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Former S.D. Warren (SAPPI) (Muskegon, Muskegon County)
Disclaimer
Web content may not routinely be updated on this page. Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of the site.
Content posted January 2022.
EGLE Site Lead
Peter Van Heest, VanHeestP@Michigan.gov or or 616-439-8019.
Background
The former S.D. Warren site (also known as SAPPI) is located at 2400 Lakeshore Drive, on the south shore of Muskegon Lake and was occupied by a papermill from about 1900 to 2009. Manufacturing at the site stopped in 2009 and structures on the property have since been demolished. In 2016, the State of Michigan entered an Administrative Order by Consent (AOC) with the parties liable for the contamination. The AOC specified response activities that the liable parties were required to complete in exchange for the State agreeing not to sue or take administrative action against them.
The current property owner, Pure Muskegon, LLC (Pure Muskegon), purchased the site in 2016 intending to redevelop the now vacant property. During work to support redevelopment of the site, Pure Muskegon discovered PFAS in the groundwater. Although Pure Muskegon is not a liable party for the historical PFAS contamination, they voluntarily performed groundwater remediation activities at the site by operating a groundwater pump-and-treat remediation system in 2019 and 2020. The remediation system reduced PFAS concentrations in some areas of the site, however, significant PFAS contamination remains. Pure Muskegon voluntarily sent a workplan for the construction of a 4.9-acre remediation lake to EGLE in October 2021 as part of their efforts to further remediate the site. EGLE is reviewing the workplan to evaluate compliance with applicable environmental laws and rules.
Muskegon Lake is located on three sides of the site property. Groundwater flow has been determined to be towards Muskegon Lake.
Recent Accomplishments
- Between October 2018 and July 2020, Pure Muskegon sampled groundwater at the site for PFAS.
- On October 20, 2021, EGLE received all the historical PFAS groundwater sampling results from Pure Muskegon. The highest results were PFOS of 6,954 ppt, PFOA of 1,192 ppt, and PFNA of 17 ppt.
- On November 8, 2021, EGLE confirmed with the City of Muskegon and the local health department that homes and businesses nearby are connected to city drinking water.
Next Steps
- EGLE will be collecting surface water samples from Muskegon Lake in 2022 as part of their PFAS investigation in the Muskegon River watershed.
Residential Well/Alternate Water
- The area is serviced by the City of Muskegon water supply.
Upcoming Community Engagement
- None scheduled at this time.
Sampling Results Summary
Type of Sample |
Date Sampled (or Range) |
Number of Sample Results Received |
Number of Samples above Criteria* |
---|---|---|---|
Groundwater Monitoring Wells |
October 2018 - July 2020 |
35 |
25 |
Sampling Notes
- Samples were collected by current property owner. Data for the samples were received by EGLE on October 20, 2021.