The St. Louis River (SLR) was designated as one of the 31 Areas of Concern (AOC) on the Great Lakes. It was designated as an AOC under the U.S. – Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987 because of significant impacts that occurred before modern environmental laws were in place. Following the SLRAOC Remedial Action Plan, state and federal agencies have been implementing management actions to address the legacy impairments. If you look, you can now see the work in progress throughout the SLRAOC: contractors are busy each construction season, plant and animal populations are rebounding, water is cleaner, and lost habitat is being restored.
Continue reading for current St. Louis River Area of Concern project updates.
Contract Awarded in Final Phase of Contaminated Sediment Clean-up in Superior
Photo: Google Earth image of the C Street Slip Project Area (credit: Wisconsin DNR)
A $10.1 million contract was recently awarded to conduct sediment clean-up in the C Street Slip, a 12-acre slip along Superior’s waterfront. This will be the final phase of a $34 million sediment clean-up project happening in the St. Louis River Area of Concern. The project site was historically a manufactured gas plant, and due to waste materials left behind, the site now has high levels of PAHs and mercury. This project will remove the contaminated sediment from the harbor.
Construction will begin in 2027, with the contractor removing nearly 23,000 cubic yards of sediment. Once removal is complete, a layer of sand will be added to the site. The Environmental Protection Agency, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Superior Water, Light and Power Company are involved in this final phase. Learn more about the project here: www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-partners-enter-final-phase-34-million-project-clean-contaminated-sediment
