Remediation and Restoration Projects for Torch Lake AOC

Torch Lake Great Lakes Legacy Act Focused Feasibility Study

On August 20, 2019, EPA signed a Great Lakes Legacy Act Project Agreement with Honeywell International, Inc. to perform a focused feasibility study at the Torch Lake AOC. This is the first GLLA project agreement signed at the Torch Lake AOC. The study is being performed in two areas of Torch Lake, the Lake Linden Recreational Area and the Hubbell Processing Area.

The study is focusing on developing remedial alternatives for addressing PCB, lead and arsenic contaminated sediment in both areas, as well as mining waste abandoned in the lakebed in the Hubbell Processing Area. Addressing contaminated sediment in these two areas will contribute to removing the Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption BUI.

The project agreement included removal of hazardous piles along Torch Lake for source control. Source control work, conducted by Honeywell, was completed in fall 2019. Additional sampling took place in summer of 2020. The Feasibility Study for the Lake Linden Recreation Area is expected to conclude in fall of 2023. The Feasibility Study for the Hubbell Processing Area is anticipated to be complete in 2024.

The following table lists remediation and restoration projects in the Torch Lake AOC.