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Former Plainwell Mill Operable Unit 7 (OU7) (Plainwell, Allegan County)
Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.
EGLE site lead
Daniel Peabody, PeabodyD@Michigan.gov or 517-285-3924
Background
Former Plainwell Mill Operable Unit 7 (OU7) is located near the intersection of West Allegan Street and North Main Street and is part of the Allied Paper, Inc/Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. In the summer of 2024, groundwater sampling was conducted at the site by the potentially responsible party (PRP) after the soil remedy was completed, which identified PFAS in groundwater. The highest detections were 420 ppt PFOA (compared to 8 ppt) and 350 ppt PFOS (compared to 16 ppt) at monitor well MW-12S. Groundwater elevation/flow data was not provided with the recent analytical summary report. Historic groundwater data suggests that groundwater flow in the shallow aquifer is generally to the north and west, parallel to the Kalamazoo River. The Kalamazoo River and mill race border the site to the north and east, respectively.
Map
See an aerial view of the location of the site.
Drinking water information
Municipal water is available in the area but there are several private drinking water wells. The PRP declined to conduct any residential well sampling at this time. EGLE, DHHS, and local health identified several nearby private drinking water wells which MPART will seek permission to sample.
Anticipated activities
The PRP is planning to complete one additional round of groundwater sampling on-site.