination. An investigation and feasibility study outlining possible cleanup options was completed in October 2007. A decision on how to clean up Plant 2 was made in March 2008.
More information about the Cedar Creek Site.
Information about Superfund Alternative Approach Sites.
Summary of the Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent
Under the ASAOC, the EE/CA will evaluate response actions for addressing PCB-contaminated sediment in Columbia Pond and Wire and Nail Pond that are in public parks and residential areas of Cedarburg, Wis. Mercury Marine has paid all past costs for the site under previous administrative orders and will pay future costs under this ASAOC.
Contact Information
For more information contact
David Smith-Watts
Attorney-Advisor
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
202-564-4083
smith-watts.david@epa.gov
Rick Nagle
Associate Regional Counsel
Region 5
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60604
312-353-8222
nagle.richard@epa.gov