Federal agencies, local officials celebrate completion of Lake George Canal remediation effort
The United States Army Core of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency touted the completion of the latest in a series of environmental remediation efforts at the Lake George Canal Monday, a “remarkable achievement” that local and federal officials hope continues cleanup after decades of industrial pollution.
The project was a roughly $20 million effort to remediate contaminated sediments in the canal’s middle section that were impacted by oil, heavy metals and other pollutants. The effort was undertaken in collaboration with BP Products North America and BP subsidiary Atlantic Richfield, which provided 35% of the funds.
Indiana State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, lauded the project as a boon for her constituents during a news conference in Hammond.
“To stand here today and see the remediation work that was done right here in our own backyard, right here in our district, it’s breathtaking,” she said, “because I see the posts on Facebook and social media et cetera about the wildlife that used to be here that’s no longer here, the beautiful plants that are no longer here, but with this remediation program, this will bring back that wildlife that’s no longer here.”
Federal money for the project was provided through the 2002 Great Lakes Legacy Act, which supplies funding for contaminated sediment remediation projects in Great Lakes Areas of Concern, and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The effort was the latest in a series of environmental remediation efforts undertaken by the federal government in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern, which was given the designation in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1987 because of high levels of pollution from nearby industrial sites.
“In an era of unregulated waste disposal the Grand Calumet River and the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal were treated like open sewers and garbage dumps by these massive industries,” EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore said at the event.
The project included the removal of 115,000 cubic yards of sediment from the canal and the reconstruction of animal habitats along its banks using stones and gravel. In order to prevent contaminated sediment at the bottom of the canal from negatively impacting local plants and animals, Wisconsin-based contractor JF Brennan Company laid down a “sediment cap” made of layers of sand and specially engineered clay minerals.
The company was required to conduct tests of the cap’s efficacy, which returned satisfactory results, project manager Natalie Mills told the Post-Tribune.
Colonel Paul Culberson, district commander of the USACE’s Chicago district, called the project a “remarkable achievement.”
“I’m humbled by the privilege of witnessing the completion of this endeavor, which reaffirms the unwavering commitment of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to these invaluable partnerships and to protecting human health and our environment,” he said.
Additional habitat restoration work remains to be done. Patches of invasive reeds along the canal bank will require additional herbicide treatments, Mills said, and the reintroduction of native plant species has been scheduled for the fall, when weather conditions will give them the best chance of survival.
The project, Shore said, “could result in their remediation of another 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments by 2027 and ultimately the restoration of this ecosystem.”
Additional remediation efforts on the eastern and western portions of the Lake George Canal are planned.
