KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Monday, the City of Kalamazoo held a meeting with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with state representatives, to have their first public discussion on the $69 million Allied Paper Landfill cleanup.
Officials say the work, starting in June, is being done to clean up polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at the Allied Paper Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site.
During the virtual meeting, representatives from the EPA and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) gave a presentation on the process of the project and what residents can expect while it’s being done.
There was also a period where the representatives answered questions from area residents.
Primary objectives of the Kalamazoo EPA cleanup project for the Allied Paper Mill. (Photo courtesy EPA through City of Kalamazoo meeting).
The clean-up costs at the dump will be covered by those responsible for the pollution. The current owners of the site, the Lyondell Environmental Custodial Trust, will be conducting the cleanup with EPA oversight.
This year’s activity will require heavy equipment entering and exiting the worksite and expects to last through early winter. EPA and the trust will work with the city of Kalamazoo to manage traffic entering and leaving the site.
The presentation was given by Michael Berkoff, a project manager with the EPA, who discussed how the situation will be remedied.
“This is the remedy that we had presented in the proposed plan, the remedy being all the contaminated materials being pulled back into a smaller area,” Berkoff said. “The entire property is about 89 acres, the main by the landfill is about 49 acres, and it’s going to be consolidated down to 27 acres. That’s what we have presented in the proposed plan.”
The materials will be consolidated on-site and stored further away from the Portage Creek and at a higher elevation above the water table.
After the materials are consolidated, they will be capped with backfill soil in different protective layers. The topsoil layer will allow plants to flourish, according to officials.
The project will be conducted over four phases, with each phase expected to take about a year.
Phase one procedures include tree removal, establishment of erosion controls, and the construction of on-site roads. There will also be excavation activities along Cork and Alcott streets.
Officials said there have been concerns regarding the tree removal, but said more would be planted later on.
“It’s an unfortunate, but necessary thing we have to do to be able to get to the waste and remove it,” Berkoff said of the trees.
Concerns were raised about how the EPA will make sure the work doesn’t affect the surrounding areas. Berkoff said there would be many monitoring and prevention procedures in place to address this.
For example, weather and air monitoring stations will be in place to read data on air quality. The air monitoring station is used to measure dust, airborne particles and methane concentrations.
Additionally, vehicles used in the project will be frequently washed to prevent the off-site spread of the materials.
There will also be efforts made to make sure the material doesn’t seep into the Portage Creek, and all work will be done with respect to local noise ordinances.
After public comments and questions were issued, Mayor David Anderson issued a statement addressing the EPA.
“It’s been 31 years since this site was designated a Superfund site, and I know we’re going to have some short-term pain. But this is something I’ve been involved with in discussions for almost 16 years, since 2005 when I first got on. I cannot tell you how elated I am that this work is finally starting. I know it’s not going to be perfect, and I know in essence we all worked together to come up with this compromised response, but this is going to be so transformative for this site and that part of the city by the time we get this done, which is in about three years. I can’t tell you how happy I am about it, and I really look forward to a great product by the time you’re done doing all this great work.”
Officials also noted that this will not be the last meeting on the subject, and residents are invited to share any further public comments and questions with the officials involved.
Contact information was provided for the following individuals –
- Michael Berkoff, U.S. EPA Project Manager – 312-353-8983 / berkoff.michael@epa.gov
- Diane Russell, U.S. EPA Community Involvement Coordinator – 989-395-3493 / russel.diane@epa.gov
- Dan Peabody, EGLE Project Manager – 517-285-3924 / peabodyd@michigan.gov
- Jamie McCarthy, City of Kalamazoo – 269-337-8789 / mccarthyja@kalamazoocity.org
Further Reading –
- An EPA fact sheet on this project can be viewed here.
- The EPA’s full press release can be viewed here.
- Readers can view a recording of the full meeting on YouTube at this link.
