Latest plan to remedy the collapsing toxic Revere property under review
Michigan’s environmental authorities are reviewing the latest mitigation plan submitted by the property owner responsible for attempting to halt the ongoing collapse of a riverfront industrial property into the Detroit River.
The site, the former Revere Copper property in Detroit, collapsed into the river on Nov. 26 due to too much limestone aggregate stored on the property by Detroit Bulk Storage, a firm leasing the site.
Since the incident occurred, the shoreline has continued to crumble into the river, while a massive sinkhole on the property has also continued to expand.
Local environmentalists have expressed concern since the property dating back to the 1940s, while under Revere Copper, manufactured uranium products for over a decade. It later became a toxic dumping ground after abandoned by the company in the 1980s.
With the soil opened up, there are fears toxins continue to enter the river as water washes over the busted-up property.
The site’s owner is listed as Revere Dock, an arm’s-length company operating under the Grand Rapids-based Erickson Group.
The property’s owner previously submitted short-term mitigation plans to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to stop the property’s collapse and contain soils from entering the river.
The efforts included a large curtain stretching in the water in front of the site supposedly designed to capture soils from entering the water.
But EGLE has countered not enough was being done and continues to request additional measures be quickly implemented to slow the riverfront site’s ongoing collapse.
The latest 64-page mitigation plan from Revere Dock was submitted to EGLE on Feb. 29 and the state government agency continues to study whether the additional measures included in the document are sufficient enough to halt further erosion of the site into the river.
“We are reviewing what they submitted to us,” said Nick Assendelft, spokesman for EGLE. “The update addresses some of the issues we had, but we continue to look at what they are proposing to do and make sure there will be no further erosion.
“Once we have fully vetted the document, we will look at next steps and where we go from there.”
The property owner also is facing a deadline at the end of this month imposed by EGLE to submit its long-term plans to fully restore the site and remove the aggregate from the river.
The area where the collapse occurred — about a kilometre downriver from the Ambassador Bridge — is known to contain toxic sediment on the river’s bottom which is fine if left undisturbed, but will make removal of aggregate from the water difficult.
“We will be looking carefully at their plans for sediment control, erosion control and how to fix the site following the disaster,” Assendelft said. “The aggregate will have to be removed from the river in an environmentally safe way.”