The Little Scioto River Superfund site sits in Marion County, Ohio, and covers two distinct areas: the river itself and the former Baker Wood Creosoting facility. Creosote operations at that facility ran from the 1890s through the 1960s. Poor disposal practices left arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, known as PAHs, in groundwater, sediment, and soil. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in September 2009, marking it as a priority for federal cleanup.
Contamination differs between the two areas. In the river, sediment contains PAHs such as anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene, along with arsenic. At the former creosoting facility, soil holds PAHs including benzo[a]pyrene, naphthalene, and methylnaphthalene, as well as arsenic, benzene, and ethylbenzene. A drain that once carried chemicals into the North Rockswale Ditch has been sealed. Municipal water supplies are monitored regularly and are not affected by contaminated groundwater.
Active dredging of a 3.25-mile stretch of river began in August 2024. By December 2025, EPA finished dredging the northern portion between State Route 95 and Keener Pike West. The agency expects to complete dredging the remaining 1.2 miles by winter 2026 and finish the full river cleanup by 2028. Excavated sediment is treated with cementitious material and disposed of in a permitted landfill. For the former facility site, EPA published a cleanup decision in September 2022 calling for groundwater monitoring wells, soil removal, subsurface chemical treatment, and injection of microorganisms and nutrients to support natural cleanup. Design investigations and treatability studies are currently underway there, with remedial action estimated to begin between March and May 2028.
Human exposure is not currently under control, and contaminated groundwater has not been stabilized. The Ohio Department of Health has maintained a health advisory since 1992 against swimming, wading, and eating fish from the river west of Marion, from Holland Road south to State Route 739. People who swim, wade, or fish in that area risk contact with or ingestion of contaminated sediment and fish.
Community members can stay involved through a Community Advisory Group, which gives residents a public forum to discuss concerns with EPA, state agencies, and other federal partners involved in the cleanup. A public information repository is also maintained at the Marion Public Library, 445 E. Church Street, Marion, Ohio. For direct questions, the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator and Remedial Project Manager are both available by phone and email.
