v> EW%m U.S. Environmental Protection Agency l^ijk Region 5 Office of Public Affairs Kalamazoo River Superfund Project Fact Kalamazoo Community Involvement Workshop Sheet March 2002 Kalamazoo River Superfund Project Community Involvement Team Team members may be reached directly by E-mail, by phone at the numbers below, or by calling toll-free (800) 621-8431. For toll-free calls, enter the appropriate extension at the prompt. Stuart Hill, Team Leader (312)886-0689 Ext. 60689 e-mail, hill.stuart@epa.gov Cheryl Allen (312)353-6196 Ext. 36196 e-mail, allen.cheryl@epa.gov Don de Blasio (312)886-4360 Ext. 64360 e-mail, deblasio.don@epa.gov Dave Novak (312)886-7478 Ext. 67478 e-mail, novak.dave@epa.gov You may send mail to any team mem ber at: U.S. EPA Office of Public Affairs (P-19J) 77 West Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 EPA has assumed responsibility for a Superfund clean up of an 80- mile stretch on the Kalamazoo River. The cleanup will stretch from Saugatuck on the west to about 10 miles east of Battle Creek, near Sunrise Heights. Community support and involvement will be important components for a successful clean up. Because EPA recognizes that public support is essential, several workshops will be held to draw ideas from communities along the Kalamazoo River project area. The first workshop will be 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 14. The workshop will be at the Holiday Inn, 2747 S 11th St, Kalamazoo. The emphasis is on "work." This will not be a meeting or presentation by EPA, but an effort to create a plan that will most effectively and efficiently meet the needs of the public. EPA wants participants to be prepared to make suggestions to enhance the community education and involvement process. It is not necessary to attend the meeting to participate in this activity. Residents with comments and suggestions - or questions - are welcome to get in touch with any community involvement team member listed in the box at left. Because other workshops will be offered, EPA expects that this workshop will end at the scheduled time. The Kalamazoo River has been used over the years as a power source for paper mills that were built along the river and as a disposal site for mills and communities adjacent to the river. The river, like many rivers in industrialized areas, was used as a site for waste such as sawdust and animal carcasses. By 1869, water quality in the Kalamazoo River had become so undesirable that many communities along the river stopped using it as a source of drinking water. In July 2001, the director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality formally asked that EPA take the lead on site cleanup. Although EPA has the lead, MDEQ will continue to have significant participation on an appropriate cleanup. For more information, see repository site list on back. ------- |