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Cleanup Projects Willow Boulevard/A-Site Operable Unit Closure and Restoration How did PCBs get into the landfills? The Willow Boulevard and A-Site landfills took in waste from local paper mill operations at various times from 1960-1987. Some of that waste contained PCBs, which were used in the coating on carbonless copy paper recycled by the mills. Since 1986, Georgia-Pacific has worked with the state of Michigan and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to evaluate the PCBs in soil and sediment at the two landfills at the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Operable Unit (WB/A-Site OU). During the last 10 years, the company has done extensive work to consolidate PCB-containing materials and stabilize the site. Most recently, work has focused on the implementation of a USEPA-approved closure and restoration plan. Activities completed during 2011 and 2012 were designed to isolate and consolidate PCB-containing materials underneath permanent caps. Major construction work was completed in December 2012, and the remedy will protect people and the environment and prevent PCBs from going into the Kalamazoo River. Read an update about the work through the end of 2012. Georgia-Pacific is now in the process of restoring wetlands, woodlands, and shoreline habitat areas in accordance with the post-construction restoration and mitigation plan. The restoration work will be completed in 2013. After USEPA has approved the completed work, Georgia-Pacific will be responsible for monitoring and maintaining the site. This includes inspecting the site to make sure the groundwater and landfill gas monitoring systems and the cap are working correctly and that the trees, grasses and other vegetation are well established. The Landfill Cap System The materials in the landfills are now contained under nearly four feet of soil, sand and impermeable liner materials. From bottom to top, the layers are: Click on image for a more detailed illustration. 
Artist′s Rendering: Looking downstream on the Kalamazoo River – view of the landfill caps and habitat restoration at the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Operable Unit after Construction Click on image to enlarge. 
After USEPA has approved the completed work, 
Plainwell No. 2 Dam Area Removal Action This project focused on the area near the Plainwell No. 2 Dam, which is located 3.5 miles upstream from the cleanup action in the former Plainwell Impoundment. See the project area map below. Work was conducted from August 2009 through October 2010 and involved the removal of more than 15,000 cubic yards of targeted soils and sediments from a one-mile stretch of the river. In addition, crews replanted native trees and shrubs in the construction zone and restored the project area. Plainwell No. 2 Dam Project Area – Click on image to enlarge. 
Still photography and video footage from the first season of construction are available for download.
Plainwell Impoundment Removal Action 
At the start of the project in 2007, the KRSG developed this artistic rendering of what the river would look like at the end of the removal action. Visit the project page to see photographs of the current view of the river. From 2007 to 2009, Georgia-Pacific removed thousands of tons of sediments and soils from the former Plainwell Impoundment – part of the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. The river now flows freely through a new western channel. Read a summary of the work effort and see a graphic timeline of the project. Read more about the Plainwell Impoundment Cleanup. |