Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal
The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is an artificial waterway on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, in East Chicago, Indiana, which connects the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. It consists of two branch canals, the Template:Convert Lake George Branch and the Template:Convert long Grand Calumet River Branch which join to form the main Indiana Harbor Canal.
The canal also functions as a harbor (Indiana Harbor). The outer harbor is sheltered by two bulkheads marked by lights including the Indiana Harbor East Breakwater Light.<ref name="noaa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ships enter the outer harbor from the north.<ref name="noaa"/> The inner harbor consists of the canal itself.<ref name="noaa"/> The entrance to the outer harbor lies near Indiana Shoals, which extend up to 5 miles offshore, where water depths are as shallow as 15 feet.<ref name="noaa"/>
In 2002, Indiana Harbor was the 45th busiest harbor in the United States, handling almost 13,300,000 short tons (12,000,000 metric tons) of cargo. Foreign trade accounted for only 500,000 short tons (450,000 metric tons) of that. Indiana Harbor is maintained by the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1913.
HistoryEdit
The canal and harbor were built over several years beginning in 1901. On March 26, 1901, Inland Steel Company accepted an offer from the Lake Michigan Land Company of Template:Convert of free land along with a promise of construction of a harbor and railroad. For its part, Inland Steel agreed to construct a steel mill there that would cost no less than one million dollars. The shortline railway connecting this area to other rail lines is still known as the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad.
Marktown, Clayton Mark's planned worker community, is located at Indiana Harbor.<ref>Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2011). Marktown: Clayton Mark's Planned Worker Community in Northwest Indiana. South Shore Journal, 4. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EconomyEdit
ManufacturingEdit
Indiana Harbor and Canal lies in a heavily industrial area which includes Cleveland-Cliffs two Indiana Harbor Works facilities. On the west side of the canal is the former Youngstown - J & L - LTV Steel - ISG steel mill. On the east side of the canal is the other Indiana Harbor Works, once known as Inland Steel Company, then Ispat Inland. BP's refinery in Whiting is nearby.
The harbor allows transport of iron ore (taconite pellets) and limestone to the steel mills from the mines and quarries of the upper Midwest through the Great Lakes. Other commodities include coke, gypsum, steel, cement and concrete, petroleum products, and miscellaneous bulk products.<ref name="Indiana Harbor">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District (April, 2009). Indiana Harbor.pdf" Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 16, 2009.</ref>
The harbor is ranked first in tonnage among the 25 federal commercial harbors on Lake Michigan, and second in tonnage of the 55 Federal commercial harbors on the Great Lakes.<ref name="Indiana Harbor"/>
Environmental issuesEdit
Ninety percent of the water which passes through the Canal originates as industrial outflow or stormwater overflow. Historic contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals has put the canal under the EPA's Grand Calumet River Area of Concern (AoC)—the only AoC to be listed impaired in all 14 beneficial use categories. Because of this sediment contamination, no dredging has taken place in the harbor since 1972, when the USEPA determined the previous sediment disposal method of open water disposal in Lake Michigan to be unacceptable.<ref>U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal Project Chronology Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 20, 2008.</ref> Lacking any alternative disposal location, the harbor and canal have accumulated a backlog of approximately Template:Convert of sediment, which hinders deep draft commercial navigation.<ref name="activities">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal Activities. Template:Webarchive Retrieved April 20, 2008.</ref> Shipping capacity has been reduced by 15%, increasing shipping costs. The contaminated sediment also leads to further pollution of Lake Michigan, as sediments containing Template:Convert of chromium, Template:Convert of lead, and Template:Convert of PCBs reach the lake each year through the waterway.<ref name="CMP">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District and U.S. EPA (January, 1999). "Indiana Harbor and Canal Maintenance Dredging and Disposal Activities Comprehensive Management Plan - Final Feasibility Report" Template:Webarchive. Retrieved October 4, 2009.</ref>
The Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the East Chicago Waterway Management District, initiated plans for a dredging and disposal project for sediment at the harbor in the 1990s. The nearby site of a former Energy Cooperative, Inc. (ECI) refinery, which is also an open USEPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) site, was selected as the location for a confined disposal facility (CDF) to safely contain the contaminated sediment.<ref name="FAQ">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal Project F.A.Q. Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 20, 2008.</ref> Despite some local environmental justice concerns over the close proximity of the CDF to two low-income public schools,<ref>Henderson, Harold (January 21, 2005). "Don't Call It a Cleanup". Chicago Reader.</ref> construction of the facility began in spring 2002.<ref name="activities"/> Dredging activities were set to begin upon completion of the CDF, and planned to be carried out over a period of 10 years to finally return the harbor to its authorized dredge depths, with an additional 20 years of maintenance dredging to remove future accumulated sediments.<ref name="FAQ"/> The total cost of the project was originally estimated at $180 million.<ref name="Chicago District 11">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. USACE-Chicago District IHC Confined Disposal Facility and Federal Navigation Project Template:Webarchive. Retrieved April 16, 2009.</ref> Dredging did not, however, commence until 2012, fully forty years after the canal was last dredged.<ref>Gross, Sarah (December 07, 2012). "Dredging commences for the number one area of contamination in the Great Lakes after 40 years". United States Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved September 25, 2022.</ref> Phase 1 dredging was completed in November 2020.<ref>United States Army Corps of Engineers "Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal Project" https://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works-Projects/Indiana-Harbor/</ref> Construction of Phase 2 began in July 2021 and is expected to continue until November 2023.<ref>United States Army Corps of Engineers "Indiana Harbor and Canal Dredging and Disposal Project" [1]</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Calumet River – Grand Calumet River Area of Concern
Further readingEdit
- Perry, W.A. (1979) A History of Inland Steel Company And The Indiana Harbor Works (booklet)<ref>Northwest Regional Collection, Calumet Regional Archives Template:Webarchive, Indiana University</ref>