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Grassy
Island Disposal Facility
Part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Site Description
Grassy Island is a 72-acre island in the Detroit River, situated between the City of Wyandotte and Fighting Island, and north of Grosse Ile. In 1961, Congress declared Grassy Island and the surrounding shoals a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), named Wyandotte NWR. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) used this island as a disposal facility to dispose of contaminated sediments dredged primarily from the Rouge River. From the years 1961 and 1982, over three million cubic yards of dredged sediments were deposited into Grassy Island. Grassy Island is now part of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.
Grassy Island and its surrounding shoals provide habitat for fish and wildlife resources in the lower Detroit River. The island is located along the migration corridor for many bird species including osprey, bald eagle, ducks, geese, swans, and peregrine falcons. The wild celery beds along the shoals of Grassy Island provide wintering habitat for numerous waterfowl including canvasback and redhead ducks. In addition, the surrounding waters provide a diversity of habitats from shallow slow water shoals to deep flowing water with rocky shorelines thereby supporting a diverse warmwater fish community. Fish species found at the refuge include rock bass, yellow perch, walleye. Historically, lake sturgeon have spawned 1/4 mile north of Grassy Island. Lake sturgeon, are listed as either threatened or endangered by 19 of 20 states within their original range in the United States.
As the Grassy Island disposal facility was constructed without an impermeable liner or cap, the Service is concerned that wildlife in direct contact with island are being exposed to contaminants and that contaminants may be seeping into the Detroit River. The Service and the U.S. Geological Survey have conducted surveys to quantify contaminants present in the plants, biota, soils, and sediments of Grassy Island. Soils and sediments within the disposal facility have elevated concentrations of a variety of organic and inorganic compounds. The Service collected waterfowl from Grassy Island, which were found to have polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in excess of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Tolerance Level for poultry. Lead was also detected at levels of concern.
The Service is currently moving forward on plans to more fully characterize the risks from the identified contaminants and evaluate the feasibility of several approaches to both remediate contaminant risks and enhance long-term benefits of the area for fish and wildlife. The process the Service is using is the CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) framework for conducting remedial activities.
Site History
Click HERE for a more detailed history of Grassy Island, including historical photographs.
Species List
Click HERE for a table of plant and animal species observed on and surrounding Grassy Island.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Click HERE to view a list of questions typically asked along with the answers. This list was prepared to help people better understand the site by providing concise information regarding the site's background and current status. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the FAQs.
Upcoming Event!
None planned at this time.
Previous Events Y
ou will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the links below.
Grassy Island Public Forum
Thursday, October 11, 2006
Wyandotte, MI
The purpose of this forum was to report back to the public what progress has been made in completing the remedial investigations necessary to make decisions regarding the remediation and restoration of Grassy Island.
Click HERE to view the agenda.
Click HERE to view the slides used by presenters during the forum (1,840 kb)
Grassy Island Public Forum
March 9, 2006
Wyandotte, MI
The event drew an audience of approximately 60 attendees and speakers. The purpose of the forum was to summarize the approach the Service and its partners are taking regarding remedial efforts at Grassy Island, and to report back to the public regarding the progress made in scoping and completing, the remedial investigations necessary to make decisions.
Click HERE to view the agenda Click HERE to view thepress release
Click HERE to view the Discussion Record (464 kb- pdf format). The Discussion Record has several appendices, which are listed and linked below: Appendix A: Copy of all Microsoft Powerpoint slides used by presenters during the Forum (1,114 kb)
Appendix B: Grassy Island Issue Statement (28 kb)
Appendix C: Grassy Island Frequently Asked Questions (108 kb)
Creating a Vision for Grassy Island:
Public Comment on the Future Uses of Grassy Island
January 31, 2006
Trenton, MI
Click HERE to view the press release
Grassy Island Public Forum
December 1, 2005
Wyandotte, MI
The event drew an audience of approximately 60 attendees and speakers. The purpose of the forum was to review what was known and unknown about Grassy Island, receive public input, clarify roles and responsibilities of the parties involved, and to develop a list of short-term actions that would complete the investigative phase and move forward in a coordinated fashion amongst the partners toward the goal of restoring Grassy Island.
Click HERE to view the agenda (32 kb- MS Word) Click HERE to view theDiscussion Record (276 kb- pdf format)
Grassy Island Public Meeting
November 10, 2004
Wyandotte, MI
Results from the Preliminary Assessment and Site Inspection as well as the steps in the CERCLA framework for remediation were presented during this public meeting. This talk was entitled: "Moving towards Remediation and Restoration at Grassy Island". Click HERE to view and download that presentation (896k pdf format)
Reports & Memos
Y
ou will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the links below."Grassy Island Bird and Insect Survey Results" by Julie Craves, Rouge River Bird Observatory July 2006. (78kb pdf format).
"Joint Inspection of Grassy Island Dredge Disposal Facility located in the Detroit River near Wyandotte, Michigan" by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. June 2006. (4.6mg pdf format). PHOTO (167kb jpg format) caption: Rich Sallans, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, next to what appears to be an old monitoring well on the east side of Grassy Island. Photographer: Stephanie Millsap, FWS, 5/17/06
"Grassy Island Budget Memorandum" by Stephanie Millsap, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. April 2006. (128kb pdf format)
"Grassy Island Issue Statement" Interagency signed statement. March 2006. (28kb pdf format)
"Leachate Seepage and Surface Runoff from the Grassy Island, Wayne County, MI" by Tommy Myers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. February 2006. (42k pdf format).
"Pre-Scoping and Cost-Estimation Memorandum - Grassy Island Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, Wayne County, Michigan" and "Appendix C" by Tetra-Tech EC Inc., for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. December 2005. (528k, 24k pdf format).
"Preliminary Assessment and Site Inspection, Grassy Island Disposal Facility, Wayne County, Michigan" by Stephanie Millsap, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. January 2005. (668k pdf format)
The following reports regarding Grassy Island are too large for downloading. Therefore, they are available on CD upon request.
"Contamination distribution and movement at Grassy Island" by Bruce Manny, U.S. Geological Survey. 1999.
"Continuous seismic-reflection profiling near Grassy Island, Wyandotte Unit of Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Wyandotte, Michigan" by Michael Sweat, U.S. Geological Survey. 1999.
"Contaminant distribution in sediments and ground water on and near Grassy Island" by Michael Sweat, U.S. Geological Survey. 1999.
"Contamination of surface soils and wildcelery tubers at Grassy Island in the Wyandotte National Wildlife Refuge in the Detroit River, Michigan" by Bruce Manny, U.S. Geological Survey. 1999.
"Survey of contaminants in sediment and biota within the Grassy Island confined disposal facility, Wyandotte National Wildlife Refuge" by David Best, Timothy Kubiak, and Diane Beollstorff, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. April 1992.
Contacts
If you have any questions concerning information found in any of these reports or any other comments related to Grassy Island, contact:
Stephanie Millsap, Contaminants Specialist
Detroit River Sub-Office of the East Lansing Field Office
9311 Groh Rd.
Grosse Ile, MI 48138
734-692-7628
If you have questions concerning the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, please contact:
John Hartig, Refuge Manager
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
9311 Groh Rd.
Grosse Ile, MI 48138
734-692-7608National Wildlife Refuge System
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Region 3 Contaminants Program HomepagePage maintained by: Stephanie Millsap
