Site of Cliffs Dow Chemical Company

October 13, 2019 Marquette, Michigan | YouTube – impala2511

Aerial View of the Site of Cliffs Dow Chemical Company in Marquette Michigan showing what the site looks like fifty (50) years after production of charcoal and wood based chemicals ceased. The Marquette City Commission is following the City “Master Plan” that calls for the property to be sold to a developer who wants to build “up to 500” residential units.
The City of Marquette’s own technical consultant, Trimedia, stated, in an “alternative Monitoring Point Summary Report dated July 2019” this is what is on the site now:
1) Widespread cover of fill materials containing sand, gravel, slag, charcoal, cinders and concrete debris exists at varying depths throughout the Site;
2) Tar has been identified in discrete, small pockets extending several feet below the water table in the retort, refinery and tar settling areas;
3) Subsurface tar above or a few feet below the water table is considered to be the probable source of groundwater plume contaminants that exceed Part 201 Generic Cleanup GSI (Groundwater-Surface water Interface) criteria (part 201 GSI criteria) at the Lake Superior Interface; and
4) Several dissolved-phase plume contaminants have exceeded both GSI and Acute mixing zone-based GSI criteria.