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An Integrated Assessment of Torch Lake Area of Concern Noel R. Urban, Carol A. Maclennan, Judith A. Perlinger

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An Integrated Assessment of Torch Lake Area of Concern Noel R. Urban, Carol A. Maclennan, Judith A. Perlinger An Integrated Assessment of Torch Lake Area of Concern Noel R. Urban, Carol A. MacLennan, Judith A. Perlinger Michigan Technological University Funding provided by Michigan Sea Grant This is Contribution No. 53 of the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University Calumet & Hecla operations in Lake Linden ca 1940. In the foreground are the Calumet and Hecla stamp mills with the stacks of the power house. Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives. Acknowledgments The authors thank Michigan Sea Grant for funding to enable this integrated assessment. Without the support, insights, historical knowledge and perspectives offered by Sharon Baker, MDEQ site coordinator for many years, this project would not have been possible. We also owe tremendous thanks to the two students, Ankita Mandelia and Emma Schwaiger-Zawisza, whose thesis research contributed major parts of this report. Other people who have contributed to our understanding of the site and its history are too numerous to mention individually, but include state and federal agency personnel, colleagues at MTU and the Keweenaw National Historic Park, TLPAC members, and community members. Administration and staff members at Sea Grant were very helpful in administering the grant, creating and maintaining a web site for the project (http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/torchlake/), and facilitating compilation of the final report. The assessment was greatly improved thanks to the contributions of eight anonymous reviewers representing agency, scientist, and local citizen viewpoints. Ruins of Quincy powerhouse. Photograph by Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant, 2012. ii Acronyms and Symbols AOC Area of Concern ARAR Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirement ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry BUI Beneficial Use Impairment CbPEC Consensus-based Probable Effects Concentration CbTEC Consensus-based Threshold Effects Concentration CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act C&H Calumet and Hecla Mining Company DMG Daily Mining Gazette DOC dissolved organic carbon EPA Environmental Protection Agency ERL Effect Range – Low ERM Effect Range – Medium FDA Food and Drug Administration FOLK Friends of the Land of the Keweenaw GLEC Great Lakes Environmental Center GLLA Great Lakes Legacy Act GLRI Great Lakes Restoration Initiative GLWQA Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Hg mercury HRS Hazard Ranking System IA Integrated Assessment IADN Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network IJC International Joint Commission iii ISQG Interim Sediment Quality Guideline KBIC Keweenaw Bay Indian Community KLT Keweenaw Land Trust LEL Lowest Effects Level LLRP Lake Linden Recreation Park MDCH Michigan Department of Community Health MDPH Michigan Department of Public Health MDEQ Michigan Department of Environmental Quality MDNR Michigan Department of Natural Resources MET Medium Effects Threshold MeHg methyl mercury MRC Metals Reserve Company MS Master of Science MTU Michigan Technological University NPL National Priority List NRCS National Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture O&M Operation and Maintenance OGL Office of the Great Lakes, MDEQ OU Operable Unit PAC Public Action Council PAH Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pb lead PCB Polychlorinated Biphenyl PEC Probable Effects Concentration PEL Probable Effects Level iv PRP Principal Responsible Party QMC Quincy Mining Company RAP Remedial Action Plan RI/FS Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study ROD Record of Decision RRD Remediation and Redevelopment, MDEQ SB Senate Bill SEL Severe Effect Level SF Superfund SPAC (Michigan) State Public Advisory Council SPMD Semi-permeable Membrane Device TEC Threshold Effects Concentration TEL Threshold Effects Level TET Toxic Effect Threshold TL Torch Lake TLPAC Torch Lake Public Action Council TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load TU Trout Unlimited UOP Universal Oil Products UP Upper Peninsula (of Michigan) USGS Unites States Geological Survey v Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... ii Acronyms and Symbols .......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ viii List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... xii Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1-16 1-1. Overview ................................................................................................................................. 1-16 1-2. Approaches to the Problems at Torch Lake .............................................................................. 1-21 1-3. Hazards to people at Torch Lake .............................................................................................. 1-23 Chapter 2. Industrialization of Torch Lake – a History ................................................................... 2-25 2-1. Early Human Use and Settlement of Torch Lake Region ........................................................... 2-25 2-2. Stamp Mills and Stamp Sands .................................................................................................. 2-28 2-3. Smelting Milled Copper and its Byproducts .............................................................................. 2-31 2-4. Reclamation: Stamp Sands and Scrap ...................................................................................... 2-39 2-5. Powering Torch Lake Facilities ................................................................................................. 2-43 Chapter 3. Torch Lake Pollution and Government Response – A History of Remediation .............. 3-47 3-1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3-47 3-2. Origin of Torch Lake as a Waste Disposal Site .......................................................................... 3-47 3-3. Early Signs of Environmental Change ....................................................................................... 3-51 3-4. Post-Mining: Pollution and Environmental Concerns in the 1970s ............................................ 3-54 3-5. Torch Lake – A Designated Contaminated Site ......................................................................... 3-58 3-6. Michigan DNR and the Remedial Action Plan ........................................................................... 3-60 3-7. EPA and the Record of Decision: Site Investigation Phase ........................................................ 3-64 3-8. Cleaning Up and Delisting Torch Lake ...................................................................................... 3-69 3-9. Missed Opportunities for Health Protection and Remediation at Torch Lake............................ 3-74 Chapter 4. Who is Doing What at Torch Lake? .............................................................................. 4-77 4-1. Superfund ............................................................................................................................... 4-79 4-2. Area of Concern (AOC) Program .............................................................................................. 4-81 4-3. Other Federal and State Agencies and Private Contractors ...................................................... 4-83 Chapter 5. Citizen Engagement at Torch Lake ............................................................................... 5-88 vi 5-1. Evolution of Superfund and AOC Practice for Citizen Involvement ........................................... 5-92 5-2. Before Superfund -- Early Concern with Water Quality ............................................................ 5-94 5-3. Superfund and Area of Concern: Figuring out the Problems ..................................................... 5-96 5-4. Formation of Torch Lake PAC ................................................................................................. 5-100 5-5. Torch Lake PAC – the Active Years ......................................................................................... 5-103 5-6. Continuing Issues at Torch Lake ............................................................................................. 5-106 5-7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 5-107 Chapter 6. BUI 1: Fish Tumors .................................................................................................... 6-109 6-1. Summary & Recommendations ............................................................................................. 6-109 6-2. History of Tumor Occurrence Reports .................................................................................... 6-109 6-3. History of Regulatory Responses ...........................................................................................
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