&EPA
United Slates
Environmental Protection
Agency
About the Great Lakes
Legacy Act
Although discharges of toxic
substances into the Great Lakes
have been reduced over the last 20
years, high concentrations of
pollution remain in the bottom of
some rivers and harbors. These
contaminants pose potential health
risks to people and wildlife, and
states have issued fish advisories in
many Great Lakes locations.
The tributaries and harbors
identified as having pollution
problems are known as "Areas of
Concern," or AOCs. There are 40
remaining AOCs on the Great Lakes
- 25 on the U.S. side, 10 in Canada
and five shared between the two
countries. The West Branch Grand
Calumet River is part of the Grand
Calumet River Area of Concern,
which includes the Indiana Harbor
and Ship Canal.
Since 2004 $120 million has been
spent on sediment cleanup projects
under the Legacy Act. EPA's Great
Lakes National Program Office
administers the Act.
For more information
Great Lakes Legacy Act:
Marc Tuchman
312-353-1369
tuchman.marc@epa.gov
Web sites:
www.epa.gov/glla
www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/index.html
Legacy Act Grand Calumet River
Cleanup gets Underway
West Branch Grand Calumet River/Grand Cal AOC
Hammond, Indiana December 2009
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its state of Indiana partner
agencies have begun work on a two- to three-year undertaking to dredge
sediment from a heavily polluted one-mile stretch of the West Branch
Grand Calumet River in Hammond. This is a very unique region as it is
one of the most industrialized areas in the country as well as home to some
of the most diverse native plant and animal communities in the Great
Lakes Basin.
The $31.1 million project is being funded under the Great Lakes Legacy
Act (GLLA). The Act provides federal money that along with local
matching dollars are used to clean up polluted sediment (mud) along the
U.S. shores and waterways of the Great Lakes. EPA's Great Lakes
National Program Office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Indiana
Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), Indiana Department
of Natural Resources (IDNR) and Hammond Sanitary District are
cooperating in the project. The West Branch Grand Cal work calls for the
removal of about 82,000 cubic yards of polluted sediment followed by the
placement of a cap over the dredged area. The sediment contains pollutants
such as PCBs and PAHs (polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons), heavy metals, and pesticides. The removal will be
conducted between Columbia and Hohman avenues in Hammond
This stretch of the West Branch Grand Calumet River appears picturesque, but
the river sediment is highly contaminated. A new Great Lakes Legacy Act
project will remove 82,000 cubic yards of polluted sediment followed by
capping of the river bottom.
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southwest of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (see
aerial map below). This project is being coordinated
with sewer improvements being made by the Hammond
Sanitary District that also include some sediment
cleanup along this stretch of the river.
Federal government and state share costs
GLLA will fund 65 percent or $21.5 million of the
$31.1 million cost. The required non-federal share of
35 percent or $11.6 million will come from the Natural
Resource Trustees (IDEM and IDNR).
The Grand Calumet River originates in the east end of
Gary, Ind., and flows 13 miles through the cities of
Gary, East Chicago and Hammond, Ind. Today, 90
percent of the river's flow starts as municipal and
industrial discharges, cooling and process water and
stormwater overflows. Although discharges of
pollution have been reduced, a number of contaminants
in the sediment continue to harm the river environment.
Upland restoration activities near the Grand Calumet
River have been under way for many years, including
protection and restoration of rare habitats such as dune
and swale and native prairies. This project area is part
of a larger Chicago/Northwest Indiana Corridor where
a restoration plan is in place. The sediment cleanup will
complement the habitat restoration efforts.
The Great Lakes Legacy Act
The Great Lakes Legacy Act was passed by Congress
in 2002 as a tool to accelerate the pace of sediment
cleanup within the Great Lakes Areas of Concern. One
of the goals of the GLLA is to help restore "beneficial
uses" to polluted areas in the Great Lakes AOCs.
Beneficial use impairments include restrictions on
dredging, loss of fish and wildlife habitat and limiting
activities such as safe fish consumption. The Legacy
Act was reauthorized in 2008 and includes new
provisions that allow for habitat restoration in
conjunction with a sediment remediation project and
site characterization at 100 percent federal expense.
Sediment removal successes
Since 2004 six sediment cleanup projects have been
completed under the Great Lakes Legacy Act. These
projects have cleaned up more than 1 million cubic
yards of contaminated sediment at a cost of almost
$120 million. This funding has translated into the
removal of nearly 1.6 million pounds of contaminants
from Great Lakes waterways, reducing risks to human
health and wildlife. Other GLLA projects include
cleanups in Trenton, Muskegon and Sault Ste. Marie,
Mich.; Superior and Milwaukee, Wis.; and Ashtabula,
Ohio. The West Branch Grand Calumet River
undertaking is the first GLLA sediment cleanup project
in Indiana and is part of a larger ongoing effort to clean
up contaminated sediment across Northwest Indiana.
The rectangle in this aerial view marks the section of the West Branch Grand Calumet River in
Hammond that will undergo removal of contaminated sediment.
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