We are sharing this release with Michigan DNR email subscribers on behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 28, 2015

Contact: Jessica Mistak (DNR), 906-789-8212; Lisa Williams (USFWS), 517-351-8324; or Julie Sims (NOAA), 734-741-2385

Draft restoration plan and environmental assessment on Kalamazoo River available for public review and comment

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, along with other recognized trustees, are in the process of determining both the extent of the injuries to natural resources caused by the past releases of PCBs to the Kalamazoo River and how to restore these injured natural resources and the services they provide.

As a result, the Kalamazoo River natural resource trustees are asking for comment on a draft plan outlining potential projects to restore natural resources along the Kalamazoo River. The Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement analyzes a suite of actions believed to most effectively compensate the public for losses caused by the PCBs released from paper mills from late 1950s through the early 1970s.

This plan identifies potential project types the trustees are interested in implementing and two specific proposed restoration projects: 1) the removal of the Otsego City Dam and 2) the removal of the Otsego Dam. It provides guidance for future restoration activities to be carried out by the trustees or conducted under their oversight.

The Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Kalamazoo River is available for public comment until Thursday, Oct. 29. Written comments for the trustees to consider should be sent to Lisa Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, East Lansing Field Office, 2651 Coolidge Road, East Lansing, MI 48823. Comments also may be submitted electronically to kzoorivernrda@fws.gov, with “Kalamazoo River RP/PEIS” in the subject line.

This public comment period is described in a Federal Register Notice as well as in the Draft RP/PEIS.

Trustees held a public meeting on September 15 at the Kalamazoo Nature Center to discuss the Draft Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. To see a copy of the slideshow presented, visit www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/KalamazooRiver/index.html.

For further information, please contact: Jessica Mistak, DNR, at mistakj@michigan.gov or 906-789-8212; Lisa Williams, USFWS, at lisa_williams@fws.gov or 517-351–8324, or Julie Sims, NOAA Restoration Center, at julie.sims@noaa.gov or 734-741–2385.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.