Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.
Jeremy Pepin, PepinJ2@Michigan.gov, or 517-219-2288
The Schaefer Road Area Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Rouge Manufacturing Complex (RMC) are contiguous properties located at 3001 Miller Road. This site is undergoing remedial investigation under a Corrective Action Consent Order (CACO) issued by EGLE to Ford Motor Company (Ford) and AK Steel Dearborn Works (AK Steel). The RMC is a jointly owned automobile and steel product manufacturing facility, which has been in operation for nearly a century. Due to historic manufacturing and waste management activities at both properties, EGLE requested an initial investigation of the nature and extent of PFAS in groundwater and storm water at both properties. It should be noted that the investigations at the Schaefer Road Area and the main Rouge Manufacturing Complex are being conducted separately under the CACO.
Geology across the RMC can be grouped into three general natural units that, from the surface downward, include: an intermittently present native sand layer; an underlying site-wide regional silty clay layer; and a bedrock layer. In addition to the natural layers, the surface layer consists of fill materials generally ranging from 7 to 10 feet in depth. Groundwater at the RMC is intermittently present in the fill or native sand perched on the clay layer. Due to the discontinuous nature of the groundwater in the shallow sand/fill layer, there is no consistent flow direction or gradient. Once a low point in the clay surface is filled with perched groundwater, the water will migrate horizontally until it finds an outlet: typically, a storm sewer discharging to the Rouge River. Groundwater flow at the Schaefer Road Area also typically flows to the Rouge River.
Content posted October 2022.
The area surrounding the RMC is a mixture of industrial, commercial, and residential land use with municipally supplied water. No residential wells are expected to be impacted. The closest residential area is approximately one-half mile southeast of the facility. No drinking water wells have been identified within one-half mile from the facility boundary.
EGLE will review the supplement PFAS investigation report and provide any comments and discuss next steps of the investigation with Ford and Cleveland Cliffs. The results table below will be updated when EGLE completes the review of the report.
