U.S. EPA removes Ashtabula River from ‘Areas of Concern’

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced that the Ashtabula River has been removed from the binational list of the Great Lakes’ most environmentally degraded areas after decades of work.

In the 1980s, the United States and Canada identified 43 “Areas of Concern” on the Great Lakes affected by historical contamination dating back over many decades.

The Ashtabula River is the sixth AOC to be delisted in the United States and first of four in Ohio, according to a news release.

“We can build back better by continuing to invest in areas along the Great Lakes that need restoration,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe in the release.

“The Ashtabula River is a great example of partnership and can serve as a model for other areas around the Great Lakes that still need support to help clean up legacy contamination.”

Between 2006 and 2013, U.S. EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio EPA, the city of Ashtabula, and industrial partners led several projects to remove contaminated sediment from the bottom of the Ashtabula River and to restore habitat.

The cleaner river bottom helps make fish healthier and a restored shoreline improves the habitat for fish and wildlife.

Dredging has provided a deeper navigational channel allowing more recreational and commercial boats to access the river.

In total, more than 620,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment containing 14,000 pounds of PCBs were removed from the river and over 2,500 linear feet of fish habitat were created. A public-private partnership invested nearly $70 million in sediment remediation and habitat restoration projects.

In addition to removing sediment and restoring habitat of the Ashtabula River, EPA also addressed the legacy contamination at the Fields Brook Superfund site. Work was done to address contaminated soil and sediment in many of the watersheds and tributaries that could potentially discharge into the river, the release stated.

Federal funding was provided through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as part of a larger effort to restore and protect the Great Lakes.

The GLRI was launched in 2010 as a non-regulatory program to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world.