Nolichucky Industrial Corp. (Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County)

Megan Watikunas, WatikunasM@Michigan.gov or 269-568-7733

This site is located at 2305 King Highway and is 4.89 acres in size. It is located within a former Georgia-Pacific Corporation’s (GP) property and operated as a paper manufacturer. It is on the Kalamazoo River and downgradient from a former paper mill. It is surrounded on all sides by a Part 201 / former USEPA Superfund Site. PFAS was added to the list of contaminants already being tested for due to the nature of the former operations at the site.

This site is a 4.89-acre area located within a former Georgia-Pacific Corporation’s (GP) property. The site is currently owned by Kalamazoo Charter Township. In the late 1800’s, this site was developed to manufacture paper. Various paper manufacturing operations were conducted on the property until the late 1980s when production activities stopped, and the property was abandoned.

The Charter Township of Kalamazoo acquired the property through tax reversion and requested assistance from EGLE to demolish dangerous buildings and remediate contaminated soil and groundwater. Nolichucky has been a state-funded site since 2001, and has conducted building demolition, environmental assessments, remedial investigations, and more recently, a pilot study to treat soil for contaminants other than PFAS. Due to the nature of the former operations at the site and being surrounded on all four sides by a former Superfund Site which was a GP paper mill, PFAS was added to the list of parameters to be sampled for.

It is located on the Kalamazoo River’s west bank and is downgradient from a former GP mill. Groundwater flow is to the southwest directly to the Kalamazoo River.

This site is within a city of Kalamazoo Wellhead Protection Area. The nearest city of Kalamazoo Wellfield is Station 5, which is currently in operation, however, Station 5’s entry point (where the groundwater enters the treatment system) was sampled by EGLE on June 15, 2018, and results were 2 ppt PFOS+PFOA and 6 ppt Total Tested PFAS. It is important to note that the wellfield is upgradient from the Nolichucky site.

Content posted December 2019.

Surrounding residents are on municipal water.

Engage with the liable party regarding the offsite groundwater contamination. Coordination on the investigation will continue between EGLE, MDHHS, the city of Kalamazoo, and Kalamazoo County Health Department.