FOX RIVER
Summer 2007
Vol. 10, No. 2
Update from the Lower Fox River Intergovernmental Partnership
EPA, DNR to Change 2003 Cleanup Plan
By Susan Pastor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
More capping and less dredging in the Lower Fox
River is the new cleanup approach U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and Wisconsin Department of Natu-
ral Resources were finalizing at press time. This plan
was scheduled for release to the public by July.
Referred to as the amended record of decision, the plan
replaces the original one approved by the agencies in
2003. Dredging will still be used to clean up PCB-
contaminated sediment in about half of the areas in the
river from Appleton to Green Bay. However, capping
alone and capping combined with dredging or sand
covers will allow the cleanup to be completed where
dredging by itself would not be possible or practical.
"Engineered caps," which are covers placed over sedi-
ment, could be used by themselves or with dredging if
dredging alone proved to be insufficient. "They could
be anywhere from 13 to 33 inches thick," said EPA
Remedial Project Manager Jim Hahnenberg. "These
caps would be a combination of 6 to 15 inches of clean
sand and 7 to 18 inches of large stones." Caps within
the navigational channel will be at least 33 inches thick
while caps outside the channel will be closer to 13
inches thick.
According to EPA and DNR, these engineered caps can
be used near utilities, in areas where dredging would
damage riverbanks, in areas with lower PCB levels, in
areas more prone to scour, in the navigational channel
from DePere to Green Bay, and in places where con-
taminated sediment is deeply buried.
Because capping would leave some of the contami-
nated sediment in place in some areas, the amended
decision includes two main features that are designed
to ensure that capping would protect the environment
as well as dredging in the long term.
First, the caps will be designed to be very durable over
time including during major floods, ice scour and boat
propeller wash. Second, the new plan includes specific
requirements for monitoring and maintaining any caps
that are installed to ensure they remain in place and
continue to be effective in containing PCBs.
All caps would be monitored on a regular basis or after
natural or man-induced events take place that could
possibly damage the caps. This monitoring will ensure
that they stay intact while maintaining their ability to
contain PCBs.
See EPA, DNR to Change Page 3
r
13 inches
1
Water - minimum:
^ Gravel Layer (over-placement allowance) - 3 in.
ivel Erosion Protection Layer - 4 in. H
Sand Layer - 3 in.
Sand Chemical Isolation Layer - 3 in.
Existing Sediment
3-3 ft. sediment layer with PCBs less than 10 ppm|
COURTESY OF SHAW ENVIRONMENTAL
This diagram shows a 13-inch gravel armored cap. This is one of sev-
eral cap designs that could be used in the Lower Fox River cleanup.
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Summer 2007
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Cleanup Begins at DePere Dam, Continues in
Little Lake Butte Des Morts This Summer
By Greg Swanson, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Cleanup of highly contaminated sediment in the area
of the Lower Fox River just below the DePere Dam
began this spring.
The cleanup, which will involve the removal of about
150,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment,
was announced by Gov. Jim Doyle, Wisconsin De-
partment of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Has-
sett, state and local government officials and paper
company representatives on Friday, April 20.
"Wisconsin is home to some of the most beautiful
lakes, streams and scenery in the world," the governor
said. "We've worked hard to make sure this project
is done right and as quickly as possible so that this
region - and all of Wisconsin - will see the economic
growth that a clean Fox River will bring."
NCR Corp. and U.S. Paper Mills signed a legal agree-
ment last year to design and implement the cleanup of
the "hotspot" near the DePere Dam. The cleanup level
that DNR and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
is looking for is 1 part per million. The area to be
cleaned up near the dam has PCBs as high as 3,000
ppm. Although this area contains the highest levels of
PCBs in the river, it represents only about 2 percent
of the contaminated sediment that needs to be cleaned
up, but nearly 10 percent of the total PCB "mass."
DNR representatives were on hand to explain the
technical details of the project at a public informa-
tion meeting in DePere on Wednesday, May 9. Held
by both paper companies, the meeting focused on the
schedule, dredging and dewatering processes, water
treatment, transportation and disposal. Additional
information on this project can be found online at
http://foxriverphasel .com.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAW ENVIRONMENTAL
Aerial view of Lower Fox River dredging area just below the
DePere Dam.
Upriver in Little Lake Butte des Morts, the fourth
season of cleanup work started in early April. This
season, approximately 100,000 cubic yards of con-
taminated sediment will be dredged and sand will be
placed in certain areas where dredging has already
been completed. Two dredges will be operating in
several different locations during the summer. Maps
showing the general locations of the dredges as they
move about the lake during the summer and other
information on this project can be found at
www.littlelakecleanup.com.
Information on both projects can also be obtained
by contacting DNR Project Coordinator Greg Hill at
608-267-9352; Gregory.Hill@wisconsin.gov or EPA
Remedial Project Manager Jim Hahnenberg at 312-
353-4213; hahnenberg.james@epa.gov.
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Summer 2007
FOX RIVER CURRENT
EPA, DNR to Change from Page 1
The proposed plan, which was commented on by
nearly 600 people, was changed slightly based on
public input. Changes include provisions in the river to
maintain a sound monitoring program and evaluation
plan as well as possible modifications due to changes in
water levels. The cleanup plan for most of Green Bay
remains unchanged from the 2003 decision.
The use of more caps as part of the cleanup lowers
the cost by about $200 million, however, cost was not
the main reason the agencies decided to change their
original decision. "Yes, it's true the paper companies
are looking at a 'cheaper' cleanup, however, we believe
this new plan will allow us to oversee a more custom-
ized approach," Hahnenberg explained. "There are
many smaller areas in the river that we now know will
not accommodate a dredge. Dredging will often use
in-water pipelines or some other method to carry the
material downstream to the staging areas where the
sediment would be separated from the water."
Once that separation process is completed, the treated
or cleansed sediment will be trucked to a landfill li-
censed to accept hazardous waste. Depending on how
hazardous it is, the sediment will be taken to a landfill
in Chilton, Wis. or to a facility near Detroit.
"We realize that our decision to go with more capping
and less dredging is unpopular with many people in
the Green Bay area, but we think this is a better option
based on our design work that has been ongoing since
2003," Hahnenberg concluded. "This new plan will
clean up the river much quicker than what was outlined
four years ago."
The amended record of decision document will be
available at the information repositories and adminis-
trative record locations listed below and will be posted
online at www.epa.gov/region5/sites/foxriver.
*
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:
April
Colette Charbonneau, FWS:
Department of the Interior Natural
Resource Damage Assessment
and Restoration annual workshop,
Phoenix, AZ; cooperative restoration.
May
Jim Hahnenberg, EPA: National
Association of Remedial Project
Managers annual conference,
Baltimore, MD; Lower Fox River
proposed plan.
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Summer 2007
FOX RIVER CURRENT
The Fox River Current is featuring promising natural resource damage assessment projects in and near the
Lower Fox River.
Spotlight On:
Preserving Baird Creek Headwater
Wetlands
By Colette Charbonneau, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Baird Creek Preservation Foundation re-
cently bought 22 acres of wetlands in the head-
waters of Baird Creek. The Fox River/Green
Bay Natural Resource Trustee Council funded
this along with the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources from the Knowles-Nelson
State Stewardship Fund. The foundation only
used a portion of the natural resource dam-
age assessment restoration settlement funding
initially approved by the trustee council in 2005
for the current purchase.
Project Coordinator Paul Abrahams said, "This
is the initial step in a planned larger project to
preserve these wetlands for their wildlife habi-
tat. Preservation of this critical habitat will also
help protect water quality and the hydrological
stability of Baird Creek."
Rapid development of the city of Green Bay on
its eastern boundary is creating problems for
Baird Creek and its supporting wetlands. In 2003,
DNR found that the stream suffers from nonpoint
source pollution including erosion from construction
sites, barnyard runoff, stream bank and cropland ero-
sion causing murky waters and nutrient problems as
well as soil settling out of the water which could cover
fish and aquatic insect habitat. Baird Creek was placed
on the state-impaired waters list in 2006 due to these
nutrient and sediment contributions from the surround-
ing landscape.
•
•••HBHH^HiiKW'* ^ " '. ^ . ;- •
PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
The headwater wetlands in Baird Creek protect the creek from runoff from
nearby farm areas such as the one shown on this photo (behind the wet-
land on the far right).
Baird Creek is a tributary to the Lower Fox River
through the East River. The foundation is currently
concentrating on preserving critical headwater wetlands
in the townships of Eaton and Humboldt. It will con-
tinue to search for other headwater wetlands on proper-
ties whose owners are willing to preserve this habitat.
Wetland complexes in these areas are important for
reducing nutrient and sediment runoff into Baird Creek,
as well as providing nesting sites and resting areas for
shorebirds, songbirds and waterfowl.
See Spotlight Page 5
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Summer 2007
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Spotlight from Page 4
The natural resource trustees are comprised of DNR,
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 Natu-
ral Resources and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
For further information on Natural Resource Damage
Assessment projects, contact Trustee Council Coordi-
nator Colette Charbonneau, FWS, at
Colette_Charbonneau@fws.gov or 920-866-1726.
Trustee Council Approves Two New Restoration Projects
By Colette Charbonneau, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Fox River/Green Bay Natural Resource Trustee
Council recently approved two new fishery-based
projects along the west shore of Green Bay.
These projects, which were among several submitted
to the council late last year, will be done by Wiscon-
sin Department of Natural Resources. They were
selected because council members determined that
projects to enhance fishery resources and near-shore
and stream habitat quality were lacking relative to the
goals outlined in their 2003 joint restoration plan.
Northern Pike Habitat Restoration—West Shore of
Green Bay
The majority of the aquatic and near-shore habitat ar-
eas of Green Bay have been lost or degraded. These
areas served as homes to many fish species includ-
ing yellow perch, spotted muskellunge, and northern
pike for spawning and rearing their young. Restoring
these areas will help to improve spawning success and
the potential survival of these important native fish.
Restoration will also benefit wildlife (waterfowl and
marsh birds) and aquatic life in these areas and help
to filter sediment and nutrients caused by runoff that
may enter the bay. The project will remove berms
along a drainage ditch through DNR-owned lands to
restore water flow to and through the wetland near the
ditch. Water depth in the ditch will be maintained in
the spring to allow northern pike to pass into upstream
spawning areas into the enhanced wetland.
Habitat Protection in Rush Point Unit—Green Bay
West Shore Wildlife Area
This restoration project will protect about 40 acres of
critical areas along the west shore of Green Bay where
increasing development is resulting in habitat loss.
The area includes wetlands that connect to the bay
through common waterways. As a result of increased
public awareness of the importance of wetlands and
associated habitats along the west shore, this project
offers a unique opportunity to protect them. This area
has been identified as a significant place for waterfowl
nesting and resting areas as well as for fish spawning.
These projects are being paid from a fund established
in 2004 by Fort James/Georgia-Pacific for the preser-
vation and restoration of northern pike habitat.
The natural resource trustees are comprised of DNR,
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 Natu-
ral Resources, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
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Summer 2007
FOX RIVER CURRENT
Brown County Receives Staffing Grant
By Colette Charbonneau, Fish and Wildlife Service
Northern pike habitat restoration is underway in
the Suamico/Little Suamico watershed thanks to a
$60,000 grant to the Brown County Land Conserva-
tion Department.
The grant was awarded by the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation on April 4 at the L.H. Barkhau-
sen Waterfowl Preserve, Suamico. It will be used to
pay staff members to run the county's new project.
Two part-time employees have already been hired
using the NFWF grant funds. They started work in
early June and will be contacting village of Suamico
landowners who have stream and/or wetland areas on
their properties.
"The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant is
going to provide much needed funding to the county
to hire staff specifically for the pike habitat restoration
project," stated Jim Jolly, Brown County Land Con-
servation Department program manager. "The project
will provide many benefits to Green Bay and we are
excited to move forward with the project."
Restoration supporters Neal Feeken, NFWF assistant
director at the central partnership office, and U.S. Rep.
Steve Kagen were present when the grant was awarded.
The Fox River/Green Bay Natural Resource Trustee
Council awarded $200,000 to the conservation de-
partment in 2005 to build some buffer areas along
intermittent and perennial streams in the Suamico and
Little Suamico watersheds that have high potential for
northern pike spawning and rearing areas. The estab-
lishment of permanent conservation easements will
reduce sediment, nutrients and pesticides entering into
streams from cropland. This will protect spawning
habitat and quality plankton production areas needed
for feeding young pike. The project will also improve
adult pike access to upstream spawning and rearing
habitat sites. This latest grant, which was needed to
pay the new staff members, supplements the trustee
council's award.
If you live in this area and are interested in the resto-
ration project, contact the Brown County Land Con-
servation Department at 920-391-4620. For general
information, go to www.co.brown.wi.us/Parks/parks.
PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
Trustee Council representatives Charlie Wooley (left) and Paul
Ninham (center) discuss the $60,000 restoration grant award
with U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen.
EPA, DNR Attend Congressman's Meeting
By Gary Kincaid, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Wiscon-
sin Department of Natural Resources were represent-
ed at a special informational meeting sponsored by
U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen.
The meeting, which was held on Saturday, May 5 in
Green Bay, drew about 100 people. The congressman
held the meeting so his concerns could be addressed
See EPA, DNR Attend Page 7
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Summer 2007
FOX RIVER CURRENT
EPA, DNR Attend from Page 6
regarding the agencies' proposal to amend their origi-
nal cleanup decision for the Lower Fox River. That
decision was made in 2003.
Kagen said he questions whether capping will be an
effective long-term solution to the PCB contamina-
tion in the river's sediment. He also has concerns
about Green Bay's navigational channel. In addition
to the congressman's concerns, the audience heard
presentations by invited panelists including EPA
Remedial Project Manager Jim Hahnenberg and DNR
Project Coordinator Greg Hill. "If compelling new
information comes forward at this time, it will be con-
sidered in our final decision," Hahnenberg said.
About two hours of comments and questions followed
the presentations. While many audience members
echoed the congressman's concerns, others raised
different issues relating to storm-related events and
erosion, health studies, and sediment disposal and
treatment options.
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. However,
binders containing fact sheets are being maintained at
these locations as well as at the following repositories:
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
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
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: 801 E. Walnut St., Green Bay, Wis. and 101 S.
Webster St., 2nd Floor, Madison, Wis. An administrative record is also available at the EPA Record Center, 77
W. Jackson Blvd., 7th Floor, Chicago, III.
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JJ
o
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
EPA, DNR to Change 2003 Cleanup Plan 1
Cleanup Begins at DePere Dam, Continues in Little Lake Butte Des Morts ... 2
Out and About. . . 3
Spotlight On: Preserving Baird Creek Headwater Wetlands 4
Trustee Council Approves Two New Restoration Projects 5
Brown County Receives Staffing Grant 6
EPA, DNR Attend Congressman's Meeting 6
Information Repository Locations 7
Web Site Addresses 7
Fox River Current is published quarterly 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 Greg Swanson
at 608-264-6024 to request a subscription
or alternative format. Feedback on articles
and ideas for future issues are welcome.
Send comments to Greg Swanson, Fox
River Current, DNR, CE/8, P.O. Box 7921,
Madison, WI 53707 or e-mail
&EPA
Office of Public Affairs (P-19J)
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
1^ A Reproduced on Recycled Paper
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