U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 recently signed a record of decision for the cleanup of contaminated sediment and soil at the Sheboygan River and Harbor Superfund site (Sheboygan County, WI).

The decision document outlines a final clean-up plan that differs from the proposed plan issued in May 1999.  Originally, EPA proposed a clean-up level of 1 part per million (ppm). The final plan has a lower clean-up level of 0.5 ppm.  EPA will also dredge about 53,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the Inner Harbor, compared to the 100,000 cubic yards proposed last year.

Because a smaller volume of contaminated sediment will be dredged, clean-up costs are lower.  The cost of the Upper River cleanup was reduced from $31.4 million to $23.8 million and the cost of the Lower River and Inner Harbor cleanup was reduced from $26.9 million to $10 million.  Costs associated with the Middle River, Floodplain Soil, and Ground-water cleanups have only slight reductions.

The final clean-up decision was based on additional information submitted to EPA during a public comment period from June 1 to August 13, 1999.  EPA received hundreds of comments that required follow-up.

Regional Superfund Director William Muno gave credit to those who took part in EPA's public participation process.   "It may have taken EPA longer than usual to reach a decision, however, after reviewing the public comments, as well as doing some recalculation, I believe we now have a better clean-up plan.  This cleanup will be a major step in eliminating toxic substances from the Great Lakes basin."

Copies of the record of decision and other site-related documents are available for review at the Mead Public Library, 710 North 8th St., and the Sheboygan City Hall, 828 Center Ave., 2nd floor.  An administrative record, which contains all of the documentation which EPA used to base its decision, is also available at the library.  The record of decision will also be posted soon on EPA's Web site.

The site is comprised of the lower 14 miles of the river from the Sheboygan Falls Dam to, and including, the Inner Harbor.  Within the site, many areas show contamination by polychlorinated bipheynls (PCB's), and to a lesser degree, heavy metals.  The river runs through three communities–Sheboygan Falls, Kohler, and Sheboygan, before flowing into Lake Michigan.

Currently, a consumption advisory is in effect for certain species of Sheboygan River and Lake Michigan fish.