Federal officials will be resuming cleanup at a former iron works facility in northern Michigan.
The Tar Lake Superfund site in Mancelona has been slowly leaching toxic chemicals like methylphenols and polyaromatic hydrocarbons for the last decade after past remedial actions did not bring levels down.
The Environmental Protection Agency soon plans to excavate roughly 250,000 tons of soil and expand groundwater treatment at the site as part of a $35 million project.
Thomas Brecheisen, an EPA remedial project manager, said soil excavation will begin next fall and is expected to take a couple of years, finishing in 2027.
Once complete, the groundwater treatment system would be installed, and it will work by infusing water with oxygen to support microbes that break down contaminants. That system is slated to be operational in 2028.
"If we noticed that groundwater levels are not decreasing as we expect them to, then we will have to continue to look at why that is, and that may or may not require additional activities," Brecheisen said.
This work has been on the books since 2013 and is "pretty straightforward," but Brecheisen said a lack of funding stalled cleanup plans.
"(In 2021), we received an infusion of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law money to expedite the cleanup of sites that had been on the back-burner, and Tar Lake had been waiting," he said.
EPA officials said they would "not speculate" on how a new administration would impact the site's progress. President-elect Donald Trump proposed EPA staff and funding cuts during his first term and while campaigning, pledged to take back funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Danielle Kaufman, a press officer with EPA Region 5, said the BIL allocation for the site is secure.
"EPA remains focused on our mission of protecting public health and the environment," Kaufman told WCMU. "We still are doing our jobs, and we will continue to result to deliver results for the American people."
Tar Lake centers on a dry four-acre pond where the Antrim Iron Company disposed waste from 1882 until 1945. The site was added to the National Priorities List in 1983. Two portions of the 243-acre site have been removed from the Superfund program after initial remedies were implemented.
The site is not to be confused with the Wickes Manufacturing TCE plume, which is overseen by state authorities.
