Devil's Swamp Lake: Case Study

EPA, in consultation with the State of Louisiana, will select a final remedy for the Site after the public comment period has ended and information submitted during this time has been reviewed and considered. EPA will respond to comments received during the public comment period in the Responsiveness Summary, which will be attached to the Record of Decision. Once EPA finalizes the ROD, both the Responsiveness Summary and the ROD will be available to the public at the repository locations noted above. Note that the final Site remedy may be different from the proposed remedy identified in this Proposed Plan, due to changes made by EPA based on comments received, new issues identified, or new information gathered during the public comment period.

The objective of the study was to determine if a temporal record of PCB inputs was preserved in the bottom sediment of the lake . The investigation shows that the most contaminated PCB bed sediment has been buried by subsequent sediment deposition since the lake was created by dredging in 1973.

3.5 Remedial actions under CERCLA or other authorities

In 1986, based on the fish tissue sample results, the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Resources (LDHHR) recommended that LDEQ post signs at the lake warning the public against fishing and issued an advisory warning the public against fishing in or consuming fish from Devil’s Swamp Lake. DEQ also recommended that the discharge to Devil’s Swamp Lake be reconsidered.

On October 29, 1987, the LDEQ and WPCD posted signs and issued an advisory to the public against swimming in the lake and consuming fish and other aquatic organisms from the lake.

In 1993 the NPDES permit allowing the discharge of treated wastewater to the north end of Devil’s Lake was changed to discharge directly to the Mississippi River, see Figure 4