The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will commence an investigation into sediment impacts in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern in Gary, Indiana, next week. The project, which is supported by over $3 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, is a collaborative effort with United States Steel Corp.
EPA and U.S. Steel will conduct sampling of sediment and water from the Marquette Park Lagoons, Grand Calumet River channel, and nearby wetlands. This sampling process is expected to continue until early July and aims to determine the nature and extent of sediment impacts in the "Eastern 5 Miles" of the Grand Calumet River.
The Eastern 5 Miles section flows adjacent to the 4,000-acre U.S. Steel Gary Works facility and has been affected by historical industrial and municipal discharges. Since 1998, EPA has overseen cleanup efforts under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to address pollutants such as heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which may impair beneficial uses of the water. U.S. Steel completed sediment dredging of this river section in the early 2000s.
Upon completion of sampling, EPA will make cleanup decisions aimed at restoring beneficial uses and improving ecosystem health to support delisting the Grand Calumet River as an Area of Concern.
This project targets several impairments within the Area of Concern:
- Restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption
- Degradation of fish and wildlife populations
- Fish tumors or other deformities
- Bird or animal deformities or reproduction problems
- Degradation of benthos (organisms living at the bottom of bodies of water)
- Loss of fish and wildlife habitat
In February 2022, President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan announced a $1 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accelerate cleanup and restoration efforts for the Great Lakes. The EPA projects that funding from this law, combined with annual Great Lakes Restoration Initiative appropriations and other sources, will enable completion of cleanups at 22 out of 25 remaining Areas of Concern. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding specifically targets 11 out of these 22 sites, including the Grand Calumet River AOC.
For more information on the Grand Calumet River AOC, please visit EPA's website.
