&EFA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Introducing Brenda Jones
EPA has named Brenda R. Jones as
the new remedial project manager or
RPM for the Torch Lake Superfund
site. Brenda succeeds Steve Padovani
as the EPA overseer for the cleanup
and restoration project. Steve was
promoted to management at EPA's
Region 5 office in Chicago. Brenda is
a veteran EPA employee who previ-
ously did ecological risk assessments
on Superfund sites. An ecological
risk assessment studies how pollution
will affect plants and animals.
Brenda is an expert on aquatic ecol-
ogy. She holds a bachelor of science
degree in biology from Florida State
University and a master of arts degree
in zoology from Southern Illinois
University. She worked for an EPA
contractor for eight years before join-
ing the Agency in 1994. Brenda has
worked on several Torch Lake issues
since 2000 so she's a natural replace-
ment for Steve.
Brenda is an avid nature photogra-
pher. She's photographed many parts
of the country but thinks the U.P
is one of the prettiest areas in the
Midwest. The photos in this fact sheet
were shot by Brenda.
Contact us
For more information you can contact
these EPA representatives:
Brenda Jones
Remedial Project Manager
(312)886-7188
jones.brenda@epa.gov
(Additional contact information continues
on page 3.)
Cleanup Projects Creating
New Plant and Wildlife Areas
Torch Lake River Superfund Site
Houghton County, Michigan
February 2004
These photographs show before and after scenes at the Boston Pond cleanup area.
Before the 2003 restoration, Boston Pond was polluted by copper production waste
called stamp sand. Very little was growing or living on the stamp sand. The contamina-
tion was covered with dirt and seeded with vegetation. Scientists expect the plants will
spread and thicken, and birds and small animals will move in.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup and restoration efforts on the
Torch Lake Superfund site made excellent progress in 2003. Refuse from cop-
per production activities was covered by dirt caps, and erosion protection was
installed in the cleanup areas of Calumet Lake, Boston Pond, Michigan Smelter
and nearly half of Isle Royale. Also in 2003, EPA enlisted the help of science
teachers and students from four area high schools to help monitor plants and
wildlife as the cleanup areas recover from 70 years of copper mine pollution.
The students are using the sampling to enrich their science curricula. The part-
nership with the schools is believed to be the first time EPA involved students
to do follow-up monitoring on a Superfund site. In addition, EPA began testing
various kinds of grasses and trees on isolated Gull Island to see which species
would take hold and cover the polluted ground. Early results from Gull Island
were encouraging but the real test will be to see how many plants and trees sur-
vive this winter.
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Scenic Torch Lake area marred by copper waste
The Torch Lake Superfund site is the name given to an area
of Michigan's Upper Peninsula that contains several lakes
and ponds as well as portions of Lake Superior contaminated
by copper production activities. The site covers a large part
of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Houghton Count (see map on
page 5). Copper production from the 1890s until 1969 pro-
duced waste such as stamp sand and slag that contaminated
lake sediment (bottom mud) and shorelines. About 200 mil-
lion tons of copper tailings, for example, were dumped into
Torch Lake alone, filling nearly 20 percent of the lake. The
stamp sand was dredged in the early 1900s to reclaim copper,
but the waste from that process was dumped back into the
lake or on the shore. Few plants or animals grow or live on
the bare stamp sand.
EPA began cleaning up the area in 1991 when the Agency
removed dozens of buried and sunken barrels containing
toxic waste. In the 1990s the region was included on EPA's
National Priorities List of Superfund sites. EPA decided the
biggest threat to the environment was the copper waste on
land, which posed the danger of eroding into the lakes and
ponds and harming the small animals that live in the sedi-
ment. These animals, such as mussels and tiny insects, serve
as food for fish and wildlife. In 1999 EPA began work on
cleaning and restoring 800 acres of these stamp sand and slag
areas. This fact sheet is meant to update area residents on
the cleanup work the last two years and preview upcoming
projects.
Restoration makes good progress in 2002,2003
The 2002 cleanup season
saw the completion of the
Mason sand area. About
25 acres leftover from the
2001 cleanup were cov-
ered with clean sandy soil
and then seeded. The rest
of the 2002 season focused
on a total of 128 acres in
the Point Mills area, locat-
ed on the northwest shore-
line of Portage Lake, and
the Dollar Bay area, next
to the village of Dollar
Bay. The Dollar Bay sites
were completed in 2002
while the Point Mills areas
were finished in 2003.
In the 2003 cleanup
season, EPA completed
work on the Calumet
Lake, Boston Pond, and
An environmental technician checks
location with a satellite position-
finder on the Hubbell/Tamarack
City cleanup area. The area is one
of the stamp sand sections that has
been covered and restored with veg-
etation. Scientists found the ground
teeming with plants and wildlife.
EPA taking Hubbell/Tamarack City acres off
Superfund list
EPA and Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality previously declared that 114 acres of the Torch
Lake site were clean and took those acres off the
Superfund list. The two agencies are now in the process
of declaring another 145 acres of the Hubbell/Tamarack
City cleanup area as completed. EPA is proceeding
with taking the Hubbell/Tamarack City portion of
the site off the Superfund list. A notice of the inten-
tion to delist this portion of the site was published in
the Mining Gazette on Jan. 27, 2004, as well as in the
Federal Register. If residents want to make a comment
about that process they can submit their written com-
ments to one of the EPA employees listed on the front.
Comments must be postmarked no later than Feb. 25,
2004, in order to be considered.
Michigan Smelter sites and 40 percent of the Isle Royale
sand area. Calumet Lake is located on the north side of
Calumet, while Boston Pond sits west of U.S. 41 near the
Houghton County Airport. Michigan Smelter is about a
mile west of the U.S. 41 lift bridge on Canal Road while Isle
Royale sits a mile east of Michigan Technological University
on U.S. 41.
Cleanup activities at all these sites included:
• D Leveling and grading the areas to be covered;
• D Constructing waterways and water diversions;
• D Creating access roads;
• D Covering the stamp sand with 6 inches of sandy dirt
and seeding;
• D Putting large rocks or rip rap on shorelines for erosion
protection; and
• D Installing chain link fences for site security where
necessary.
Planned activities for 2004 include finishing the work on
Isle Royale. EPA is considering other areas within the Torch
Lake site for restoration but has not yet made any decisions.
Cleanup activities create new habitats
The focus of EPA's cleanup was always protecting the water
resources (the tiny mud-dwelling animals, fish and wildlife)
from stamp-sand erosion on the shoreline. But the act of
covering and seeding the contaminated ground also earned a
bonus outcome by creating new habitats for birds, small ani-
mals and plants. A habitat is where plants and animals can
live and reproduce.
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In 2002 EPA formed a team of scientists from EPA and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to study what effect the cleanup
was having on five stamp sand areas. One of the five areas
studied, the stamp sand in Gay, Mich., will not be covered
and restored under the EPA project. The scientists will use
the Gay area as a "control" or comparison point with the
other sites.
The five areas were surveyed for signs of birds, plants
and wildlife in 2002 and will be monitored in the future.
The remaining four areas are Point Mills, Lake Linden,
Hubbell/Tamarack City and Mason. The Point Mills location
was checked just before it was capped in late 2002. When
surveys are done in later years this will be the one area
where EPA has data from both before and after the cleanup.
The Lake Linden area was covered in 1999, the Hubbell/
Tamarack City site was covered in 2000, while the Mason
area was covered in 2001 and finished in 2002.
The scientists found plenty of life on the restored areas.
Small mammals such as chipmunks, voles and mice were
live-trapped on the cleanup sections, while no animals were
caught on uncovered stamp sand. Anywhere from 11 to 19
Contact us (continues from page 1)
Dave Novak
Community Involvement Coordinator
(312)886-7478
novak.dave@epa.gov
Call toll-free: (800) 621-8431,
weekdays, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
different bird species were also observed in the restored sec-
tions. The amount of plant life especially pleased the scien-
tists. Only six or seven species were planted on top of the
soil coverings, but the survey identified 76 different plant
species growing there, which had evidently spread from near-
by areas. Vegetation covered an average of two-thirds of the
restored areas compared with the uncovered sections where
very few plants had taken root. This indicated that not only is
the cleanup process successful, but also that the stamp sand is
being turned from barren, lifeless spots into thriving habitats
for wildlife and birds.
Beach grass takes hold in an experimental plot on Gull Island. Environmentalists could not cover copper slag with a layer of dirt so
they are trying to find out what types of plants and trees will grow directly in stamp sand.
Dive-bombing gulls fail to stop planting
The Gull Island cleanup project offered several challeng-
es. The 7-acre island is in Torch Lake off the Tamarack
City point and becomes home to hundreds of gulls and
Canada geese that nest there each spring. Local residents
complained stamp sand was blowing off the island into
the lake. EPA decided it wasn't safe or practical to move
heavy equipment to the isolated island. The equipment
would have been needed to cap the waste with a layer of
dirt. Instead, the Agency is testing several plant species
to see which ones will grow in the copper slag. Last May
employees from EPA, Natural Resources Conservation
Service and Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality planted 16,000 grass and tree seeds and seedlings.
The workers had to brave diving gulls that were protect-
ing their territories. Officials inspected the plants last
October and were pleased with the results. More than
95 percent of the beach grass seedlings were growing
and spreading while 75 percent of the tree saplings were
still alive. On the down side, none of the seeds that were
planted sprouted, either because the birds ate them or the
seeds just couldn't grow. Officials are hoping the plant
and tree seedlings survive the winter. If they do, EPA
may follow up with more plantings.
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Students watch over restored stamp sand
In August and September 2003, EPA began a unique pro-
gram for Superfund sites. The Agency along with U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service trained four high school biology
and natural science teachers to perform long-term moni-
toring of soil, plants and birds on Torch Lake areas that
have been covered and restored. The teachers were from
Dollar Bay, Chassell, Hancock and Lake Linden-Hubbell
high schools. Each school was assigned a different
cleanup area to survey. The teachers worked the moni-
toring into their class routines and trained their students
to perform surveys of soil fertility, plant growth and bird
populations. Animal life won't be measured because traps
would have to be checked each day. The teachers have
committed to performing the study in late summer for the
next three years. The students' work is a continuation of
the habitat study begun by the government in 2002.
EPA headquarters in Washington, B.C., found the project
so interesting that it sent a film crew to videotape the
students collecting data last September. The video will be
released in spring 2004 and at the time of release can be
ordered free from the Web pages: http://www.ert.org or
http:www.ertvideo.org.
Teachers said their students were thrilled by the project
because their data collection would actually be used by
EPA. Each school will perform some community out-
reach activities to publicize the survey findings. EPA sci-
entists are enthusiastic about the work because it will give
the Agency a total of five years of data on the progress of
the stamp sand cleanup.
High school science teachers learn how to take soil and plant samples on a stamp sand area that has been covered and
restored. The teachers will train their students to perform long-term monitoring of the Superfund site for EPA.
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Torch Lake Site Key
Site Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Site Name
Calumet
Boston Pond
North Entry
Baltic/Atlantic Stamp Mills
Adventure/Trimountain/
Champion Stamp Mills
Michigan Smelter
Quincy Smelter
Isle Royale Sands
Dollar Bay
Gross Point/Point Mills
Mason Sands
Tamarack/Hubbell* *
Lake Linden*
Construction Status
Complete
Complete
Complete
40% Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
* Delisted from National Priorities List
** Currently in process of delisting from National Priorities List
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&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 5
Office of Public Affairs (P-19J)
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
FIRST CLASS
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
TORCH LAKE SUPERFUND SITE:
Cleanup Projects Creating New Plant and Wildlife Areas
This fact sheet is printed on paper made of recycled fibers.
Cleanup Progressing Nicely
at Stamp Sand Sites
Wildlife and plants return to Torch Lake
copper waste sections
Students help EPA monitor restored areas
(Details inside)
EPA planning 2004 meeting
EPA, MDEQ and NRCS plan to meet
with area residents sometime in the
late spring or early summer. We will
meet and discuss the Torch Lake
project and the various locations
where work has been taking place.
Postcards announcing the meeting
will be sent to our regular mailing
list, and ads will be placed in the
Daily Mining Gazette.
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