EPA and Partners Announce Projects to Clean Up Detroit Area Waterways

EPA and Partners Announce Projects to Clean Up Detroit Area Waterways

June 8, 2026

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Anne Vogel was joined by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Director Phil Roos and environmental advocates at the William G. Milliken State Park & Harbor in Detroit, Michigan, to celebrate several projects to restore the Detroit and Rouge Rivers.

"Cleanups along the Detroit River are moving from plans to visible results," said EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel. "Powered by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, projects are tackling legacy pollution, restoring habitats and opening waterways for safer fishing, boating and neighborhood access with a momentum we intend to keep."

"The Detroit River is one of Michigan's most important natural and economic resources, and this investment marks another major step forward in restoring its health and protecting its future," saidEGLE Director Phil Roos. "Through strong partnerships at the federal, state and local levels, we are making real progress cleaning up contamination, restoring critical habitat and reconnecting communities to the river. This funding ensures that momentum continues."

"Having lived and worked along the Detroit River my entire life, I've seen firsthand the tremendous value of these restoration efforts," said Friends of the Detroit River Riverkeeper Robert Burns. "The Detroit and Rouge Rivers are vital assets to our communities, and investments like these deliver lasting environmental, public health, and economic benefits. This work is truly transformative, creating a brighter future for generations to come."

"The Detroit River is an invaluable natural resource, not just for the City of Detroit, but for the region as a source of water, as well as for recreation and commerce," said Mayor Mary Sheffield. "I am deeply appreciative to the EPA and EGLE for prioritizing these cleanup efforts to ensure the Detroit and Rouge rivers are safe and clean for generations to come."

Today's event highlighted several cleanups around Detroit, including Monguagon Creek, Harbortown and Lower Rouge River's Old Channel. For decades, industrial waste and urban runoff degraded the Detroit and Rouge Rivers. Both were designated as separate Areas of Concern, an area where significant environmental degradation has occurred, under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement during the 1980s.

The Monguagon Creek-Upper Trenton Channel cleanup project will remove 28,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment south of Bridge Road to the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge in Riverview. The two-year project is projected to begin this year to dredge the contamination and install a sand cover. The project is funded by a partnership between EPA and Bridgestone America Tires Operation. Construction will be led by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Detroit District.

Two new cooperative agreements between EPA and EGLE will assess cleanup alternatives for the Harbortown and Harbortown-Upstream shorelines and develop preliminary cleanup goals for the remaining areas in the Detroit River Area of Concern. These investments will kickstart efforts to address about 800,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and streamline future remediation efforts in the Detroit River.

The final phase of dredging is now complete in the Lower Rouge River's Old Channel that removed more than 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment propelled by an $84 million cost sharing partnership between EPA and Honeywell International, Inc.

Background

EPA and partners have already addressed about 400,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and restored more than 320 acres of habitat within the Detroit River AOC. At the Rouge River AOC, crews have addressed approximately 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and restored more than 200 acres of habitat. This important work is funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative as well as through non-federal project agreements under the Great Lakes Legacy Act and through various voluntary and regulatory enforcement actions.

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