The Ottawa River begins southeast of Sylvania, Ohio at the junction of Ten Mile Creek and North Ten Mile Creek. From there it flows, generally south east, through the City of Toledo, to Maumee Bay (Lake Erie), entering Maumee Bay - Lake Erie approximately 2.3 miles north of the Maumee River in Monroe County Michigan. The City of Toledo is the only significant urban center in the watershed. Upstream of Toledo, land use is primarily agricultural with some residential development. Contaminants of concern are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated benzenes, hexachlorobenzene, heavy metals, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Decades of manufacturing activity and improper waste disposal practices resulted in the release of hazardous substances to the Ottawa River and its watershed. Hazardous substances migrated from landfills along the banks of the Ottawa River and industrial facilities in the watershed, contaminating water, fish and wildlife in the Ottawa River. These landfills have been remediated under CERCLA, RCRA and CWA authorities by US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and/or Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA). Water column concentrations of PCBs ranged from 200 ng/L to 400 ng/L. The State of Ohio has established Water Quality Criteria of 0.026 ng/L for the protection of human health and 0.12 ng/L for the protection of wildlife. Thus water column PCB concentrations exceeded the Water Quality Criteria by as much as 15,000 times. Sediment concentrations of PCBs were also extremely high, with concentrations over 1,800 mg/kg. Ohio EPA data indicated severely depressed fishery and benthic communities, and a high incidence of fish tumors and lesions. An ecological risk assessment, completed in 2001, found hazard quotients greater than 20 for three species migratory birds. Analysis of fish and benthic communities, external tumor frequency, reproductive health, and exceedance of avian TRV was used to establish baseline and injury. The Trustees for this site are the U.S. Department of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the state of Ohio, acting through the Ohio EPA. The Trustees completed a Preassessment Screen (PAS) in November 2004, which is a rapid review of readily available information on the releases of hazardous substances and the potential impacts to natural resources. The Trustees determined in the PAS that an assessment was warranted. A notification and invitation to participate (NOI) in the NRDA was sent to the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) by the Trustees on August 22, 2005 and then to additional PRPs in 2009. The Trustees issued an Assessment Plan which outlined the approaches for assessing and quantifying injuries to natural resources in 2007. In 2009, the US EPA and a group of PRPs called the Ottawa River Group (ORG), entered into an agreement to dredge and dispose of contaminated sediment from portions of the Ottawa River and Sibley Creek under the authority of the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) of 2002, 33 U.S.C. §1268. Funding for the GLLA Project was provided by US EPA and the ORG, in cooperation with the State of Ohio. Approximately 250,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment was removed from a segment of the Ottawa River and approximately 9,500 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from Sibley Creek. In May 2016, US EPA conducted a 5 year remedy effectiveness sampling event to evaluate the Ottawa River. Results of that sampling event are pending. In the spring of 2015, the Trustees settled with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) by an Administrative Order. ODOT paid $221,865.00 that will be used by the Trustees for future restoration projects. The Trustees prepared a draft restoration plan and environmental assessment in 2016 that was subject to public notice and comment. A public meeting on the draft restoration plan was held on April 7, 2016. The restoration plan was finalized in August 2016. On August 12, 2016, the United States on behalf of DOI filed a complaint and consent decree (CD) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (the Court) against the ORG for natural resource damages. Concurrently, the State of Ohio on behalf of Ohio EPA filed a complaint against the ORG and several Federal agencies for natural resource damages. The cases were consolidated and a consent decree was approved by the Court on February 21, 2017. Pursuant to the CD, the ORG purchased 175 acres of former agricultural fields and restored the property to emergent wetland and forested wetland within the coastal Lake Erie watershed. After restoration was completed, the 175 acres of property was transferred to the United States for management by the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) (now the Two Rivers Complex). The ORG also paid DOI and Ohio EPA past assessment costs, provided money for Trustee oversight of the restoration and for long term operation and maintenance of the property by the Refuge. The Federal agencies also paid Trustees’ past assessment costs. Both the ORG and the Federal agencies provided fund to be used by the Trustees for future restoration projects. On April 3, 2017, Ohio EPA removed the “do not eat fish advisory” for the Ottawa River and replaced that advisory with less strict recommendations. A consent decree was filed and a settlement reached between the Trustees and the City of Toledo on January 30, 2020. One acre of City of Toledo property at the Toledo Pump Station was deeded to the Refuge for management of adjacent refuge wetlands, including construction of a fish passage and water control structures, providing hydrological connections to Lake Erie. Additional restoration projects included acquisition of property within the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge acquisition area, including restoration of wetland and riparian habitat. Two parcels within the coastal Lake Erie Basin were acquired for preservation as a wildife area, and deeded to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The City of Toledo owned wetland, pools, and riparian parcels within the City were deeded to the Toledo MetroParks for the creation of an urban park (Manhattan Marsh) within the City. A nature trail, boardwalk and observation platform was constructed. A adjacent magnet school was provided area to create an outdoor classroom for ecological studies.