Manistique River Area of Concern

Background 

The Manistique River flows southwest through Schoolcraft County in Michigan's central Upper Peninsula, discharging into Lake Michigan at Manistique. The Area of Concern (AoC) is the last 1.7 miles of the river, from the dam to the mouth of the harbor at Lake Michigan. The physical characteristics of this portion of the river have been significantly altered over the last century, with construction of artificial islands in the river for boat docks during the lumbering era in the late 1800s, building of harbor breakwaters in 1913, and completion of the dam and flume in the 1920s.

Historical uses of Manistique River waters in the AoC include receiving wastes from sawmills, a paper mill, small industries, the municipal waste water treatment plant, plus navigation for shipping, ferrying, recreational boating and commercial fishing. Current uses include receiving the wastewater discharges from Manistique Papers, Inc. and the City of Manistique Wastewater Treatment Plant. Recreational uses are mainly boating, sightseeing, and fishing.

Beneficial Use Impairments 

Remedial actions in the area over the past 10 years, including the removal of sediments contaminated with PCBs and other industrial waste, have allowed the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to remove the Manistique River's Degradation of Benthos impairment.  Benthos refers to small organisms that typically live along the bottom of the river.  Support for the action was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the local Public Advisory Council.

This area was listed as an AoC as a result from poly- chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), oils, and heavy metals identified as contaminants in the 1970s. Additionally, large quantities of un-decomposed sawdust remain in harbor and river sediments from the white pine lumbering era over one hundred years ago, as well as the relatively sterile sandy sediment that eroded from river banks as a result of log drives on the river.

Delisting Targets 

The Manistique River Public Advisory Council (PAC) is the local organization with the responsibility to initiate the BUI delisting process. The PAC will work with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Joint Commission throughout the process to determine whether or not a BUI is restored and if it should be delisted from the AoC.

On February 15, 2006, the PAC voted to adopt the delisting targets included in the Guidance for Delisting Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern (PDF 508Kb 61 pages) . Additionally, a local habitat committee was formed to work on developing a local delisting target for the Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat BUI.

RAP Development and Status

The significant progress that has been made in improving water quality in the AoC over the last twenty years has resulted from increased treatment of waste water discharged into the river. Additionally, to date, over 111,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments have been removed for treatment and disposal. However, some beneficial uses in the AoC continue to be impaired due to historical pollution concerns. In 1996, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) proposed that it had developed innovative dredging and treatment technologies that could result in an environmentally sound dredging project that could remove PCB contamination from the AoC. There was mutual support for the effort among the community, the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and the U.S. EPA. The dredging of contaminated sediments took place in succeeding years and was completed at the end of 2000. In 1997, a RAP Update was developed by the local community to address other impaired beneficial uses in the AoC.

Currently, the MDEQ, U.S. EPA and the PAC are working together to evaluate the status of the BUIs towards delisting.

Significant RAP Milestones  

• 2006: The PAC adopted the delisting targets included in the Guidance for Delisting Michigan's Great Lakes Areas of Concern (PDF 508Kb 61 page) .
• 2004 & 2005: Monitoring sampling was conducted.
• 2002: RAP Update for Manistique River and Harbor (PDF 3140Kb 72 pages) completed.
• 2001: Confirmation sediment sampling was conducted.
• 2001: Sediment sampling and demobilization of treatment systems and temporary containment systems.
• 2000: Dredging of contaminated sediments began.
• 1996: Manistique River RAP Update (PDF 1480Kb 45 pages) completed.
• 1995: U.S. EPA began annual dredging with a demonstration of new dredging technology.
• 1993: The Manistique River Public Advisory Council (PAC) was officially established.
• 1987: Original Remedial Action Plan for Manistique River AoC (PDF 3630Kb 116 pages) completed.

RAP Implementation

Recent Progress and Achievements

2006

• The PAC adopted the delisting targets included in the Guidance for Delisting Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern (PDF 508Kb 61 pages) . This allowed the MDEQ to begin evaluating the status of the BUIs towards delisting.
• A Habitat Committee was formed including members from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, MDEQ, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. EPA, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Manistique Papers, City of Manistique, and the Schoolcraft County Sports Fisherman Association. The task of this group is to develop a local delisting target for the Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat BUI.

2005

• Final Manistique Harbor and River Site, Manistique, Michigan, Data Evaluation Report was released in May. The purpose of this document is to present a summary of the analytical data collected to document the post-dredging conditions in the Manistique Harbor and River Area of Concern (AoC) and act as a baseline assessment for long term monitoring at the site. The field data collection activities occurred during August and September 2004.
• The Final Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA), Revision 1 for the Manistique Harbor and River in Manistique, Michigan was released in March. The ERA focuses on those media that ecological receptors can be exposed to sediment and whole body fish.
• The Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), Revision 2, was released in May. The HHRA focuses on the risk due to exposure to the media and from eating fish caught in the River and Harbor.
• The ERA and the HHRA were prepared to evaluate the post-dredging conditions. Surface water is not evaluated in the ERA or HHRA because PCBs were not detected in this medium.

• In August and September of 2004, sampling activities focused on the collection of physical, chemical, and biological samples. The contaminant of potential concern at this site is PCBs. The environmental media sampled for PCB analysis included sediment, surface water, resident fish, caged fish, and semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs).

• Samples were collected by the Response Early Action Contract personnel in 2002. Based on the results of the 2001 comprehensive sampling event, five areas of concern were identified. The purpose of the 2002 sampling event was to evaluate the extent of horizontal and vertical contamination in each of these five areas.

• In 2001, confirmation sampling was completed to verify that the 10-ppm average PCB concentration goal for the harbor and river was met.

• Approximately 141,000 cubic yards of PCB contaminated sediments have been removed from the river and harbor from 1994 through 2000.
• The dredging of contaminated sediments was completed at the end of 2000. Final dredging was done by divers with hydraulic hoses to minimize resuspension of PCBs and to ensure a clean substrate when completed.
• This Superfund action was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Emergency Response Branch. Final work is underway, based on sampling at the end of the 2000 dredging season.

• The Manistique River was sampled as part of the tributary monitoring portion of the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study. Results are available for the organic pollutants and metals that were part of the mass balance sampling effort.
• Manistique Wastewater Treatment Plant has made improvements to its system toward elimination of combined sewer overflows. This work is essentially complete, with only one CSO yet to close, which is rarely active.
• The PAC has completed or supported a number of local activities noted in the 1996 Remedial Action Plan. These include improved access to the river and improvements to the boardwalk along the river in town.

Considerable progress has been made in restoring beneficial uses in the AoC. In the spring of 1993, U.S. EPA notified several Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) regarding the cleanup of the PCB-contaminated sediments in the river and harbor. In a cooperative effort, the EPA and some of the PRPs conducted extensive testing and engineering studies to evaluate effective and feasible remedial alternatives. In the fall of 1995, the EPA performed a small-scale dredging demonstration project during which it tested innovative dredging and treatment technologies using diver-assisted hydraulic dredging in the North Bay area. Approximately 10,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments were removed, dewatered and transported to an approved disposal site. In 1996, the EPA proposed that it had developed innovative dredging and treatment technologies that could result in an environmentally sound dredging project that would remove PCB contamination from the AoC. Dredging officially began in 1996, however, was unexpectedly slowed due to rock and wood debris at the bottom of the harbor. The difficulty in dredging this hard material significantly slowed the entire process.

Current Projects and Outlook

Currently, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), U.S, EPA, and the PAC are working together to evaluate the status of the BUIs towards delisting.

RAP-Related Publications

Other publications related to the RAP can be obtained by contacting the individuals listed in the Manistique River AoC Contacts section below.

Community/Local RAP Group Involvement 

Partners and Stakeholders

• Lake Michigan Forum 
• Manistique River Public Advisory Council
• Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 
• U.S. EPA – Great Lakes National Program Office
• U.S. EPA Superfund

Manistique River AoC Contacts

U.S. EPA RAP Liaison:
Tony Kizlauskas
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd. (G-9J)
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Tel:  (312) 353-8773
Email: kizlauskas.anthony@epa.gov

U.S. EPA Superfund Contact:
Jena Sleboda Braun
Remedial Project Manager, Superfund Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd. (SR-6J)
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Tel:  (312) 353-1263
Email: sleboda.jena@epa.gov

State RAP Contact:
Julie Sims
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality – Water Bureau
525 W. Allegan Street
P.O. Box 30273
Lansing, MI 48909-7773
Tel:  (517) 373-2732
Fax: (517) 335-4381
Email: simsj@michigan.gov

Manistique River Public Advisory Council:
Merilee Blowers, Chair
453 S. Mackinac
Manistique, MI 48954
Tel:  (906) 341-4223
Fax: (906) 341-4221
Email: mblowers@ma.kruger.com