Ash River Dredging

City of Ashtabula, Ohio

Ashtabula River Dredging

Work has begun on the cleanup of the Ashtabula River, a project to remove 25,000 pounds of hazardous PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other contaminants from the river bottom. It is the first cleanup project in Ohio funded by the federal Great Lakes Legacy Act, and the largest of the four Legacy Act projects funded to date.

All State and Federal permits for the landfill and waste water treatment system are in place and dredging began on September 7, 2006. Dredging is expected to continue through November until the weather changes and is scheduled to resume around March/April of 2007. The Great Lakes Legacy Act is funding the portion of the project up to the 5th Street Lift Bridge. This portion is scheduled to be completed in September 2007. The Corps of Engineers is responsible to complete the additional 1200 feet north of the 5th Street Bridge at that time.

Workers will remove about 550,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and provide new habitat in the river. Because the sediment can flow into Lake Erie, removing it is good for the lake and the entire Great Lakes basin. A secondary benefit will be a much deeper Ashtabula River, allowing for the return of normal commercial navigation and recreational boating in the river and harbor.

The sediment is being dredged and pumped through the pipeline as 8-15% solids to the newly constructed landfill at a rate of 5,000 gallons per minute. The sediment pipe is double lined with an 18" diameter outer pipe and 12" diameter inner pipe with 1" thick walls. The landfill is 12 1/2 acres with over 75 acres of liner material that is heat welded and/or sewn together at the seams. There are a total of six layers of liner, three of which are for draining contaminated water into the water treatment area. The water is then being treated and returned to the Ashtabula River in the pipeline's 22" diameter return pipe.

The Final phase of the project, expected to be done in 2008, is habitat restoration. This part of the project will restore the east side of the river to repair any damage caused by the dredging project and provide a clean environment for fish and other wildlife to live and reproduce

The $50 million project received half of it's funding from the Legacy Act and the other half from the Ashtabula City Port Authority in cooperation with other public and private entities, including the Ashtabula River Cooperation Group II, a group of private companies. The state of Ohio has provided $7 million for the project and numerous other organizations, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will play important roles.

Thanks to the Ashtabula River Partnership, USEPA Administrator Steve Johnson, Congressman Steven LaTouretter, USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Brig. Gen. Bruce Berwick, Ohio Governor Bob Taft, Ashtabula City Manager Tony Cantagalo, and Senator Mike DeWine for their support of this project.