St. Louis River Area of Concern A Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - MN Legacy Fund Partnership Interstate Regulatory Technology Council Annual Meeting Bloomington, MN April 20, 2016 Nelson T. French MPCA Great Lakes-Lake Superior Program
Past history - a legacy of settlement and development prior to environmental regulation Post Environmental Regulation Era 1972 2009 Recent History Road Map development 2010 2013 Remedial Action Plan Implementation 2014 2020 2025
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Legacy Contaminants The result of many years of industrial and municipal pollution directly discharged to the St. Louis River. These discharges and their legacy are from the days prior to adoption of our current environmental protection laws and rules. The result of many years of dredging and filling the estuary to create the Duluth-Superior Port. An estimate 7,000 acres of aquatic habitat was dredged and/or filled. These habitat alterations took place prior to the adoption of our current environmental protection laws and rules. Legacy Habitat Loss
Enacted by Congress 1972 Established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. Gave EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry.
Western Lake Superior Sanitary District Came on Line in 1979
Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Richard Nixon and Pierre Trudeau sign the historic agreement. Signed 1972: focus on nutrients; phosphorus in Lake Erie Revised 1978: more focus on toxics Revised 1987: Introduced Lakewide Management Plans and Areas of Concern Revised in 2012 continues focus on Purpose is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
Development of Remedial Action Plan Navigated by Agencies 2.5 year process GLRI Grant to Develop Plan Area of Concern Coordinators GLRI Capacity Funded MPCA, WDNR, MDNR, Fond du Lac Band Stakeholders Engaged in Development Federal, Tribal, State and Local Government Non-Governmental Organizations Academia Citizens BUI Removal Strategies and Actions 60+ Actions from 2014-2025
Rolled out July 15, 2013 Complete major actions by 2020 Delisting the AOC by 2025 60 actions identified to remove all 9 Beneficial Use Impairments Planning level project costs https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/st-louis-river-area-concern
BUI Removal Goals 2013 2025 Aesthetics (2014) Fish Tumors & Deformities (2016) Excessive Loading (2017) Nutrients & Sediment Fish & Wildlife Populations (2018) Beaches/Body Contact (2020) Degradation of Benthos (2022) Restrictions on Dredging (2023) Loss of Fish & Wildlife Habitat (2025) Fish Consumption Advisories (2025)
St. Louis River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan Remediation and Restoration Sites
Progress Towards Completing Management Actions Delisted AOCs: Oswego June 2016 Presque Isle Feb 2013 Deer Lake--Oct 2014 White Lake--Oct 2014 Actions Complete: Ashtabula Sheboygan White Lake 2015 St Clair 2016 River Raisin Buffalo Rochester Menominee St. Marys Clinton R. Black R. 2017/2018 Manistique Muskegon 2019/2020 St. Louis Detroit Grand Cal 2020 + Milwaukee Fox/Green Bay Cuyahoga Maumee St Lawrence 18 Mile Creek Niagara Torch Lake Rouge River Kalamazoo Saginaw
Use of Dredge Material for Habitat Restoration
Innovative MPCA-USACE Partnership Site Design and Construction Pilot Project (50%) 350,000 cy of dredge material $5.3 million Harbor Maintenance $1.0 million GLRI Strategic Dredge $0.1 million Engineering w/ Nature $0.1 million from MN CWF $6.5 million
Environmental Review and Permitting
This report addresses the status of Minnesota s contaminated sediment management sites in the St. Louis River Area of Concern and documents the approach taken to determine Minnesota sites recommended for contaminated sediment management. The report identifies a total 10 sites that need attention in the next five years to implement Minnesota actions identified in the SLRAOC Remedial Action Plan.
Major Minnesota Actions 2016-2020 Contaminated Sediment Cleanup Capital Budget-GLLA Projects Minnesota Slip Slip 3 Slip C Northland Pier/ AGP Slip Azcon Corp/DSPA/Garfield Slip C Ponds Behind Erie Pier Munger Landing Mud Lake West Thomson Reservoir Scanlon Reservoir Non-Capital Budget Sites Slip 2 DSPA Garfield Slip D US Steel Spirit Lake West Habitat Restoration Chambers Grove Park Perch Lake Radio Tower Bay Mud Lake Spirit Lake Knowlton Creek Watershed Kingsbury Bay St. Louis Bay Restoration 21st Avenue West 40th Avenue West Grassy Point)
Legacy Contaminants
Contaminated Sediment Sites
There never has been a more perfect time for restoring a place dear to Northlanders the St. Louis River from more than 130 years of accumulated environmental injury. For the first time, functional partnerships, dedicated funding and the will to achieve ambitious and realistic cleanup and restoration goals are perfectly aligned to help comprehensively restore the health of not only the headwaters of Lake Superior but the entire Great Lakes region. MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine MNDNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr
https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/st-louis-river-area-concern We are not just gonna sit here and watch the river flow - we are going to get it delisted!