Background

A former plating facility in southwest Michigan, released chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) into shallow groundwater which resulted in a ¼-mile long contaminant plume. This fast-moving contaminant plume extended beneath a residential neighborhood and discharged to the nearby Paw Paw River. The contaminated groundwater infiltrated into a nearby storm water system and into several residential basement sumps.

In response, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the environmental firm, DLZ, implemented a combined remedy which included mitigating vapor intrusion in the residential basements and treating the groundwater plume with a novel, multi-phase Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination (ERD) approach. These efforts succeeded in eliminating the immediate vapor intrusion risk at the residences and virtually eliminating the dissolvedphase CVOC plume, negating any potential future risks to the residences and the surface water.

Combined Remedy Approach Restores Neighborhood