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Authorized Legacy Act Project Site
Hog Island Dredging Project to Receive Great Lakes Legacy Act Funds; Cleanup to Begin in June
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Cleanup of Newton Creek and Hog Island Inlet should begin soon, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National Program Office and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The federal and state agencies recently agreed on the details of the project. Work is expected to begin in mid-June and is likely to be complete by the end of the year.
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The $6.3 million project involves digging up and disposing of 40,000 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated sediment (mud) and soil from Newton Creek and parts of Hog Island Inlet. That much sediment would cover a football field, and would be 24 feet high.
The banks of the creek and inlet will be landscaped to prevent
erosion. The result will be a healthier habitat for fish and other
aquatic life, and the inlet will be safe for recreation.
Approximately $4.1 million of the funds to pay for this project are
provided by the
Great Lakes Legacy Act. The act
authorizes $270 million over a five-year period to clean up
contaminated sediment in Great Lakes toxic hot spots called “areas
of concern.” Newton Creek and Hog Island Inlet are part of the
St. Louis River AOC. This
will be the second Great Lakes Legacy Act project. The first was a
project to remove contaminated sediment from
Black Lagoon, part of the
Detroit River in Trenton, Michigan.
The state of Wisconsin and other parties are providing 35 percent of
the project’s cost, or about $2.2 million. These are non-federal
matching funds required by the Legacy Act.
Project Details
The project calls for removal of contaminated sediment from the
final part of Newton Creek – before it reaches Hog Island Inlet – as
well as the inlet itself. During the cleanup, the flow of the creek
will be diverted. Water in the inlet will be diverted to the St.
Louis River or to the city of Superior’s wastewater treatment
facility.
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View
Fact Sheet For More Information Scott Ireland Bri Bill Tom Alcamo To reach EPA Region 5 toll-free, call (800) 621-8431, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays.
John Robinson
Jim Hosch (after July 1) To learn more, visit the Great Lakes Legacy Act website. |
The sediment being removed is contaminated with polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, as well as heavy metals. The dredged
sediment will be sorted, and anything found to have high levels of
lead (over 50 parts per million) will be taken to a licensed
landfill.
Once the contaminated sediment is removed, the creek bed will be
restored with clean river rock. The creek banks will be stabilized,
with foliage and shrubbery planted to prevent erosion and improve
the appearance of the area. The near bank of Hog Island Inlet will
also be restored to prevent erosion.
When the cleanup is finished, EPA and Wisconsin DNR will monitor
Newton Creek and Hog Island Inlet to ensure the cleanup is
effective.
Site History
To organize cleanups, Wisconsin DNR divided Newton Creek into 12
segments in 1994. They are identified as Segment A through Segment
L. The creek begins at an impoundment area formed by the wastewater
discharge from the Murphy Oil Refinery. The creek flows 1.5 miles
through industrial and residential areas to the 17-acre Hog Island
Inlet, which is in the southeastern end of Superior Bay.
Pollution in the creek and inlet is primarily caused by PAHs. Other
contaminants include oil and grease, mercury, lead, chromium and
volatile organic compounds.
Following a thorough study of the contamination’s effects on the
ecology, DNR supervised the removal of contaminated sediment from
the impoundment area and Segment A in 1997. After additional study,
Segments B through K were cleaned up in the summer of 2003.
The last phase is the upcoming cleanup of Segment L of Newton Creek
and Hog Island Inlet.
About the Great Lakes Legacy Act
Although discharges of toxic substances into the Great Lakes have
been reduced over the last 20 years, high concentrations of
pollution remain in the bottom of some rivers and harbors. That
poses a potential risk to people and wildlife. As a result, states
have issued advisories in most locations around the Great Lakes
against eating locally caught fish. The tributaries and harbors
identified as having pollution problems are known as “areas
of concern,” or AOCs. There are 31 AOCs on the American side of
the Great Lakes. Hog Island is part of the St. Louis River AOC.
Congress passed and the President signed the Great Lakes Legacy Act
of 2002 to address the problem of contaminated sediment in these 31
areas. The Legacy Act authorizes $270 million in funding over five
years for cleanups. Fiscal Year 2004 was the first in which Legacy
Act funds were available for projects, and Congress appropriated $10
million. For the current fiscal year, Congress appropriated $22.3
million.