U.S. EPA and partners complete cleanup and restoration of Minnesota lake

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 10, 2024, the completion of a four-year, $186 million sediment cleanup and habitat restoration project at Spirit Lake near Duluth, Minnesota.

The EPA contributed $92 million to the project, including funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), in a cost-sharing partnership with U.S. Steel.

The completion of this work allowed for the construction of a new two-mile-long waterfront trail, which was officially opened to the public July 10 by Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore, Mayor Roger Reinert and project partners.

The Spirit Lake site is located south of the Morgan Park neighborhood in Duluth, within the St. Louis River Area of Concern.

Senator Tina Smith stated in a press release that decades of excessive pollution around the St. Louis watershed has kept Minnesotans away from the area. Spirit Lake is located near the site of the former U.S. Steel Duluth Works plant which operated from 1915 to 1981. 

The purpose of the project was to address chemicals in the sediment, primarily polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, and heavy metals including lead, copper and zinc.

Work began in 2020 and continued throughout 2023. In total, 1.3 million cubic yards of impacted material was remediated. 460,000 cubic yards of sediment were dredged and placed into two newly built disposal facilities at the site. Protective caps were also placed over 96 acres of aquatic habitat. The project resulted in extensive restoration and habitat enhancement, including the creation of a new 42-acre shallow sheltered bay for fish spawning habitat.

This project is part of the larger effort to restore and delist the St. Louis River as a Great Lakes area of concern.

The EPA managed the Spirit Lake cleanup under the Great Lakes Legacy Act, a voluntary cleanup program funded by the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and BIL funding.