Kalamazoo Cleanup Project Progresses

July 25, 2018

One year after U.S. EPA’s Superfund Task Force identified the Kalamazoo River Superfund site in Otsego, Mich., as a site of emphasis, EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp joined state officials and community members to tour the site and view progress.

“Last year, EPA focused on finding ways to accelerate and streamline the Kalamazoo River Superfund cleanup and since then we’ve made tremendous progress,” Stepp said.

“EPA is committed to working with our state partners and local communities to pick up the pace of Superfund cleanups so that more sites can be removed from the National Priorities List and more land can be returned to productive reuse.”

Over the past year, EPA removed the Otsego Township Dam, restored native plants and grasses, and stabilized the eroded riverbank soils near the M-89 bridge.

“Michigan is committed to revitalizing contaminated lands for future productive use,” said Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director C. Heidi Grether. “In only one year, the Task Force’s recommendations have led to a material improvement in our Superfund work here in Michigan. We look forward to the continued implementation of these recommendations and the accelerated revitalization of the Superfund sites in this state.”

EPA’s Superfund Task Force was charged on May 22, 2017, to provide recommendations on how EPA could streamline and improve the Superfund program.

One year ago, on July 25, 2017, EPA issued the Superfund Task Force Report, which included 42 recommendations in five goal areas: