Public Notice: EPA Begins First Review of Burnham Canal - Miller Compressing Co. Superfund Alternative Site
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is conducting its first five-year review of the Burnham Canal - Miller Compressing Co. Superfund Alternative site. The Superfund law requires regular checkups of sites that have been cleaned up – with waste managed on-site – to make sure the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment. This review is expected to be completed in October 2025. Because the potentially responsible party is cooperating with the cleanup, this site is categorized as a Superfund Alternative site. The cleanup process is identical to those of Superfund sites.
The five-year review is an opportunity for you to tell the EPA about site conditions and any concerns you have.
The Burnham Canal was created on the Menomonee River to expand transportation access to industries in the area. From the early-1970s to the mid-1990s, the Miller Compressing Co. operated a wire reclamation furnace near the canal, contaminating soil and sediment with metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is planning to restore the site and the rest of the canal into an urban wetland. This project is part of a larger initiative to restore the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC). From 2020-2021 the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and EPA oversaw the responsible party perform a cleanup which would create the base for the western portion of a future wetland. The remedy included excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil and canal sediment, a gravel cover on top of contaminated areas, and land use restrictions. Final design of the wetland is expected to begin in 2025.
More information about the Burnham Canal - Miller Compressing Co. Superfund Alternative site. This website can also be accessed on computers at the Forest Home Library, 1432 W. Forest Home Ave. and at the Centro de la Comunidad Unida/ United Community Center, 1028 S. 9th Street, Milwaukee.