Project History
In accordance with the requirements of a 1990 Clean Water Act (CWA) Consent Decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region V, United States Steel (USS) conducted a Sediment Characterization Study of the East branch of the Grand Calumet River (GCR) and submitted the study to the EPA in January 1993. The analytical results indicated that sediments from various sections of the upper reach of the GCR could be classified as hazardous or toxic as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Toxics Substance Control Act (TSCA). 

As a result, USS prepared and submitted a Statement of Work (SOW) which set forth the work to be performed, the requirements and criteria that must be met and the schedule for the remediation of the GCR including the dredging of sediment from the headwaters of the East branch of the GCR to a point approximately five (5) miles downstream, construction of an on-site disposal area designated as a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU) under RCRA for the sediments, construction of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) for the treatment of dredge water generated during sediment removal, and return of the treated water to the GCR through an existing USS NPDES permitted outfall. The SOW was then embodied in a 1998 CWA Consent Decree and a 1998 RCRA Corrective Action Order. 

Construction of the CAMU was initiated in January 2002 and completed in December 2002. Dredging operations commenced on December 4, 2002. Dredging operations were conducted 24 hours per day, 6 days per week. Three isolation cells (A, B, and C) were constructed for dredging the upper 1.5 mile reach of the GCR (from the headwaters to just upstream of the Virginia Street bridge). The lower 3.5 mile reach of the GCR (from the Virginia Street bridge to a point between the Norfolk & Western and Conrail railroad bridges 500 feet upstream of the Gary Sanitary District outfall) was hydraulically dredged during open-channel flow conditions. Dredging was completed in December 2003, nearly 8 months in advance of the compliance schedule. Approximately 786,000 cubic yards of sediment was dredged from the 5 mile reach of the GCR and placed into the CAMU.

	CAMU (Corrective Action Management Unit)
	Water Treatment
	Dredging