FOX RIVER
Spring 2009
Vol. 12, No. 1
Update from the Lower Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership
Little Lake Butte des Morts Cleanup Enters Final Season
By Susan Pastor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Little Lake Butte des Morts cleanup will
near completion as sand covers and caps are
placed near Strobe Island this spring.
In-water work started Monday, April 13.
Contractors for WTMI and Glatfelter
are using sand to cover about 6.5 acres of
sediment and a rock/gravel, or armored, cap
over another 31 acres in the bottom of the
lake. Extra care will be taken to ensure that
eagles nesting in the area are not disturbed.
The heavier armored cap would be used
in areas that have higher levels of PCBs.
The sand and rock will be laid using two
"spreaders" parked in the lake. Two floating
pipelines near Butte des Morts Beach Road,
where one of the project's staging areas is
located, will bring the material to the site.
The cover and cap work will start south of the
island and move north until it is completed in
late June.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOLDT TEAM
Special equipment is used to spread a layer of stones in the bottom of Little
Lake Butte des Morts, as part of the cleanup.
"We are optimistic that the Little Lake Butte des
Morts cleanup will be finished in June," said U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Remedial Project
Manager Jim Hahnenberg.
Once the cleanup is done and the equipment is
removed from the water, the staging areas will be
restored to their original conditions by the end of the
year. In addition to the Butte des Morts Beach Road
area, there is another located on North Lake Street.
Regular monitoring will follow the cleanup to
document improvements in the surface water and fish
and to ensure that the covers and caps are working
(see related article on Page 6).
Last fall, dredging in the lake was completed with
370,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment taken
out of the lake. "This would be equal to a 20-story -
high tower covering an area about the size of a
football field," Hahnenberg explained. "That is a lot
of sediment."
It was dried just south of state Route 441 on the
west side of the lake and trucked to landfills that are
licensed to accept hazardous waste. Sediment with
lower levels of PCBs was taken to a facility in Chilton
while highly contaminated sediment was transported
to a landfill near Detroit.
Further information on the project can be found at
www.littlelakecleanup.com.
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Spring 2009
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Dredging Near Green Bay Starts This Spring
By Susan Pastor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Three dredges are expected to be in the Lower Fox
River removing PCB-contaminated sediment in Green
Bay this spring.
At press time, work was supposed to begin as early
as Monday, April 27, weather permitting. About
6,000 cubic yards of sediment will be removed daily.
One 12-inch and two 8-inch hydraulic dredges are
scheduled to work 24 hours per day, five days a week.
"Each cubic yard of sediment will measure three
by three by three feet, which is about the size of a
small refrigerator," according to U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Remedial Project Manager.
Dredging will be done near the shoreline at the
former "Shell property" staging area, 1611 State St.
Dredging using the 8-inch dredges will later move
about 10 miles upstream, just south of Little Rapids.
At the same time, the large dredge will operate
downstream from DePere doing production from
DePere to Green Bay. Production dredging here
will involve dredging areas having thicker zones of
contaminated sediment which will allow removal of
more sediment in a given day. Sediment upstream
of DePere is thinner so dredging in those areas is
typically slower. This year, except for sediment near
the Shell property, dredged sediment will contain
levels of PCBs less than the 50 parts per million
cutoff.
"Sediment with PCB levels over 50 ppm is considered
to be highly contaminated and must be disposed
of at a licensed facility out of state," Hahnenberg
continued. "Landfills in Wisconsin can only accept
waste that is under 50. Most of the sediment dredged
this year will have PCB levels less than 50."
Currently, the plans are to truck sediment with
PCBs lower than 50 ppm about 33 to 37 miles
away, depending on the route, to the Veolia Hickory
Meadows Landfill in Chilton. Appleton Papers Inc.,
Georgia-Pacific and NCR Corp., the companies doing
the cleanup, have been discussing and coordinating
routes with the local communities. For 2009, PCBs
PHOTO COURTESY OF TETRATECH
Plate and frame presses are used to squeeze water out of sediment
dredged from the Lower Fox River.
over 50 ppm will most likely be transported to Wayne
Disposal near Detroit.
All dredged sediment will be pumped into the
dewatering facility on State Street via a pipeline.
There, the water will be squeezed out of the sediment
by equipment called a plate and frame press. The
remaining dried sediment will be loaded on a truck to
be disposed of.
Work is expected to continue through mid-November.
While capping and sand covers will be done in 2010
and beyond, only dredging will occur this year.
"Based on our experience with previous dredging
projects on the Lower Fox River, weather does
not allow operations to continue much past early
November," Hahnenberg said. "Cold temperatures
and freezing conditions usually make operation
unsafe. If we can meet our production goals, however,
we will have a good start on addressing a substantial
portion of the contaminated areas this year. We expect
to complete the entire project around 2017."
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Spring 2009
FOX RIVER CURRENT
EPA Review Gives
Inconclusive Results
By Susan Pastor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
A recent review of the Lower Fox River project was
unable to determine if current cleanup measures are
effective.
It isn't possible to make a formal determination at
this time because the cleanup is still in progress,
according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Remedial Project Manager Jim Hahnenberg.
This particular review, which is required by law, calls
for Superfund projects to be looked at every five
years even where cleanup activity is still underway or
where some levels of contaminants were left behind
limiting a site's use. Hahnenberg, who led the review,
said it was inconclusive because the cleanup has not
yet been completed.
"We wanted to know if the cleanup is being protective
or not," he explained. "Even though we're not done
yet, this review still gave us a good snapshot of the
conditions at the site with an eye on protection."
The review's report, which was finalized in early
April, includes all reaches of the Lower Fox River
and Green Bay. By law, the 2004 construction startup
in Little Lake Butte des Morts (also referred to as
Operable Unit 1) started the five-year review cycle.
Since October 2008, Hahnenberg did a physical site
inspection, looked at the information that has been
gathered so far, re-evaluated current conditions, and
made some general observations. To accomplish this,
he looked at project files, any changes in surrounding
land use, new field work and the history of local
public participation.
"We really didn't discover anything we didn't already
know," he said. "The purpose of these reviews is to
ensure that a site's conditions haven't substantially
changed, that the original risk assumptions are still
valid, and that the cleanup is safe and continues to
protect people and the environment. Because the
cleanup is not completed, we can't draw any solid
conclusions yet," Hahnenberg stated.
^^^^^^—^^^^^^— See EPA Review, Page 7
9>
Out and About...
By Susan Pastor, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
The Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership
is made up of U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Oneida Tribe of Indians of
Wisconsin and Menominee Indian Tribe
of Wisconsin. These partners, as well as
other supporting agencies, regularly provide
speakers to organizations in the Fox Valley
area. The following people recently made
presentations:
February
* Jim Hahnenberg, EPA: Fifth International
Conference of Remediation of Contaminated
Sediments, Jacksonville, FL; Little Lake
Butte des Morts cleanup.
* Jim Hahnenberg and Susan Pastor, EPA:
Foth's Einstein Science Expo booth, Green
Bay; Lower Fox River cleanup, non-point
source water pollution and recycling.
March
* Jennifer Hill-Kelley and Betsy Galbraith,
Oneida Tribe, and Jonathan Pyatskowit,
Menominee Tribe: Department of Interior
Natural Resource Damage Assessment and
Restoration National Workshop, Phoenix;
projects to restore tribal fisheries on the
Oneida and Menominee reservations.
April
* Jim Hahnenberg, EPA: Contaminated
Sediment Management Symposium,
Alexandria, VA; general Lower Fox River
cleanup.
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Spring 2009
FOX RIVER CURRENT
The Fox River Current is featuring promising natural resource damage assessment projects in and near the
Lower Fox River.
Spotlight On:
Northern Pike Habitat Restoration Project in the
Suamico/Little Suamico Watershed
By Colette Charbonneau, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The northern pike is Wisconsin's second
largest predator fish and is an important part of
the Green Bay ecosystem and fish community.
The adult fish live in the bay until the ice
begins to break up in the spring. In late March
to early April the fish migrate upstream,
sometimes several miles inland, in small
permanent and intermittent (periodic flow)
streams and ditches into wetlands where they
spawn. Northern pike have become scarce
in the bay due to wetland habitat loss and
restriction of passage from the bay up into any
remaining spawning marshes.
To help restore the population of northern pike
in the bay, the Fox River/Green Bay Natural
Resource Trustee Council has supported the
West Shore Northern Pike Habitat Restoration
Project with natural resource damage
assessment restoration settlement funds. "The
goal of this project is to establish vegetated
riparian buffers on intermittent and perennial
streams in the Suamico/Little Suamico
watershed that are considered potential
production areas for the northern pike," stated
Jim Jolly, Program Manager, Brown County
Land Conservation Department. "This will improve
fish access to upstream spawning and rearing habitat
sites for adult and young fish. We will also restore and
protect spawning wetlands that are contiguous with the
streams that are migration routes for the fish."
Flooded wetlands with grasses, sedges, rushes, or
aquatic plants are prime spawning habitat for northern
pike. (Sedges and rushes are rooted, grasslike wetland
PHOTO COURTESY OF BROWN COUNTY LAND CONSERVATION DEFT.
Before restoration work was done, the Geisen site did not allow northern pike
to easily swim upstream and spawn.
plants that grow up out of the water.) Adult fish deposit
eggs on vegetation to which they adhere. The adult
fish then move back into the bay. The eggs hatch in 12
to 14 days and the fry (young fish) begin feeding on
zooplankton (microscopic aquatic animals) found in the
wetlands. As the young pike grow larger they begin
to feed on sucker fry that have also hatched in the
See Spotlight, Page 5
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Spring 2009
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Spotlight^row Page 4
spawning wetlands. As spring waters recede out of the
wetlands the young pike hitch a ride with the current to
Green Bay where they grow to adults.
The Suamico/Little Suamico River watershed has some
of the most productive wetlands remaining in the Great
Lakes system, however, the watershed is subject to
high development pressures associated with residential,
commercial and industrial expansion from the Fox
River Valley and Green Bay. The Brown County Land
Conservation Department is working with landowners
in the watershed to target habitat restoration in specific
stream segments that northern pike are currently
using for migration routes and spawning areas. Six
properties had habitat restoration work completed
in 2008 with 12 more properties enrolled in the
program for future work. Approximately 5.8 acres
of vegetated riverbank buffers were established. In
addition, 20 acres of spawning wetland was restored into
Class 1 habitat based on the Northern Pike Spawning
and Rearing Tributary Stream Classification System
developed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources. Class 1 means this habitat is among
the best in the state.
Increasing wetlands and vegetated buffer strips
along streams and ditches is also beneficial to
the water quality of Green Bay. The additional
areas covered with vegetation helps to filter out
sediment, nutrients and pesticides running off
the landscape into the waters of the bay.
"Numerous conservation groups have donated
monies to the project over the past year to help
landowners meet any out of pocket costs they
might incur by participating in the program.
Groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Trout
Unlimited, Fisheries Forever, Southern Brown
County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League,
Brown County Conservation Alliance and the
Fish and Wildlife Service are all supporting
the project," acknowledged Jolly. The project
also received a National Fish and Wildlife
Association grant which was secured in part by
Congressman Steve Kagen (see Summer 2007
Fox River Current article).
The Brown County Land Conservation Department is
continuing to take applications from landowners within
the Suamico and Little Suamico River watersheds on
the west shore of Green Bay. Landowners who would
like to find out more about the restoration project and
see if their land might be eligible can contact either
Jim Jolly or Larry Kriese at the Land Conservation
Department at 920-391-4620.
The natural resource trustees are comprised of
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Oneida Tribe of Indians of
Wisconsin, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin,
Michigan Attorney General, Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality, Michigan Department
of Natural Resources and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
For further information on NRDA projects, contact
Trustee Council Coordinator Colette Charbonneau,
FWS, at Colette_Charbonneau@fws.gov or at
920-866-1726.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BROWN COUNTY LAND CONSERVATION DEFT.
Wetlands at the Geisen site are now cleared and restored, allowing easy
access for northern pike to swim upstream and spawn.
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Spring 2009
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Agencies Review River Monitoring Plan
By Susan Pastor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources are reviewing a
plan developed by three paper companies. Their plan
will document progress made in the four segments
of the Lower Fox River and Green Bay after they are
cleaned up.
The segments, also referred to as operable units, will
have their own schedule depending on when work is
completed. This "long-term" monitoring will likely
begin within three years of completion. Since Little
Lake Butte des Morts will be cleaned up first, it will
be monitored first. EPA and Wisconsin DNR will
oversee the work.
The final plan will cover fish and surface water
sampling, according to EPA Remedial Project
Manager Jim Hahnenberg.
Specific types offish will be caught and sampled,
as outlined in the plan. "It will detail the species
and size of the fish as well as where they will be
collected," Hahnenberg said. "We will try to catch as
many fish as we can, take samples and analyze them.
For example, in walleye, we would analyze them for
PCBs."
Various techniques are used to collect fish—large nets
dropped into or dragged across the water, traditional
hook and line fishing, and stunning devices.
Monitoring will continue as long as there is a concern
about contamination, according to Hahnenberg.
"EPA and Wisconsin DNR will get reports with the
environmental results, such as reduction of PCBs in
fish," he stated. "The reports will be done at least
every five years after our initial sampling efforts."
Hahnenberg said PCBs in fish should be lower
as time goes by. "We expect to see a decrease in
concentrations of PCBs so, over time, we will reduce
fish consumption advisories," he explained. "We
are evaluating fish for human health and ecological
exposures, such as other types of animals and birds
that eat fish."
The hope is that the monthly fish meal that is currently
advised could turn into one weekly fish meal and
eventually unlimited fish consumption.
Although contractors for Appleton Papers Inc.,
Georgia-Pacific and NCR Corp. will be putting the
$6 million plan into action, EPA and Wisconsin DNR
will determine if fish consumption advisories can be
reduced. "The paper companies are responsible for
the sampling program so we can see if we are making
progress," Hahnenberg added.
"The cost includes all types of monitoring—fish, caps
and surface water," Hahnenberg continued. "The
estimated cost is $6 million, but that could change
to a higher figure. Initial cost estimates are typically
'rough.'"
The monitoring program also includes sampling
surface water. To do this, water will be collected in a
See Agencies Review, Page 7
Fish will be caught, grouped by species, sampled and analyzed for
contaminants as part of a long-term monitoring plan.
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Spring 2009
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Agencies Review from Page 6
EPA Review from Page 3
planned area in the river. There will be one location,
or "station," per river segment with the exception of
operable unit 2 from Appleton to Little Rapids. This
will have three stations because it is 22 miles long
while the others are six to seven miles.
After water samples are taken, they will be sent to a
lab for analysis. Very low concentrations (such as
parts per trillion) will be used because concentrations
that may present an environmental risk or concern
are in the low parts per trillion range. Generally,
concentrations of any PCBs, if they are present in
surface water, are usually in this range. Like in fish,
the agencies will be looking for a reduction in PCBs
in surface water.
When the monitoring plan is finalized this summer,
it will be available at www.epa.gov/region5/sites/
foxriver and at the information repositories listed
below.
Although the next formal review isn't due until 2014,
Hahnenberg said assessments will be ongoing as the
cleanup progresses. "We really won't know for sure
if our cleanup has been effective until we finish our
long-term monitoring in 2017," he continued.
Because the Little Lake Butte des Morts cleanup
will be done this summer, Hahnenberg said EPA is
considering doing a supplemental review next year.
That will help determine if goals detailed in EPA's
2008 decision document, called the amended record
of decision, are met.
"We'll continue to do those as we proceed down
the river," Hahnenberg concluded. "We don't have
to wait five years to review our work. If we have
information before then regarding the effectiveness of
our cleanup, we can take a look at it sooner."
The five-year review report is available at the
information repositories listed below and at
www.epa.gov/region5/sites/foxriver.
Information Available at Local Libraries
The Intergovernmental Partners invite the public to review technical reports, fact sheets and other documents
related to the Lower Fox River cleanup at information repositories set up in the reference sections of the local
libraries listed below. Information repositories at the public libraries in De Pere, Kaukauna, Little Chute,
Neenah and Wrightstown have been discontinued. Binders containing fact sheets and newsletters, however, are
being maintained at these locations as well as at the following repositories:
Appleton Public Library, 225 N Oneida St.,
Appleton, Wis.; 920-832-6170
Brown County Library, 515 Pine St.,
Green Bay, Wis.; 920-448-4381, Ext. 394
Door County Library, 107 S. Fourth Ave.,
Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; 920-743-6578
Oneida Community Library, 201 Elm St.,
Oneida, Wis.; 920-869-2210
Oshkosh Public Library, 106 Washington
Ave., Oshkosh, Wis.; 920-236-5205
Check out these Web sites:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/wm/foxriver/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/foxriver
http://contaminants.fws.gov/issues/restoration.cfm
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/nrda/index.html
An administrative record, which contains detailed information upon which the selection of the final site
cleanup plan was based, is also available for review at two DNR offices: 801E. Walnut St., Green Bay, Wis.
and 101 S. Webster St., 3rd Floor, Madison, Wis. An administrative record is also available at the EPA
Record Center, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., 7th Floor, Chicago, III.
7
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 5
Superfund Division (SI-7J)
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Reproduced on Recycled Paper
I
\
STOIC"
Prepared by the Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, and National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. Supporting agencies include Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, U.S. Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by all members of
the Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership.
INSIDE
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Little Lake Butte des Morts Cleanup Enters Final Season
Dredging Near Green Bay Starts This Spring
EPA Review Gives Inconclusive Results
Out and About. . .
Spotlight On: Northern Pike Habitat Restoration Project
Agencies Review River Monitoring Plan
Information Repository Locations
Web Site Addresses
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2
3
3
4
6
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Fox River Current is published tri-annually by
the Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership.
Its purpose is to provide up-to-date information
about cleanup and restoration efforts on
the Lower Fox River. Call Susan Pastor at
312-353-1325 or 800-621-8431 Ext. 31325,
weekdays, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. to request a
subscription or alternative format. Feedback
on articles and ideas for future issues are
welcome. Send comments to Susan Pastor,
EPA Superfund Division (SI-7J), 77 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604 or e-mail
pastor, susan@epa.gov.
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