EPA Regional Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager Debra Shore joined Carrie Robinson, director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation; Liesl Clark, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; Mayor Ken Johnson and community leaders at an event to celebrate the completion of cleanup, remediation and restoration work at the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern.
“We know that removing legacy pollution from the Great Lakes is an investment in the economy, in public health and in our future,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “Thanks to the funding provided in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be able to accelerate large-scale remediation and restoration work in other Great Lakes Areas of Concern.”
The Muskegon Lake AOC includes all of Muskegon Lake, Ruddiman Creek, Ryerson Creek, Four Mile Creek, Bear Creek, Bear Lake and branches of the Muskegon River. A long history of heavy industry had left the area polluted with petroleum hydrocarbons, mercury, lead, heavy metals, oil and other contaminants.
Although cleanup work is complete, comprehensive environmental evaluations will continue. This will help EPA and the state of Michigan ensure the environmental quality of the lake is improving over time. Once the lake meets applicable cleanup criteria, the process for removing the lake from the list of Areas of Concern can begin.
Read the complete news release: EPA, Partners Celebrate Completion of Restoration Work in Muskegon Lake Area of Concern in Michigan