Former Fox River Paper Company (Vicksburg, Kalamazoo County)

Pablo Mora, MoraP@Michigan.gov or 269-910-0136

The former Fox River Paper Company located at 300 West Highway Street, operated between 1904 and 2001. Historic operations at the former mill consisted of the manufacturing of paper products from recycled carbon fibers (rags). Other paper products produced at the mill included other grades of paper such as: blueprint, photographic base paper, wallpaper, and text paper. Additionally, there is a property to the south of the former mill that was used for landfilling and another area to the south that was utilized as a spray irrigation field for the mill's treated wastewater.

The Former Fox River Paper Company is a current Brownfield Site that is undergoing redevelopment. As part of the site characterization for a portion of the work being conducted, the developer sampled for PFAS. Multiple PFAS compounds were detected at the site.

Groundwater flow direction at the site is generally to the south, with localized flow to the adjoining Portage Creek and wetland. Groundwater is known to vent to the creek.

Content posted October 2021.

There are two residential wells downgradient of this site and one irrigation well nearby. EGLE will work to obtain access agreements to sample the wells.

EGLE will communicate with the liable party about the PFAS contamination and make them aware of their obligations to address the groundwater contamination EGLE will coordinate with other state and local officials to determine necessary actions related to the potential sampling of wells.