One of the fundamental pieces of improving Beneficial Use Impairments is locating and addressing significant chemical contamination in the sediments in the waterways of the Area of Concern (AOC). Those chemicals of concern in the sediments are often from historical industrial contamination of the past. In the Maumee AOC, there is ongoing Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) projects to identify, quantify, and decide how to address pockets of those contaminated sediments. Those areas have been identified in lower Swan Creek, lower Maumee River mainstem, and an additional pocket in the Ottawa River. The lower Ottawa River and lower Otter Creek already had sediment removal completed.
These legacy sediment contamination projects take many years, from initial sampling to “moving mud” to complete. The next phase of the work for Swan Creek will be publicly releasing a Feasibility Study and pre-Remedial Design. The report is expected in the late spring, and a public meeting will be held to discuss it.