A utility company is preparing to dig up 75,000 cubic yards of soil near its former manufactured gas plant in downtown Flint to remove coal tar.
The Flint Journal reports the Flint River remediation project will include mobilization of equipment and site preparation set to begin in May.
Dredging impacted sediment and excavating riverbank soil is expected to begin in June.
Barr Engineering geologist Karma Hughes says an investigation into Consumers Energy's former plant site has been ongoing since the late 1990s. She says drilling at the site has unearthed coal tar byproduct that doesn't dissolve in water.
The remediation process includes installing a protective barrier in the river, treating water from the sediment, as well as disposing sediment in an off-site landfill.
