The Consolidated Packaging Corporation site operated as a paper mill from 1898 to 1978. The site was sold to the Metropolitan Demolition Corporation in 1981, but the company later defaulted on the purchase. As a result, the State of Michigan assumed the site’s environmental liabilities. During its years of operation, the paper mill discharged paper waste into a drainage ditch network that flowed to the River Raisin until the late 1960s, when the discharge was redirected to the City of Monroe sewage treatment plant. Investigations into environmental impacts at the site, completed by others in the 2000s, identified volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, and metals in a historical wastewater lagoon, shallow groundwater, and shallow soils. The site is currently owned by the Port of Monroe, and the port is seeking remediation of the site to use as an additional laydown and storage area. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is currently developing a remediation plan that meets the port’s overall objective.
In 2024, EGLE brought Barr on board to help advance the site toward remediation. Our work involved reviewing historical documentation, aggregating historical information into a site-specific document library and database, developing a conceptual site model, and identifying data gaps that would inform remediation.
After identifying key data gaps, our scope expanded to address those gaps and refine the conceptual site model. In 2025, we conducted a series of investigations including sediment sampling, surface soil sampling, monitoring well installation, groundwater sampling, and slug testing. Water-level monitoring was also performed to evaluate the effect of off-site, third-party dewatering operations on the site’s hydrogeology.
Data from the site investigations addressed the identified data gaps and showed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) impacts at the site. Results were incorporated into the conceptual site model, and we provided EGLE with a summary report of the investigation activities and an updated conceptual site model. The report included recommended steps to move the site toward remediation such that the port can use it as a laydown area. Next steps include further evaluation of the groundwater-surface-water interface pathway and a feasibility study for remediating sediments in wastewater lagoons that are likely impacting shallow groundwater at the site.
