Five years after MEC and residents from Detroit’s Downriver neighborhoods disclosed toxic contamination leaking into the Detroit River from a waste site, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and BASF Corporation have announced a cleanup agreement.

Released in August, the agreement commits the company, which owns the old dump site, to install a barrier to keep mercury, dioxin, PCB and other contaminants from flowing into the river. BASF will also remove up to 30,000 cubic yards of toxic sediment in the River’s Trenton Channel, a major step toward returning the stream to health.

Wyandotte Chemical, which owned the site south of Detroit before BASF, disposed of chemical and industrial wastes for years there.

“At long last, this seems like a truly hopeful resolution to a very lengthy and frustrating process,” said Linda Helstowski, a Riverview resident who has urged DEQ to drive the cleanup ahead. “The citizens are encouraged by this agreement and are eager for implementation to finally begin, especially given the site’s location right next to a public boat launch on the river. The cleanup plan will help ensure protection of this important water resource—ultimately for our children and future generations to come.”

“BASF has stepped up and agreed to resolve this historical problem through a thorough cleanup of this site that will protect the health of the community and its residents,” said DEQ Director Steve Chester. “We have come a long way in restoring the quality of the Detroit River, and today we are ensuring that trend continues.”

Joining with community residents, MEC in February 2001 exposed the state’s difficulty in coming to an agreement with BASF on a cleanup plan. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, MEC discovered that in 1999, DEQ demanded that BASF “immediately” halt the leaking of groundwater contaminated with toxic mercury, dioxins and other chemicals into the Detroit River. When BASF balked at the 1999 request, DEQ entered into lengthy negotiations while the leaking continued.

The site is considered one of the worst sources of dioxin and mercury entering the Great Lakes system. The two contaminants, as well as PCBs, are found at the BASF site at levels hundreds or thousands of times higher than state cleanup standards.

The cleanup will cost an estimated $10 million, DEQ officials said.