Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began a 30-day public comment period on the proposed plan to clean up pipes and vaults of the storm sewer system at the Ten-Mile Drain Superfund site in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. EPA will host a public meeting on June 22 to answer questions and accept public comments.

Under EPA’s recommended cleanup plan, crews would excavate six manhole vaults (two on Harper Avenue and four on Bon Brae Street) and 2,110 feet of pipe along with contaminated bedding and backfill. EPA would backfill these areas, install new piping and manhole vaults, and dispose of all excavated material at an EPA-approved landfill offsite. EPA has also proposed alternatives to this plan, which are detailed in a fact sheet provided to community members.

The Ten-Mile Drain site includes an underground storm sewer utility heavily contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A historical PCB release from the commercial property on the corner of Bon Brae Street and Harper Avenue is believed to have migrated onto adjacent properties and eventually through the Ten Mile Drain storm sewer system. The system is approximately 15 feet below ground and discharges into two residential canals – the Lange and Revere Street canals – connected to Lake St. Clair's western shores.

EPA will host a public meeting and open house on Thursday, June 22. EPA representatives will be available to answer public questions and hear feedback.

• When:            Thursday, June 22, 2023
• Time:              Open house is from 5-6 p.m., public meeting will start at 6:30 p.m.
• Where:           St. Clair Shores City Council Chambers, 27600 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores, Michigan

EPA’s 30-day comment period on the plan ends on July 11 Comments may be submitted via:

• EPA’s website under “Public Comment Period”
• The June 22 community meeting
• By mail postmarked by July 11 to:
  Caitlin McIntyre, U.S. EPA Region 5, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., RE-19J
  Chicago, IL 60604-3590
• Or via email by July 11: at mcintyre.caitlin@epa.gov

This site is one of many across the country to receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which invested $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites on the National Priorities List. Thanks to this historic funding, EPA started 81 new cleanup projects in 2022, including projects at 44 sites previously on the backlog. By starting four times as many construction projects as the year before, EPA is aggressively bringing more sites across the country closer to finishing cleanup. In addition to funding cleanup construction work, this investment is enabling EPA to increase funding for and accelerate essential work needed to prepare sites for construction and ensure that communities are meaningfully involved in the cleanup process.

To learn more about the Ten-Mile Drain Superfund site, visit the website.

Original source can be found here.