Great Lakes restoration projects advance Detroit and Rouge River cleanup efforts
Federal and state officials highlighted major progress in restoring the Detroit and Rouge rivers during an event at William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor, celebrating new and ongoing sediment cleanup projects funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy outlined efforts to address decades of industrial contamination and urban runoff that contributed to the designation of both the Detroit and Rouge rivers as Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
Among the projects announced is the Monguagon Creek–Upper Trenton Channel cleanup in Riverview, Michigan, where approximately 28,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be dredged and capped during a two-year remediation project scheduled to begin this year. The cleanup is being funded through a partnership between EPA and Bridgestone Americas and will be led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Officials also announced two new cooperative agreements that will evaluate remediation alternatives for the Harbortown shoreline areas in Detroit and establish cleanup goals for remaining portions of the Detroit River Area of Concern. The effort is expected to support future remediation of roughly 800,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment.
The event also marked the completion of the final dredging phase in the Lower Rouge River Old Channel, where more than 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were removed through an $84 million cost-sharing partnership between EPA and Honeywell International.
