Spirit Lake Remediation Site Nearing Completion

DULUTH, Minn. —  Next summer, there will be a new 92-acre restored and permanently protected riverfront green space where the US Steel plant once stood in West Duluth. After more than three years of remediation efforts at the site on the St. Louis River. the clean-up is nearly finished

Wednesday morning representatives of the city, US Steel, and the EPA showed off the Spirit Lake site, which had been classified as a Superfund Site. This section of the Morgan Park Riverfront has been closed to the public for 45 years.

Mayor Emily Larson outlined the benefits, “When the sediment remediation project is complete next summer, the city will open a 92 are restored, and permanently protected riverfront public green space. Bordering the Morgan Park neighborhood the restored riverfront is going to include a 1.3-mile extension of the Waabizheshikana or “Marten Trail”. A 21.5-acre peninsula green space featuring a scenic 1.3-mile wheelchair-accessible loop”.

There will also be other recreational features, public art, and the enhancement of the Lake Superior Mississippi Railroad excursion into the area. In total 138 acres were restored and more than 360,000 aquatic plants were planted in the area.