Environmental Issues
Ninety percent of the water which passes through the Canal originates as industrial outflow or stormwater overflow. Historic contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycylclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals has put the canal under the EPA's Grand Calumet River Area of Concern (AoC)—the only AoC to be listed impaired in all 14 beneficial use categories. Because of this sediment contamination, no dredging has taken place in the harbor since 1972, when the USEPA determined the previous sediment disposal method of open water disposal in Lake Michigan to be unacceptable. Lacking any alternative disposal location, the harbor and canal have accumulated a backlog of approximately 1,000,000 cubic yards (760,000 m3) of sediment, which hinders deep draft commercial navigation. Shipping capacity has been reduced by 15%, increasing shipping costs. The contaminated sediment also leads to further pollution of Lake Michigan, as sediments containing 67,000 pounds (30,000 kg) of chromium, 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of lead, and 420 pounds (190 kg) of PCBs reach the lake each year through the waterway.
The Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the East Chicago Waterway Management District, initiated plans for a dredging and disposal project for sediment at the harbor in the 1990s. The nearby site of a former Energy Cooperative, Inc. (ECI) refinery, which is also an open USEPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) site, was selected as the location for a confined disposal facility (CDF) to safely contain the contaminated sediment. Despite some local environmental justice concerns over the close proximity of the CDF to two low-income public schools, construction of the facility began in spring 2002. Dredging activities are set to begin upon completion of the CDF, and are planned to be carried out over a period of 10 years to finally return the harbor to its authorized dredge depths, with an additional 20 years of maintenance dredging to remove future accumulated sediments. The total cost of the project is estimated at $180 million.
Read more about this topic: Indiana Harbor And Ship Canal
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