The Lower Fox River runs 39 miles through northeastern Wisconsin and empties into Green Bay. Pulp and paper mills contaminated the river's sediment with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, during the 1950s and 1960s. About 270,000 people in nearby communities were affected. The site has been proposed for the National Priorities List, the federal roster of contaminated places that need cleanup attention.
Ten contaminants of concern have been identified at the site. PCBs are the primary worry, but the list also includes mercury, lead, arsenic, DDT and its breakdown products DDE and DDD, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, a highly toxic dioxin. These chemicals were found in sediment and surface water. Fish and wildlife in the river carry PCB contamination, and fish consumption advisories remain in effect. Cleanup also addressed tar-like material containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, in the East River, left over from manufactured gas plant operations in the early 1900s.
Companies responsible for the contamination funded and carried out the work under EPA and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources oversight. More than 6 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment were removed between 2004 and 2020, at an estimated cost of $1 billion. Cleanup methods included excavation, dredging, in-place capping, offsite disposal, and monitored natural recovery. EPA certified cleanup completion in October 2022, and Wisconsin followed in early 2023. Responsible companies Georgia-Pacific and Glatfelter are conducting long-term monitoring of fish tissue, water, and sediment across the entire river. Georgia-Pacific is also participating in restoration projects. A consent decree approved in March 2019 required Glatfelter to pay $20.5 million toward EPA's past costs and fund oversight of remaining work.
EPA's 2024 five-year review concluded that the cleanup is not yet fully protecting people and the environment because PCB levels have not dropped to safe levels. Fish tissue recovery is expected to take 10 to 30 years. The next five-year review is scheduled for 2029. One source notes that human exposure is currently under control, meaning no unacceptable exposure pathways exist at this time, while the five-year review finding indicates protection of human health and the environment has not yet been achieved. Both claims appear in the source materials.
Community members can review site records at five regional libraries: Appleton Public Library, Brown County Library in Green Bay, Door County Library in Sturgeon Bay, Oneida Community Library in Oneida, and Oshkosh Public Library in Oshkosh. For questions, contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Questions can also be directed to the Wisconsin DNR.
