Fox River Cleanup Project celebrated at annual Clean Bay Backers meeting
GREEN BAY (WLUK) -- The health of the environment in Northeast Wisconsin was up for discussion, at the annual Clean Bay Backers event Tuesday.
There were challenges, and stories of success.
After decades of dredging, The Fox River Cleanup Project is complete. More than 6.5 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated material were removed from a 39-mile stretch of waterway. The cost was more than a billion dollars.
"Because of this project, the river is much, much cleaner now, and overall recovery of this river and the bay has been accelerated," said Beth Olson, DNR Project Manager.
Olson says next year, scientists will test for PCB levels in water, sediment, and fish from the De Pere Dam, to the waters of Green Bay.
"And then, in 2022, we will monitor the entire river every five years. We'll also continue to oversee the monitoring of engineered caps, forever," she said.
The river cleanup in Green Bay differs from challenges near Marinette, where man-made chemicals known as PFAS have been found in soil and water there. The Tyco Fire Technology Center has used PFAS chemicals to produce fire fighting foam. UW-Madison Researcher Sarah Balgooyen is studying the impact of PFAS on Lake Michigan.
"And that leads us to the idea that the Bay of Green Bay may be somewhat of a PFAS hot-spot within Lake Michigan," said Sarah Balgooyen, UW-Madison Researcher.
Balgooyen says PFAS can move quickly, and linger in the environment, but...
"The PFAS levels in Green Bay are not concerning as of now," she said.
Runoff from agriculture and other sources is another concern. UW-Green Bay professor Kevin Fermanich says after two very wet years, 2020 looks relatively dry.
"It's a very different year this year, in respect to the corn harvest. It happened much earlier than last year, and therefore it will allow the farmers to put on a cover crop much earlier," said Kevin Fermanich, UW-Green Bay Geoscience Professor.
The Clean Bay Backers are a citizen advisory group for the Department of Natural Resources for Lower Green Bay, and the Fox River Area of Concern. 94 people attended Tuesday's virtual event.
