$12 Million in Proposed Restoration on the Kalamazoo River Available for Public Comment
April 19, 2021 — On April 12, NOAA and our natural resource co-Trustees released a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Kalamazoo River. The plan is open for public comment through May 14, 2021.
The Kalamazoo River is a Superfund site in Michigan where Paper mills conducting carbonless copy paper recycling released PCBs into the river from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. In December 2020 a $25 million partial settlement to restore the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek was finalized.
This restoration plan includes a suite of 14 projects that if approved would be funded with up to $12.4 million in settlement funds from companies responsible for pollution in the Kalamazoo River waterways. This is the first step in implementing restoration from the partial settlement, there will be a subsequent Supplemental Restoration Plan / Environmental Assessment in the future to utilize the remaining restoration funds.
For more on the draft restoration plan, information on how to submit public comments, and details on an online public meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 29, please visit NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program website.
Please contact Greg.Baker@noaa.gov for more information.