We actually have the opportunity to have about a 300-acre nature preserve with a clean Grand Calumet River flowing through that.
And if you'd have told me that that was going to happen 20 years ago, I would have never believed it.

- Paul Labus, The Nature Conservancy, 2012 

The sediment cleanup on the East Branch is complete!

The sediment cleanup on the East Branch of the Grand Calumet River between Kennedy Ave. and Cline Ave. is complete! More than one million cubic yards of sediment were dredged and capped in the river and marshland. This project included the restoration of 58 acres of marsh habitat with the installation of more than 170,000 plants. The Nature Conservancy and Shirley Heinze Land Trust steward large nature preserves adjacent to this section of newly remediated river, creating abundant habitat for frogs, turtles, fish, birds, and more!

The project was administered by a large team. The funding came from a Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) partnership between EPA and the State of Indiana's natural resource agencies, which used funding from a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlement with eight local industries to match federal funding. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided oversight as a NRDA trustee, and The Nature Conservancy, Save the Dunes, and Shirley Heinze Land Trust provided extensive habitat restoration support.

Location

This project cleaned up sediment and restored habitat on the Grand Calumet River and adjacent marsh between Kennedy Ave. and Cline Ave, labeled #5 on the map.  

The East Branch of the Grand Calumet River is located in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern in East Chicago and Hammond, Indiana.

Cleanup Process

Many sections of the river have been or are getting cleaned up through the GLLA. In addition, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers is dredging 1.4 million cubic yards from the canal, and a U. S. Steel enforcement dredging project removed 788,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment in 2007.

Sediment remediated: 1.1 million cubic yards
Contaminants: Heavy metals, PAHs, and PCBs
Method: Hydraulic dredging of the river, mechanical dredging of the wetlands, and capping with organoclay
When: 2012 - 2015
Partners: U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and Indiana Department of Environmental Management with oversight support from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Cost: $88 million

Long-term Benefits

• The cleanup is removing contamination from the food chain, lowering exposure for those who eat fish from the Great Lakes and helping to bring back fish populations in the Grand Calumet River.
• Improvements to the shoreline like the removal of weedy invasive plants help landscape views and fish and wildlife habitat, providing better food and shelter for native species. Migratory birds are returning to Roxana Marsh in full force.
• Trips and tours to the newly remediated sections are increasing the community's sense of place toward the river.
• Recreation on the Grand Calumet may become a reality. Local partners are investigating what is needed to make activities like kayaking, biking, and picnicking safe and feasible.

More Information

Documents
Grand Calumet River Area of Concern habitat report (PDF, 21p, 649KB) March 2014
East Branch fact sheet (PDF, 2p, 401KB) July 2013
Public meeting at East Chicago Public Library posters (PDF, 6p, 3.1MB) July 2013
Grand Calumet River FAQs (PDF, 12p, 5 MB) June 2013

Stakeholders
The Nature Conservancy
Shirley Heinze Land Trust
Save the Dunes
City of East Chicago
City of Hammond
IN Department of Environmental Management
IN Department of Natural Resources
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service