Posted on December 21, 2017
By Phillip Bock, Sheboygan
Three companies will pay more than $4.5 million in settlement payments to resolve claims they polluted the Sheboygan River.
The three companies — Tecumseh Products Co., Thomas Industries, Inc. and Wisconsin Public Service Corp — agreed to the settlements long after a multi-million dredging and cleanup effort of the Sheboygan River has finished.
Kohler Co., which was also initially named a possible responsible party, is not part of the current settlement and their role remains unresolved, according to the Department of Justice.
“Technically Kohler isn’t settling their natural resources claim, so there would potentially be a claim out there. Whether anybody pursues it would have to be analyzed, but at this point, Kohler is basically not involved by their choice,” said Lorraine Stoltzfus, assistant attorney general for the State of Wisconsin.
Kohler Co. issued a statement denying responsibility for the natural resource damages.
“Kohler Co. is aware of the settlement to resolve claims for natural resource damages at the Sheboygan River & Harbor Superfund Site. Kohler is not part of this settlement because the company did not contribute PCBs to the river,” the statement read.
The Sheboygan River and Harbor Site were originally contaminated as a result of PCB use at a die-cast plant in Sheboygan Falls run by Tecumseh Products Company. The company hired a separate company to assume liability and lead the dredging and cleanup efforts in the area.
The dredging, completed in 2013, was aimed at cleaning up sediment in the lower 14 miles of the Sheboygan River, which had been designated a federal superfund site due to the PCB pollution.
A federal study in 2014 found that traces of the cancer-causing chemical in fish and sediment dropped significantly thanks to the river clean-up effort.
The three companies were found liable for historic industrial discharges of pollutants into the Sheboygan River. Under the settlement, Tecumseh will pay $3.8 million, Thomas Industries $550,000, and WPSC $166,750.
The three companies previously paid approximately $32 million to clean up the Sheboygan River and Harbor Superfund site under prior agreements with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. Additional millions of dollars were invested by the federal government through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative along with state, city and county funds to further speed river restoration and restore navigation to the Sheboygan River.
The pollution dates back to as early as the 1870s when various industrial facilities released chemicals into the Sheboygan River.
In a 2013 response to the proposed damage assessment, a company representing Tecumseh Products Company, which operated a die-cast company in Sheboygan Falls from 1966 till its closing in 2003, expressed eagerness to settle. Company officials did not respond to requests for comment on this article.
Representatives from Thomas Industries, which manufactured compressors, vacuum pumps, and liquid pumps in Sheboygan, maintained that it cooperated with the EPA and that chemicals in outfall from the business into the river were within acceptable limits.
The company has since been purchased and is now part of a large conglomerate. The claim was settled by the company’s insurance carrier, according to Andrew Schiesl, vice president and general counsel for Gardner Denver Thomas.
“We absolutely support and are pleased that the carrier reached a settlement rather than litigate this,” Schiesl said. “We still have a plant in Sheboygan, it’s an important community for us, and we’d much rather those dollars go to cleaning things up than to litigate.”
The Wisconsin Public Service Corporation was also named as a responsible party stemming from the operation of a coal gasification plant located along the east bank of the lower river from 1872 to 1929.
“Our goal in this process has been to complete a comprehensive remediation of the former manufactured gas plant site,” said Matt Cullen, senior communications specialist for WPS. “Wisconsin Public Service began its remediation efforts in the 1990’s, and along the way has worked with state and federal environmental stakeholders to properly address residual materials at the site. While on-site remediation and restoration efforts ended in 2013, we continue to monitor the site, and remain committed to working with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources and other stakeholders to ensure the site continues to meet all applicable environmental standards.”
The settlement funds will be used for restoration projects along the Sheboygan River to offset the damage done to natural resources caused by the pollution.
“The restoration work enabled by this settlement will make significant contributions to the environment in the area of the Sheboygan River and nearby Lake Michigan,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
The proposed settlements require payment of $1,295,500 to Sheboygan County as partial reimbursement for costs it incurred in acquiring the Amsterdam Dunes restoration project area for preservation.
It also includes $2,532,500 to be used on preservation and restoration activities consistent with a proposed Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment that is now available for public review and comment. The 30 day comment period on the plan began Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Of the possible alternatives, the draft Restoration Plan recommends preservation and implementation of restoration activities at the Willow Creek and Amsterdam Dunes properties.
The remainder of the settlement funds will reimburse federal, state and local agencies for their work at the site.
“The Sheboygan River and its wetlands provide important habitats for migratory birds and fish, and support hunting and fishing activities for local residents,” said Charlie Wooley, deputy midwest regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “(The) settlement means we can help natural resources affected by PCBs and other contaminants, and at the same time, benefit local communities.”
The former Schuchardt farm property, approximately 140 acres within the City of Sheboygan, will be protected to create the Willow Creek Preserve, a natural feature within an urban environment that supports a diverse habitat mix.
The preserve is located along Indiana Avenue, to the north of where the John Michael Kohler Arts Center is building an art preserve.
“Those are two things that are going to mesh well together. I think they’ll become good partners,” Mayor Mike Vandersteen said. “You’ll have the art preserve and you’ll have the nature preserve above it, and people will be able to flow from one to the other.”
Under the proposed restoration plan, settlement funds would be used to transfer the 140 acres from the City to the Glacial Lakes Conservancy, a private, non-profit land conservation organization in the Sheboygan area, who would manage the Willow Creek Preserve.
“We have a couple early projects we are looking at, including preservation at Amsterdam Dunes and Willow Creek, but there will still be money in the pot after those two projects,” Betsy Galbraith, a case manager with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, said. “We’ll be working with local conservation partners to see what other projects are out there that might fit what we’re looking for.”
Amsterdam Dunes consists of 184 acres abutting Lake Michigan within the Sheboygan River Basin, just north of the Ozaukee-Sheboygan County line. Several potential restoration projects within Amsterdam Dunes have been identified, including restoration of wetland hydrology, stream habitat improvements, invasive species management, and conversion of agricultural land.
“We’re pleased to contribute NOAA’s expertise to these projects in Sheboygan County that preserve approximately 324 acres of important ecological habitat and support more recreational opportunities and public access,” said W. Russell Callender, assistant NOAA administrator for the National Ocean Service.
Vandersteen said the city may seek some of the funds to construct another bridge over the Pigeon River in Evergreen Park.
The draft Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment is available for review at https://www.fws.gov/midwest/es/ec/nrda/SheboyganHarbor or at the Mead Public Library.
Source: Sheboygan
