Settlement Reached To Clean Up The Kalamazoo River

A group of federal and state agencies is reaching a big court settlement with one of the companies accused of polluting the Kalamazoo River. NCR Corporation is agreeing to a 25 million dollar settlement to help clean up PCB contamination in the river from the Morrow Pond impoundment west of Battle Creek – all the way to Lake Michigan.

Paper mills were the primary source of the contaminant getting into the river from the 1950’s through to the early 70’s.  This resulted in injuries to natural resources including fish, mammals and birds. In 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named the area a Superfund Site by adding it to the National Priorities List.

The trustees of the agencies involved are asking for people throughout the region to submit ideas for the river cleanup and restoration work that will be made possible by the agreement.