SE PA United States Environmental Protection Agency Agreement Reached on Willow Boulevard/A-Site Cleanup Allied Paper/Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2009 Public comment period The U.S. Department of Justice will accept comments on the agreement between Georgia Pacific and the federal government on the DOJ Web site: www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_ Decrees.html. The Web site will include information on the dates when comments will be accepted. Contact EPA For more information, or if you have questions about the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill cleanup, contact: Don de Blasio Community Involvement Coordinator 312-886-4360 deblasio.dontoepa.gov Michael Berkoff Remedial Project Manager 312-353-8983 berkoff.michacltocpa.gov Region 5 toll-free: 800-621-843 1. 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.. weekdays Read the documents You may view site-related documents and files at the locations listed on Page 2. An administrative record, which contains detailed information that will help select the cleanup plan, is also located at EPA's Chicago office Record Center. For more information You can read more information about the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill Operable Unit (OU2) cleanup (including EPA's September 2006 Record of Decision for the cleanup of OU2) online at: www.epa.gov/ region5/sitcs/kalprojcct. Georgia-Pacific, a responsible party at the site, has agreed to implement the cleanup plan selected by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the 2006 Record of Decision for the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill. The cleanup is estimated to cost nearly $13 million. Under the proposed settlement, Georgia-Pacific, which owns the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill portion of the site, will consolidate PCB-contaminated material, design and install a permanent landfill cap over a 32-acre area, design and install a ground water monitoring system and build long-term erosion control measures. The landfill cap will meet the requirements of the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. It will consist of a flexible membrane liner, a gas venting layer, and a soil drainage layer, covered by several inches of topsoil to support and encourage native plant growth. The landfill cap will isolate and contain contaminated material within the landfill and reduce the potential for PCBs to migrate to the Kalamazoo River. It also will prevent people from being exposed to the pollution. Additionally, Georgia-Pacific will take steps that will hopefully result in some level of restoration of wetlands and shoreline habitat areas along the site borders and next to the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill. The Allied Paper, Inc/Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site includes a number of former paper mill properties and disposal areas, an approximately 80-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River from Morrow Dam to Lake Michigan, and a three-mile stretch of Portage Creek. The Willow Boulevard/ A-Site Landfill portion of the site consists of two former disposal areas and adjacent sections that include wetlands and woodlands (referred to as Operable Unit 2 of the site). Following the 30-day public comment period, DOJ will respond to comments, if necessary, and request the court's approval of the settlement Landfill design work will begin immediately following the comment period and court approval of the proposed cleanup deal. On-site construction work is expected to begin in 2011. Currently, to prevent erosion of PCB- contaminated material into the Kalamazoo River, a geotextile membrane and sand cover part of the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill, and a sheet-pile wall borders the A-Site portion of the landfill. ------- Information libraries The public can read documents related to the Kalamazoo River Supcrfund site at the following places: Kalamazoo Public Library 31.5 S. Rose St. Kalamazoo Charles Ransom Library 80 S. Sherwood Ave. Plainwell Allegan Public Library 331 Hubbard St. Allegan Otsego District Library 219 S. Farmer St. Otsego Saugatuck-Douglas Library 10 Mixer St. Douglas Waldo Library Western Michigan University 903 W. Michigan Ave. Kalamazoo What are PCBs? PCBs are a group of toxic chemicals that were produced in the United States between 1929 and 1978 for use primarily as industrial coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications including carbonless copy paper-which contributed to the Kalamazoo River contamination - and many other applications because they were stable and resisted wear and chemical breakdown. The same chemical properties that made PCBs useful to industry are now responsible for persistent levels of PCBs remaining in the environment, including the Kalamazoo River. PCBs last in the environment because thev adhere readily to organic material in sediment and soil and tend to build up in the fatty tissue of fish and other animals. PCBs have been demonstrated to cause a variety of adverse health effects in animals. PCBs cause cancer and noncancer health effects on the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. Studies suggest PCBs have similar effects on people. The different health effects of PCBs may be interrelated, as alterations in one system may have significant implications for other systems of the body. 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