Legacy Act links

St. Marys River

St. Marys River Cleanup in Sault Ste Marie Gets Under Way This Week

Legacy Act Funds Will Spur Sediment Removal Project
(pdf, 2 page, 767 Kb)

Photgraph of the St. Marys River site

This is a view from the river of the existing MCM Marine facility. Phase I of the project
will be performed in the bay areas to the right of the MCM Marine docks, extending west
to the Soo Warehouse facility. Photo courtesy of MCM Marine.

St. Marys River/Former MGP Project

Authorized Legacy Act Project Site

St. Marys River Cleanup in Sault Ste Marie Gets Under Way

Release date: 05/04/2010

Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon, 312-353-6218, cannon.phillippa@epa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 10-OPA047

CHICAGO (May 4, 2010) — The Great Lakes Legacy Act cleanup of a section of the St. Marys River near the MCM Marine facility is now under way. On Feb. 1, 2010, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Consumers Energy Co. signed a project agreement to begin the cleanup of a section of the river. With $2.4 million provided by the Legacy Act and $1.6 million from Consumers Energy, EPA and the utility will remove approximately 26,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, from the river adjacent to the property currently operated by MCM Marine. The site was formerly a manufactured gas plant.

The project will be undertaken in two stages with dredging in the inner boat slip now under way and cleanup in the adjacent river area to be completed either this fall or spring 2011. The goal of the $4 million project is to reduce impacts to human health and the environment and improve water quality in the St. Marys River.

The Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) is a federal program targeted at cleaning up contaminated sediment around the U.S. shores of the Great Lakes. The GLLA is now part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a $475 million effort to begin restoring and protecting the Great Lakes.

For more information
Great Lakes Legacy Act:
Marc Tuchman
312-353-1369
tuchman.marc@epa.gov

St. Marys River/Former MGP Project:
Ajit Vaidya
312-353-5713
vaidya.ajit@epa.gov