Public Meeting April 14 on Proposed Cleanup Options for Occidental Chemical Site in Montague

There will be an informational meeting Wednesday, April 14, on proposed cleanup strategies for contaminated ground water at the Occidental Chemical Corp. facility in Montague. The meeting is from 6 to 8 p.m. at Montague Township Hall, 8915 Whitbeck Road.

The proposed cleanup plan includes installing installation of six new wells on the southern portion of the former Occidental Chemical property. The idea is that the wells, working with a current well system in place at White Lake, might reduce ground water contamination to safe levels from Old Channel to White Lake within the next 18 years.

From the EPA: State and federal environmental regulators have been overseeing cleanup work on the OCC property since 1979. Since that time, the first set of extraction wells have removed and treated billions of gallons of ground water and prevented the flow of contaminants into White Lake. However, contamination remains trapped in subsurface soil on the northern portion of the site and those chemicals continue to seep into the ground water. No treatment technologies have been found that can remove this contamination trapped in sands below the water table. The objectives of EPA’s proposed plan are to clean up ground water to better protect White Lake and allow for the eventual beneficial use of the ground water and unrestricted use of the OCC property and private property south of Old Channel Trail.

Show up to have your comments included in the plan.