KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Federal officials are giving the public more time to comment on a proposed settlement with one of the companies responsible for polluting the Kalamazoo River in southeastern Michigan.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department announced the deal last month. It called for NCR Corp. to pay at least $245.2 million to continue a cleanup that began more than 20 years ago.
The company was among several whose paper mills dumped toxic PCBs into the river and floodplains from the 1950s to the 1970s. The contaminated area is on the federal Superfund list of hazardous sites.
The settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. A public comment period was scheduled to end Jan. 16. But in a notice scheduled for publication Monday, the Justice Department says it will be extended to Feb. 18.
Based on the comments, officials could make revisions before requesting final court approval.
The deal with NCR will pay for cleanup of floodplain soils and dredging of river sediments. It also will remove an aging dam in Allegan County.
Featured image: In this Sept 13, 2018 photo provided by the Environmental Protection Agency shows an aerial view of the Kalamazoo River immediately upstream from the Trowbridge Dam near Allegan, Mich., in southwestern Michigan. (Paul Ruesch/Environmental Protection Agency via AP)
