Beneath the surface of Torch Lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula lies the legacy of more than a century of copper mining, roughly 200 million tons of waste material. Now crews are removing contaminated sediment from the lake's shoreline. The United States Environmental Protection Agency announced on June 15, 2026 that it had started a $12 million cleanup at the Lake Linden Recreation Area, targeting sediment tainted with lead, zinc, and polychlorinated biphenyls. The campground and marina remain open, though the beach is closed this year, and officials say the work could prompt a fresh look at fish and wildlife consumption advisories. For a lake long defined by what was left behind, the cleanup marks a first step toward giving the shoreline back to the communities that live around it.
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