U.S. Representative Sandy Levin
12th District of Michigan

(Washington D.C.)- Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak) commended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for agreeing to return to St. Clair Shores to continue the cleanup of PCB contamination. The three lawmakers have been working with the City of St. Clair Shores to get EPA to move ahead with the next phase of the PCB cleanup.

“The reoccurring nature of the PCB contamination is a major concern for the citizens and the community so having the EPA return and continue as a partner in the clean-up is essential,” said U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak).  “Addressing the PCBs in the drain is a good first step, but it is clear that additional action will be needed to remove the remaining PCBs outside the drain.”

“The EPA has a responsibility to the people of St. Clair Shores, and I’m glad they are taking the initial steps to fulfill that responsibility,” said Senator Carl Levin (D-MI). “While there is a great deal of work to be done, I am hopeful that this is the beginning of a concerted effort to permanently eliminate this dangerous contamination.”

“High concentrations of PCB in the Ten Mile Drain continue to pose a potential health threat to residents living nearby,” Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said. “I am pleased that the EPA has responded to our concerns and is returning to the Drain with an expanded plan to clean up the site and prevent future contamination.”

On October 21, after discussions with officials of St. Clair Shores, the lawmakers wrote to the Administrator of EPA’s Region 5 Office, Tom Skinner, urging him to “take immediate action to remediate the additional PCB contamination that has been discovered in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.”  The letter was signed by Senators Levin and Stabenow, and Congressman Levin. 

On December 15, Congressman Levin called Administrator Skinner to discuss the status of additional cleanup remedies.  Administrator Skinner agreed that further remediation work was needed and outlined EPA’s plans to re-clean and install a waterproof liner in the most seriously contaminated sections of the Ten Mile Drain.  Testing samples from several different locations of the Drain have revealed PCB concentrations of up to 200,000 parts-per-million.  On December 20, Administrator Skinner wrote to Senators Levin and Stabenow, and Congressman Levin, to provide additional details on EPA’s cleanup strategy.  On February 1, EPA Region 5 gave formal approval to spend $1.2 million on this phase of the cleanup.

The three Michigan lawmakers pledged to continue working with EPA and MDEQ on further cleanup steps, as well as work with the federal government and State to identify funding to continue this effort.

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