EPA announces Allied Paper Landfill cleanup plans

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the final cleanup plan for Allied Paper Landfill in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after considering public comment on the remedy. The landfill is part of the larger Allied Paper/Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site which spans Allegan and Kalamazoo counties.

As EPA designs and implements the remedy, it will consider potential reuse and redevelopment of the site. The cleanup involves removing contaminated soils from sections of the landfill next to Portage Creek and consolidating them into the center of the landfill. This will prevent erosion and the re-release of contaminants into the creek.

As a part of the cleanup, an impermeable cap will be installed over the landfill to cut off the exposure pathways– protecting human health and the environment. A groundwater monitoring network will help EPA evaluate the protectiveness of the remedy over time.

The site includes soil and sediment contamination in disposal areas, paper mill properties, about 80 miles of the Kalamazoo River (from Morrow Dam to Lake Michigan), adjacent riverbanks and contiguous floodplains, as well as a 3-mile stretch of Portage Creek. Paper mills built in the late 1800s along the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries operated until the 1980s. From the mid-1950s through the 1970s, the mills released polychlorinated biphenyls into the river during the paper recycling process. The ink used in carbonless copy paper was contaminated with PCBs. In August 1990, EPA added the Allied Paper/Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site to the National Priorities List.

The Allied Paper Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site is located in Allegan and Kalamazoo Counties, Michigan. EPA has identified six areas, or operable units (OUs), requiring cleanup:

• 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