The waters of Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron are cleaner today thanks to completion of a major dredging project that removed contaminated sediment from the lower Saginaw River. Officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced the successful removal of approximately 345,000 cubic yards of sediments from the river and bay that were contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
The dredging project began on April 13, 2000, and was completed Sunday, July 22, 2001, 17 days ahead of schedule. Planning, good weather and few problems with the operation allowed contractors to finish the job a few days early.
"We have just taken a huge step forward to make the Great Lakes a better place for people who live and recreate here and for the wildlife that use these lands and waters," said Bill Hartwig, Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "With contaminants removed, area residents can look forward to restoration of the fish, wildlife and habitat that make this region so special."
"The Saginaw Bay watershed is a cleaner, healthier place today due to the outstanding cooperation of all involved parties," said Russell J. Harding, director of Michigans Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). "The improvements resulting from this landmark settlement represent a true environmental and legal milestone in Michigan."
The Service, MDEQ, the Michigan Attorney General and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, in their roles as natural resource trustees, negotiated a 1998 settlement with parties responsible for the contamination, including General Motors and the cities of Saginaw and Bay City. The settlement called for removal of the contaminated sediment and restoration of resources injured by the release of PCBs into the environment.
"Those responsible for this pollution have paid nearly $10 million to make this cleanup possible," said Michigan Attorney General Jennifer M. Granholm. "Clearly the Saginaw Bay watershed and the Great Lakes are better off now than just a few months ago."
The dredging project, managed and designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District and carried out by Luedtke Engineering Company of Frankfort, Michigan, used a specially designed, gasketted clamshell dredge bucket to remove sediment from the most contaminated parts of the river. Resuspension of material during dredging was controlled with careful use of the gasketted bucket (or conventional bucket when harder materials were encountered) and by silt curtains which completely enclosed the area being dredged.
The contaminated sediment was transported by barge to a confined disposal facility just outside the mouth of the Saginaw River. The material was loaded into trucks from the barges and then placed within a subcell in the northeast quadrant of the facility. The material will be capped with cleaner material from the Corps maintenance dredging activities. Cost of the dredging project is estimated at $9.7 million and was paid for with funds from the settlement.
The sediment removed from the Saginaw River was contaminated with PCBs released into the environment from industrial facilities and municipal wastewater treatment plants along the river starting in the 1940s. Saginaw Bay is regarded as one of the Great Lakes primary walleye fishing and waterfowl hunting areas, and drains into Lake Huron. Contaminants in the river posed a continuing threat of affecting a much larger area if not contained.
Contamination in the river and bay has affected fish and wildlife resources, resulting in advisories against consumption of all fish species in the river and many fish species in Saginaw Bay as well. Reproduction of bald eagles, which feed primarily on fish, has been significantly lower in contaminated areas than elsewhere. Removing contaminated sediments and cleaning up industrial facilities along the Saginaw River will hasten the day that fish are safe for humans and wildlife to consume in unlimited amounts from the river and bay.
Additional restoration plans include habitat protection of more than 1,600 acres of public land acquired under the settlement; restoration of 200 to 400 acres of coastal wetlands and lakeplain prairie on the acquired lands; management of the Green Point Environmental Learning Center in Saginaw; development of three areas for boat launching and nature viewing; and restoration of water flow between Saginaw River and Tobico Marsh to improve the health of the marsh and the fish that use it.
The settlement for cleanup and restoration of the Saginaw River and Bay was negotiated under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) provision of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, also known as the Superfund Act, and Michigans Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The goals of NRDA are to restore the habitats and resources to the condition they would have been had the contaminants not been released into the environment, and to compensate the public for the loss of their use or enjoyment of natural resources. The parties responsible for the contamination are required to pay for these activities.
For more information on the Saginaw River and Bay restoration and NRDA settlement, visit the Services website at http://midwest.fws.gov/nrda/saginaw
