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Kellogg Air National Guard Base Battle Creek (Battle Creek, Calhoun County)

Kellogg Air National Guard Base Battle Creek (Battle Creek, Calhoun County)

Disclaimer: Web content may not be routinely updated on this page.

Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.

EGLE site lead

Gregg Brettmann, BrettmannG@Michigan.gov or 269-267-3528.

Background

The Kellogg Air National Guard Base is located at 3545 Mustang Avenue in Battle Creek just south of West Dickman Road. It has been the home base of the Michigan Air National Guard (ANG) since the mid-1950’s. The ANG Base encompasses 349-acres. Due to its long continuous operations as a military base and use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam on the site, the ANG and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) collected soil and groundwater samples to determine if there had been any releases of PFAS to the environment.

Groundwater flow direction varies slightly but is predominantly to the north and northwest. Wetlands and drainage ditches are present to the west of the ANG Base, with the other sides being developed with commercial businesses, homes and the Battle Creek Executive Airport. Several storm sewers also carry storm water from the ANG Base property to the adjacent wetlands which also has the potential to carry contaminants with it. These wetlands comprise the headwaters for Helmer Creek which flows to the northeast and north to the Kalamazoo River located approximately 1.5-miles north of the ANG Base. Municipal water is provided to the ANG Base by the City of Battle Creek and to many surrounding businesses and residential homes, however there are several properties that still have their own private drinking water wells in the areas surrounding the ANG Base.

Content posted April 2022

Kellogg Air National Guard Base Battle Creek Map

Site map

See an aerial view of the location of the site.

Expand the map

Drinking water

Residential well sampling in the area was conducted in March 2018 by EGLE, and in 2020 by DHHS starting within a one-mile radius of the base. See Helmer-Dickman Area of Interest for details on the residential well sampling conducted near the base.

Anticipated activities

EGLE will continue to work with the ANG and their consultants to finalize the Remedial Investigation (RI) Uniform Federal Policy (UFP) Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) so the field investigation work for the RI can begin.

Historical Timeline

    • In 2016 the Air National Guard (ANG) conducted a base-wide Preliminary Assessment (PA) at the Kellogg Air National Guard Base (ANGB). This Assessment was conducted to identify known and potential releases of PFAS at various areas known to have stored or released Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) or other PFAS containing products. The report identified 14 potential release locations (PRL) on the ANGB.
    • In January through May 2018, the ANG conducted a Site Inspection (SI) on the Base, which investigated 13 of the PRLs by installing several monitoring wells in suspected PFAS source areas and the collection and analysis of several soil samples.
    • In May 2018, the Air National Guard collected groundwater samples from the monitoring wells they installed on the Base as part of the SI. EGLE collected split samples at the same time. Analytical results were provided in their Final Site Inspection Report dated October 2018.
    • On June 11, 2018, EGLE received results from the split samples collected from monitoring wells that were installed on the Base earlier in the year. Results show the presence of 16 PFAS compounds with criteria exceedances in groundwater observed at all 13 PRLs. The highest results were 21,500 ppt PFOA; 55,500 ppt PFOS; and 38,400 ppt PFHxS.
    • On July 30, 2018, an Open House and Town Hall meeting was held for the public.
    • On October 18, 2018, a compliance communication letter was sent to the Air National Guard requesting them to comply with the requirements of Part 201, Environmental Remediation, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA, as amended for this facility.
    • On October 22, 2018, EGLE received the Final Site Inspection Report from the Air National Guard which detailed the work they conducted on the ANGB earlier in the year.
    • On May 8, 2019, the Final Site Inspection Report for PFAS investigation activities on the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base was released for the public Administrative Record.
    • In the summer of 2020, the ANG installed additional monitoring wells on the Base to assist in delineation of PFAS contamination observed in the groundwater from the SI response activities. No report on this work was provided to EGLE.
    • On October 5, 2020, the ANG held a kick-off meeting to develop a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) and a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) to assist in keeping the public informed about activities conducted at the ANGB.
    • On October 5, 2020, the ANG was notified about funding approval and was able to begin moving forward with the remedial investigation work for PFAS contamination identified on the Base.
    • On December 1, 2020, the ANG met with EGLE at the Base to conduct a site walk-through, review background information, and evaluate proposed Phase I sampling locations as part of the upcoming remedial investigation work.
    • On December 10, 2020, the ANG and their consultants held a kick-off meeting with EGLE, DHHS and the United State Army Corps of Engineers to discuss the project background and objectives, the project statement of work, deliverables and schedule.
    • On October 15, 2021, EGLE received the Draft Final Remedial Investigation (RI) Uniform Federal Policy (UFP) Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) from the ANG for review and to provide comments.
    • On November 12, 2021, EGLE submitted comments to the ANG on the RI UFP-QAPP to be incorporated into the final report.
    • On March 15, 2022, EGLE received the revised Draft Final RI UEP-QAPP for additional review and comment.

    Sampling Results Summary

    Type of Sample

    Date Sampled
    (or range)

    Number of Sample Results Received

    Number of Samples above Criteria*

    GroundwaterMonitoring Wells

    January 2018 – present

    16

    16

    Residential Wells

    SeeHelmer-Dickman Area of Interest

    0

    0

    Surface Water

    January 2018 – present

    2

    2

    * Residential well and groundwater monitoring well results are compared to EGLE Part 201 criteria for 7 PFAS compounds effective 12/21/2020:  PFOS (16 ppt), PFOA (8 ppt), PFNA (6 ppt), PFHxS (51 ppt), PFHxA (400,000 ppt), PFBS (420 ppt), and HFPO-DA (370 ppt).
    * Surface water samples are compared to Rule 57 non-drinking water values of 12 ppt for PFOS and 12,000 ppt for PFOA.