Tar Lake Superfund Site

Site Information

Mancelona Township, MI (Antrim County)
EPA ID# MID980794655
NPL Site Narrative
NPL Factsheet
CERCLIS listing
Alias(es): Gulf and Western Antrim Property (Tar Lake), Antrim Iron Works

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Robert Paulson (paulson.robert@epa.gov)
312-886-0272 or 800-621-8431, ext. 60272

Remedial Project Manager
Thomas Bloom (bloom.thomas@epa.gov)
312- 886-1967

Site Manager
Mark Henry (henryma@state.mi.us)
Michigan DEQ
517-335-3390

Local Contact
Gary Knapp
Community Development Coordinator
Mancelona Family Resource Center
616-587-5085

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Mancelona Public Library
202 West State Street
Mancelona, MI

Links

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund
Superfund glossary

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Background

The Tar Lake Site consists of a shallow 4-acre pond in Mancelona Township, Antrim County, Michigan. From the 1880s until 1944, Antrim Iron Co. disposed of wastes in the pond. The company's complex included a saw mill, chemical plant, iron extraction and smelting plant, and steel mill. As early as 1949, the State detected ground water contamination as far as 3 miles from the site. Sludge deposits in Tar Lake contain high concentrations of heavy metals and phenol. Analysis of area residential wells in 1980 detected lead and phenol.

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Site Updates

EPA Awards $50,000 Technical Assistance Grants to Illinois, Michigan Community Groups, September 2002
Tar Removal Completed (PDF) (4pp, 1.6MB) June 1999

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