A public meeting will be held on May 15th at 6pm for the Cuyahoga River Old Channel (CROC) sediment cleanup at Windows on the River. Free parking will be provided.

details from EPA press release:

EPA and Partners to Hold Public Meeting in Cleveland on Cuyahoga River Old Channel Cleanup

May 9, 2024

Contact Information

Allison Lippert (lippert.allison@epa.gov)

312-353-0967

CHICAGO (May 9, 2024) — Next week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Great Lakes Legacy Act project partners will hold a public meeting in Cleveland to discuss the Cuyahoga River Old Channel sediment cleanup that will begin next year. The sediment  contains several contaminants that are toxic to aquatic organisms, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), oil and grease, and metals. Approximately 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be removed from the Cuyahoga River Old Channel. At the meeting, EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will update the community on the construction of a confined disposal facility where the contaminated sediment will be properly disposed.   

WHO:      EPA
                  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers                                               
                  Port of Cleveland
                  Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
                  Ohio EPA
                  Ohio Lake Erie Commission
                 

WHAT:      Public meeting to learn about next steps for Cuyahoga River Old Channel cleanup
 

WHEN:      Wednesday, May 15
                     6–8 p.m.
            

WHERE:    Windows on the River
                     2000 Sycamore St.
                     Cleveland, OH
                    

The project is part of a larger initiative to clean up the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern. For more information, please visit EPA’s webpage.

https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-aocs/cuyahoga-river-aoc

https://cuyahogaaoc.org/

Join the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern to celebrate an important milestone in the revitalization of the Cuyahoga River. The celebration will be held on Thursday, July 22, 2021 from 4 - 5 pm at Forest City Brewery, 2135 Columbus Rd. Cleveland OH, 44113 (get map).

Responding to Ohio Lake Erie Commission’s recommendation from earlier this year, the U.S. EPA has agreed to remove the “Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae” Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) from the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern (AOC). Link to May 5 2021 Ohio Lake Erie Commission press release.

Cuyahoga River AOC press release on July 22 event at Forest City Brewery is below.

Cuyahoga River Area of Concern invites you to a press conference at Merwin's Wharf announcing the removal of two existing BUI's (beneficial use impairments (BUIs identify specific problems that can prevent a waterbody from meeting its full water quality potential), there are eight more to go! ) from the Cuyahoga River. A reception follows at Merwin's Wharf.

http://www.cuyahogaaoc.org/bui-10b-public-access.html

http://www.cuyahogaaoc.org/bui-11-degradation-of-aesthetics.html

Speakers:

• Jenn Grieser, Cuyahoga AOC
• Kirk Lang, Cleveland Rowing Foundation
• Jared Magyar, Port of Cleveland
• Elected Officials

There are four AOCs in Ohio: the lower two miles of the Ashtabula River; the entire Black River watershed; the lower 46.5 miles of the Cuyahoga River, including all tributaries and the adjacent shoreline; and the lower 22 miles of the Maumee River, including several adjacent watersheds that discharge directly to Maumee Bay and Lake Erie. For more information on delisting guidance and restoration targets for Ohio Areas of Concern, check out Ohio EPA's doc: http://epa.ohio.gov/portals/35/lakeerie/Ohio_AOC_Delisting_Guidance.pdf