The former Whitehall Leather site along the shoreline of White Lake in western Michigan operated as a leather tannery from 1866 through 2000. Tannery operations, including open treatment lagoons, resulted in impacts to soil, groundwater, wetlands, and lake sediments. Barr staff members have assisted the former tannery operator with investigation, risk assessment, and remediation since the late 1990s. We also helped the City of Whitehall support residential redevelopment of the waterfront property.
Remedial work involved a sitewide hydrogeological investigation and a geophysical survey to identify buried drum debris; design, installation, and operation of a horizontal air-sparging system; sediment remediation; shoreline stabilization and restoration of a 12-acre wetland area; focused removal of lagoon sediments and areas of elevated mercury in soils; and support of settlement negotiations regarding lake sediments. We also assisted with securing and managing brownfield funds, provided demolition specifications and oversight, and provided sitewide assessment of soil gas and field screening of lake sediments.