ContactsStephanie Millsap (419-692-7628)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites interested groups
and individuals to learn more about the ongoing effort to investigate and
take appropriate action to address hazardous substances released on Grassy
Island, part of Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Wayne County,
Michigan.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 10, 2004,
from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Council Chamber at Wyandotte City Hall, located
at (3131 Biddle Avenue) in Wyandotte.
During the meeting, representatives from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service will explain the process the Service is taking to investigate
and address any actual or threatened release of hazardous substances at the
site to protect human health and the environment at Grassy Island. Officials
will discuss the results of a preliminary assessment and site inspection
(PA/SI) of Grassy Island and describe the next steps in the process. The
public will have opportunities to ask questions and discuss Grassy Island
one-on-one with Service representatives.
Grassy Island is a 72-acre artificial island in the Detroit
River in suburban Detroit. The island was used by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers as a disposal facility for sediment dredged from the Rouge River
from 1961 to 1982. The island has been part of the National Wildlife Refuge
System since 1961, when it was transferred by Congress to the Service as
part of Wyandotte National Wildlife Refuge. In 2002, the island became part
of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
The preliminary assessment and site inspection conducted on
the island during late 2003 and early 2004 revealed the island is contaminated
with metals and organic chemicals, resulting from the disposal of contaminated
sediments over time by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During the 1960s,
at least nine major industrial facilities discharged pollutants into the
Rouge River.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepared the preliminary
assessment/site inspection report as the initial step in the remedial action
process under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act, also known as the “Superfund” law. The Service
will use the Superfund process to conduct additional investigation and any
cleanup that may be warranted at the site. The complete preliminary assessment/site
inspection report will be available online at http://midwest.fws.gov/grassyisland after
November 2, 2004. A copy can also be viewed, after November 2, 2004, at the
Bacon Memorial Library (45 Vinewood St.) in Wyandotte. For more information
on the preliminary assessment/site inspection and the public meeting, contact
Stephanie Millsap, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (9311 Groh Rd.; Grosse
Ile, MI 48138; phone: 419-692-7628).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands,
and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment
to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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