allied paper, inc./portage creek/kalamazoo river

320 EAST ALCOTT STREET

The Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site includes five disposal areas, five paper mill properties, an approximately 80-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River from Morrow Dam to Lake Michigan, and a three-mile stretch of Portage Creek. At this time, the site is divided into six cleanup projects known as operable units (OUs): - OU #1, Allied Paper Property/Bryant Mill Pond Area; - OU #2, Willow Boulevard and A-Site Landfill; - OU #3, King Highway Landfill; - OU #4, 12th Street Landfill; - OU #5, Portage Creek and Kalamazoo River sediments; and - OU #7, Plainwell Mill. The primary site contaminant is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a hazardous substance and probable human carcinogen. PCBs were introduced to Portage Creek and the Kalamazoo River through past discharges and disposal of PCB-contaminated paper residuals by the paper industry. The five disposal areas are situated on the river banks and contain millions of cubic yards of PCB-contaminated waste. It has been estimated that the river sediments contain more than 120,000 pounds of PCBs. The contaminated sediments have largely been deposited in four impoundment areas within the river. EPA proposed the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in May 1989 and finalized the site on the NPL in August 1990. In February 2007 two Administrative Orders on Consent (AOCs) were signed by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Millennium Holdings, LLC and Georgia-Pacific, LLC (collectively known as the Kalamazoo River Study Group (KRSG)). One AOC requires the KRSG to conduct a supplemental remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) for the Portage Creek and Kalamazoo River sediments, and the other called for a time-critical removal action (TCRA) of sediments in a portion of the Kalamazoo River near Plainwell, Michigan. (Additional information is provided below in the “Cleanup Progress” section.) EPA is currently the lead regulatory agency on this project and is working closely with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to oversee the cleanup activities.

• Amcast Industrial Corporation (Cedarburg, WI)
• Acme Solvent Reclaiming, Inc. (morristown Plant) (Morristown, IL)
• Airco (Calvert City, KY)
• Agriculture Street Landfill (New Orleans, LA)
• Algoma Municipal Landfill (Algoma, WI)

• American Brass Inc. (Headland, AL)
• Air Force Plant Pjks (Littleton, CO)
• Aberdeen Proving Ground (michaelsville Landfill) (Aberdeen, MD)
• Westlake Landfill (Bridgeton, MO)