On May 27, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Anne Vogel, along with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Deputy Commissioner Peter Tester, joined other federal, state, Tribal and local partners at Thomson Reservoir in Carlton, Minnesota, to celebrate the completion of all planned sediment cleanup projects for the St. Louis River Area of Concern in Minnesota. Encompassing a 1,020 square-mile area on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, the St. Louis River is the second-largest AOC in the United States.
Federal, state and local project partners addressed more than 1.9 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment. Partners have also completed 17 habitat restoration projects in the AOC, restoring over 1,000 acres of habitat and seeding over 80,000 pounds of manoomin (wild rice). EPA provided $250 million of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding including $187 million under the Great Lakes Legacy Act cost-share authority. These investments leveraged an additional $208 million from state, local and industrial partners through in-kind and cash contributions.
“As the largest tributary to Lake Superior, a protected and restored St. Louis River will deliver benefits in communities, ecosystems and economies near and far,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager Anne Vogel. “EPA is committed to continuing to work with our partners to revitalize this magnificent watershed and create a new legacy for generations to come.”