Regional Rats: The Grand Calumet River
Why would any community agree to such extreme negative costs to its land, water, air and residents?
Is there any doubt that East Chicago should be the epicenter for the dialogue on environmental justice and stewardship?
Simple thoughts:
- If we solve the environmental problems for fence-line industrial communities like East Chicago we solve the problem for middle-class America and the causes of global warming.
- When negative costs outweigh positive benefits is there justification to revoke the responsible party’s “Land Use” privileges?
- Does the Law of the Commons apply?
[ EPA's EnviroMapper ] [ Grand Calumet River Area of Concern ]
via [ Post-Trib ] Region’s sewer: Grand Cal faces long recuperation
By Gitte Laasby
State and Federal “14 Beneficial Use” Criteria.
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GARY — The Grand Calumet River has the most problems of any river in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Cleanup has progressed slowly since the river was designated as one of the nation’s worst in 1987. Locals say it could take several decades before the river is restored to its pre-industrial state and can be a source of recreation for region residents, but several proposals are in the works
Municipalities in the region used the river as a sewer for their waste. For about a century, steel mills and treatment plants have spewed untold amounts of heavy metals, pesticides, bacteria and pollutants that can cause cancer in humans into the river. Today, elevated levels of mercury, lead, cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls lie buried in the Grand Cal to a depth of up to 11.5 feet below ground surface, according to the EPA. The river also has problems with oil and grease and too little oxygen. EPA estimates that the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal contain 5 million to 10 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment up to 20 feet deep. What else contributes to the ailments of the Grand Cal? Fifteen combined sewer overflows discharge an estimated 11 billion gallons of raw wastewater into the harbor and river, according to the EPA. About 57 percent of that is discharged within eight miles of Lake Michigan, which contributes to E. coli contamination nearby, EPA says. Bacteria are the main reason for beach closings. Stormwater runoff and water leached out from 11 waste disposal and storage sites located within 0.2 miles of the river continue to degrade water quality. Five Superfund sites, the most contaminated places in the nation, are located in the area. So are 423 hazardous waste sites. And more than 150 leaking underground storage petroleum tanks. Air pollution and contaminated groundwater also affect the river, EPA says. Today, about 90 percent of the river consists of wastewater from industry and sewage from municipal treatment plants, EPA says. When officials assess the health of a river, they judge it based on 14 possible “beneficial uses,” such as whether people can swim in the river or eat fish from it and whether the river has the variety of bugs that would be expected in similar places. The Grand Calumet is the only river in the United States that’s impaired in all 14 possible ways, said Gary Gulezian, director of EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office. The Grand Calumet River and the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal were identified in 1987 as an “area of concern.” |
























