Photo courtesy of MI Environment and EGLE
The Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and Honeywell will begin removing contaminated sediment from Torch Lake in June as part of a Great Lakes National Program Office cleanup project.
“It’s just so exciting to be here to be able to share with people that we are doing a cleanup this year,” said Heather Williams, a project manager for the Great Lakes Legacy Program Office, Environmental Protection Agency. “After lots of studies and evaluations and design work, we’re here doing the cleanup. So that’s a great feeling to be able to share that after so much time going by and evaluations happening.”
Over the summer, crews will use dredgers to remove more than 13,000 cubic yards of stamp sand containing PCBs, lead, zinc and arsenic from the lakebed.
“When we address Lake Linden recreation area and the Hubbell processing area, we’ll be cleaning up the areas with the highest contamination in Torch Lake,” Williams said. “So we’re very excited that we’ll move into the cleanup phase at Lake Linden and when we get these two projects done, we’ll feel really good about addressing the worst areas in Torch Lake.”
As work begins, residents will see crews staging equipment for the project. The work area will be fenced off, but Williams emphasized that recreational access will continue.
“The campground will be open, the marina will be open, and really the lake will be open,” Williams said. “There will be some scow traffic. We’re going to be transporting material from the recreation area where they’re doing the dredging to a processing area in Hubbell. So there will be some larger vessels on the water, but the lake will be open.”
After removal, contractors will transport the contaminated sediment to a landfill for capping.
Following completion of the Lake Linden Recreation Area cleanup, the EPA, EGLE and Honeywell will shift focus to the Hubbell Processing Area, the former Calumet-Hecla site that operated as a smelter and processed mine material.
“We’re going to be finishing up the feasibility study later this year and hopefully move into the design phase and then the cleanup work with our partner Honeywell and working with the state of Michigan,” Williams said.
The Lake Linden Recreation Area campground and marina will remain accessible during the work, but the Lake Linden Beach will close for the season. Stay updated on work happening in Torch Lake with the EPA, EGLE, and Honeywell with the Torch Lake Public Action Council. Learn more here.
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