Spirit Lake Reopens as Part of St. Louis River Site Contaminant Free
After years of restoration, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency announced another larger portion of the St. Louis River Site to be cleared around Spirit Lake from pollution where former US Steel plants once stood in West Duluth.
DULUTH, Minn. — For decades now, the over 500-acre site commonly referred to as the St. Louis River Site contained pollutants from the former US Steel facilities. Today, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and members of US Steel confirmed the portion surrounding Spirit Lake is now contaminant free.
Over the last three years, crews have worked on removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals from around Spirit Lake. The site has remained closed to the public since US Steel’s closure in the late 70s. In 1983, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added the site to the Superfund National Priorities Lists.
Spirit Lake has also been cut off from spiritual and cultural importance for the Anishinaabe as well as recreational use for neighboring communities. A new pedestrian and biking path has been finished providing easy access to the lake for the first time in decades.
“It’s great for Morgan Park and the community had to deal with the site for a long time just living here. But it’s great for the region and the city,” said Mike Casey, a resident of the neighboring community Smithville. “I hope what I see is the vegetation matured. I hope I see people enjoying it, paddling and such. I hope it stays quiet and beautiful and nature takes hold and does it job out here.”
In the 38 months prior to Wednesday’s announcement, around 136,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment have been removed. Over 400,000 new native plants have been reintroduced that would help revitalize the local ecosystem to its original natural beauty.
Although areas around Spirit Lake are safe from contaminants, the larger St. Louis River Site still has a ways to go before that too is considered accessible.
“The larger St. Louis area of concern is one of the most complex and largest of these legacy contaminated sites,” said Debra Shore, the regional administrator for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, overseeing Region 5. “We have a plan to finish the work on that by the end of this decade.”
In total, clean up efforts around Spirit Lake have cost $186 million. The federal government, the state of Minnesota, US Steel, and other partners have covered the costs.
“We all come to Duluth for the big lake, but hopefully we’ll have people migrating out west to explore more of this area,” said Casey.
