The Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site stretches across 80 miles of the Kalamazoo River and 3 miles of Portage Creek in Michigan. Paper industry operations discharged PCB-contaminated waste into the river system, and five disposal areas along the riverbanks hold millions of cubic yards of contaminated material. River sediments alone are estimated to contain more than 120,000 pounds of PCBs. The site was placed on the National Priorities List in August 1990 and is divided into seven operable units, each addressed separately.
PCBs are the primary concern. They appear in soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water, fish tissue, and liquid waste. Heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, and zinc are also present throughout the site. Volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, trichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene have been detected in soil at two of the units. Human exposure is currently not under control, meaning unsafe contamination levels remain and people could be exposed. Groundwater migration is under control. Michigan has posted fish advisory signs along the river warning about risks from eating contaminated fish.
Since 1998, EPA has removed nearly 660,000 cubic yards of contaminated material and cleaned up nearly 11 miles of river and its banks. Four of the seven operable units have completed remedial action, including the King Highway Landfill, 12th Street Landfill, Plainwell Mill soil, and the Willow Boulevard area, which received a partial deletion from the National Priorities List in August 2024. Work at the Allied Paper Landfill began in June 2021 and is expected to finish in 2026, with International Paper overseeing cleanup since 2023. The largest and most complex unit covers the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek, where active dredging near Trowbridge Dam removed more than 300,000 cubic yards of sediment in 2025, with full completion expected by 2026. Downstream work near the Paterson Street Bridge wrapped up in 2024. Design work continues for other river sections, and overall cleanup activities are expected to continue through 2028. The former Plainwell Mill property has been redeveloped into a mixed-use site, with four businesses employing 127 people as of December 2024.
Community members can get involved through the Kalamazoo River Community Advisory Group, which meets monthly and is open to the public. Site documents are available at four local libraries: Kalamazoo Public Library, Waldo Library at Western Michigan University, Charles Ransom Library in Plainwell, and Otsego District Library. Fact sheets are available in English and Spanish. Direct questions can be directed to EPA community contacts or remedial project managers listed for each part of the site.
