Questions Surround Hog Island Health Hazards

Douglas County Board Without Enough Information to Make Decision

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Tuesday night, Douglas County Board members were left with many unanswered questions about possible health concerns at a well–known piece of land in Superior.

Those questions surrounding Hog Island include possible contamination and danger to anyone who steps foot on it.

Those concerns came about after a proposal to bring a disc golf course to the island.

The Douglas County Land Conservation Committee recommended the Land and Development Committee deny development on Hog Island.

However, Tuesday’s meeting turned into a circle of questions that no one seemed to have any answers for.

“I think we as a county board, we as a county, needs to know, and the public needs to know,” said Douglas Finn, Douglas County Board Chair.

Right now, Douglas County board members are left without answers.

“Just how much chemicals are around the water and the soils? How dangerous and toxic is this,” asked Board Supervisor Alan Jaques.

These questions concerning Superior’s Hog Island and the water surrounding it.

“Should we have some signs up there around stating to the public, ‘Don’t be going in the water, don’t be stepping in the mud,’ that kind of stuff,” asked Jaques.

After a citizen–driven proposal to bring the worlds first and only disc golf island to Superior, contamination concerns and health hazards about the area resurfaced.

“I’m a little – I’m wondering what’s going on down there,” Jaques told FOX 21.

Concerns that board members thought were solved in 2005, with a $6.3 million clean–up project.

“I was excited, I was one of those county board members that was excited, ‘Hey this is all cleaned up, it’s good to go, people can recreate down there, and let’s have some fun,’” Jaques said.

“I was under the impression that we could do things out there,” Finn added. “We celebrated, we had a celebration actually of the clean–up of Hog Island.”

According to the Wisconsin DNR, workers exposed to the area in past years encountered symptoms including headaches, burning eyes, coughing, and sore throat.

Now, 10 years later, officials say it’s still not safe.

“The recommendation from the land conservation is that is not an appropriate site for this project,” said Mark Liebaert of the Land Conservation Committee.

Board members say it’s a piece of land they would like to see eventually be enjoyed by the public.

“Some hiking trails down there, maybe it’s a bike path, maybe it’s a totally elevated area so nobody can touch the soils and get into what’s apparently toxic down there,” Jaques imagined.

But without any answers, moving forward is impossible.

“Not only is Hog Island in limbo, so is the county board now wondering what’s going on with it,” Jaques admitted.

The issue is on the agenda for the Land Conservation Committee meeting on October 20.

The Land and Development Committee referred the matter to its meeting after that date so they have a better understanding of the matter.