EPA Announces Four Michigan Sites Selected to Receive Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds to Clear Out the Superfund Backlog
Initial resources will also accelerate cleanup for dozens of additional Superfund projects
WASHINGTON (Dec. 17, 2021) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites and accelerate cleanup at dozens of other sites across the country. Until this historic investment, many of these were part of a backlog of hazardous waste sites awaiting funding.
“For more than 100 years, the upper Midwest was the nation’s industrial center. But when factories and mills closed they left behind a legacy of toxic sites that are challenging to clean up,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “The bipartisan infrastructure law will fund stalled cleanups at seven Superfund sites in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana and accelerate our efforts to restore and revitalize communities here in the Midwest.”
The four Michigan Superfund sites selected to receive funding include:
Charlevoix Municipal Well in Charlevoix
- Infrastructure funds will be used to implement EPA’s selected interim remedy for the site, which includes excavating contaminated shallow soils, installing vapor mitigation systems on buildings where needed, and treating contaminated groundwater and deeper soils.
Tar Lake Site in Mancelona Township
- Infrastructure funds will be used to remove over 220,000 tons of tar source material and tar-contaminated soil and to install additional biosparge wells to treat groundwater at the Site. Biosparging uses microbes to clean up contaminated groundwater.
- The area in which the Site resides is in land that was ceded to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Ten-Mile Drain in St. Clair Shores
- EPA has completed the remedial design for 47 properties – including two commercial properties – and the infrastructure funds will allow EPA to quickly move forward with the cleanup.
- Infrastructure funds will be used to address polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in near-surface soils at residential yards, parkway/utility corridors, and commercial properties at the site.
Velsicol Burn Pit in St. Louis
- Infrastructure funds will be used to implement EPA’s selected remedy for the main source areas of contamination within the former burn pit boundaries, including treating the source materials posing the highest threat, excavating ash piles, and hooking up several nearby residences to the municipal water supply as a precautionary measure.
- Once the source area cleanup is complete, EPA will evaluate the groundwater and create a plan to address the contamination.
“Many Michigan families and local communities have been waiting way too many years to have toxic Superfund sites cleaned up in their own backyards. The recently passed infrastructure bill is going to finally make the cleanup of these sites a reality in Charlevoix, Mancelona, St. Louis and St. Clair Shores,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow. “These are the kind of investments that will help strengthen our local economies and keep our families safe for generations to come.”
“Contaminated sites across Michigan not only pose serious environmental and human health dangers for residents and families – but they also inhibit economic growth for businesses and communities,” said Sen. Gary Peters. “That’s why I was proud to help pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law – which includes important resources to help remediate contaminated sites in our state. I applaud the EPA for using these funds to take critical action and help Michiganders and our communities.”
“One important reason I voted to pass this bill was so the Environmental Protection Agency will get dedicated funding to help solve dangerous situations for the health and safety of our families in communities like Saint Clair Shores,” said Rep. Andy Levin. “I am thrilled that this is among the first Superfund sites to receive resources for remediation thanks to the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
“EPA and EGLE have been working for many years to clean up the plant site and the adjacent area including over nine square blocks of residential property and the Pine River,” said Saint Louis Mayor Jim Kelly. “The last big step is to clean up the burn pit, one of the worst early Superfund sites. We look forward to having this area cleaned; otherwise, it may continue to pollute our ground water.”
The $1 billion investment is the first wave of funding from the $3.5 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help clean up polluted Superfund sites in communities. The backlog of previously unfunded sites that will now be receiving funding are in 24 states and territories and all 10 EPA regions, including some communities who have been waiting for cleanup for more than four years.
The funds will supercharge the Superfund program to address the toll contaminated sites have on communities. EPA is finalizing cleanup plans and preparing funding mechanisms to get construction work started as soon as possible. More information about funding for backlogged sites and accelerated cleanup sites will be available in the coming weeks.
In 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as Superfund, was passed. The novel law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, funds appropriated by Congress are used. A tax on chemical and petroleum industries provided funds to the Superfund Trust fund for Superfund cleanups up until 1995. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reinstates the chemical excise taxes and invests an additional $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment that will create millions of jobs modernizing our infrastructure, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path to win the economic competition for the 21st century.
For more information and to see a list of the 49 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-sites-new-construction-projects-receive-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding
For more information about EPA’s Superfund program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund