Cleanup Demonstration Projects

In 1998, DNR and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with several parties in the Fox River Group (a coalition of paper companies identified as responsible parties in the Fox River cleanup), agreed to conduct two demonstration projects to evaluate full-scale sediment removal and disposal from the Fox River. The two locations chosen were Deposit N, located upstream of the lock and dam at the Village of Kimberly, and Sediment Management Unit (SMU) 56/57 on the lower part of the river, below the De Pere dam. Information gathered from both these projects was included in the final Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study, which laid the groundwork for the final cleanup plans.

SMU 56/57

In May of 2000, DNR, EPA and the Ft. James Corporation reached an agreement to complete work at the SMU 56/57 site (work had stopped in November 1999 due to weather and other problems). The terms of the agreement called for Ft. James to remove up to 50,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment from the Fox River adjacent to the company's tissue mill. The agreement represented a major step in the cleanup process since it changed the status of the SMU 56/57 project from a demonstration project to an actual removal action, the first on the river. All work was completed in October 2000, and all project goals were met.

To see documents related to this project, click on the links below. More documents are available in the Reports & Documents page.

SMU 56/57 Final Project Report October 2000
Administrative Order of Consent (AOC)
SMU 56/57 Fact Sheet

Deposit N

In November of 1999, DNR completed work on a demonstration project at Deposit N, a PCB-contaminated sediment site near Little Chute and Kimberly. DNR and EPA jointly sponsored the project, which began in October 1998. Following removal of the sediment at Deposit N to contract specifications, additional dredging was carried out at Deposit N and at Deposit O, an adjacent sediment deposit. The project was successful in meeting the primary objective of demonstrating that environmental dredging of PCB contaminated sediment can be performed in an environmentally safe manner.

Deposit N Final Summary Report April 2000 (Exit DNR)
Deposit N Fact Sheet (FRRAT Report)

Last Revised: Tuesday November 21 2006