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Ottawa River, Ohio Great Lakes Legacy Act Project area

Fact Sheets

Dredging Begins on Ottawa River Sediment Cleanup Project, May 2010 (PDF 128 Kb, 2 pages)

Great Lakes Legacy Act Project to Remove Polluted Sediment, January 2010 (PDF 132 Kb, 2 pages)

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News Release

Great Lakes Legacy Act Ottawa River Cleanup Underway No. 09-OPA242 Release date: 12/22/2009

Ottawa River will be cleaner thanks to Great Lakes Legacy Act, No. 09-OPA010 Release date: 01/29/2009

Ottawa River, Ohio

Authorized Legacy Act Project Site

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Dredging Begins on Ottawa River Sediment Cleanup Project

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office and several local partners have begun dredging contaminated sediment from 5 1/2 miles of the Ottawa River in Toledo, Ohio. This follows the cleanup of Sibley Creek that began in December 2009 and was completed this April.

The Great Lakes Legacy Act Ottawa River project calls for the removal of 250,000 cubic yards of sediment (mud) contaminated with heavy metals, PCBs and PAHs (polychlorinated biphenyls and polyaromatic hydrocarbons). About 10,000 cubic yards have been removed from Sibley Creek and another 240,000 cubic yards will be removed from the Ottawa River. The sediment from the river will be hydraulically dredged and transported through a pipeline to the nearby Hoffman Road Landfill. Some “hot spots” in the river containing excessive levels of PCBs exist. Therefore, about 7,000 cubic yards of sediment will be dredged and taken to a specially licensed facility for disposal. The project is expected to be completed this fall or early winter.

For more information on the project: Scott Cieniawski, U.S. EPA Region 5, 312-353-8547, cieniawski.scott@epa.gov.