AOC Coordinators Federal Agency Support Current RAP Partners Pollution Control Agency United State Environment Protection Agency (Region 5) Arrowhead Regional Development Commission St. Louis River Area of Concern Duluth, MN National Protection Offi ce of Duluth (218) 302-6623 , IL City of Superior 2013 Progress Report (312) 886-9853 Community Action Duluth –Duluth Stream Corps Department of Natural Resources www.epa.gov/grtlakes/aoc/stlouis/index.html Douglas County, Wisconsin Offi ce of the Great Lakes Madison, WI United State Fish and Wildlife Service Duluth Seaway Port Authority (608) 267-0700 Twin Ecological Services Field Offi ce BiNational Program Prepared by the St. Louis River Alliance, a partner of the Area of Bloomington, MN Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve( NERR) Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (612) 725-3548 Metropolitan Commission –Harbor Tech Advisory Committee Concern Coordination Team which includes: Duluth, MN United State Fish and Wildlife Service Minnesota Sea Grant (218) 525–0853 x209 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offi ce Minnesota Lake Superior Coastal Program Ashland, WI Minnesota Land Trust Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (715) 682-6185 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Fond du Lac Resource Management Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Cloquet, MN US Army Corps of Engineers – District St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA) (218) 878–7122 Detroit, MI 48226 Th e Nature Conservancy Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (313) 226-2223 South St Louis Soil and Water District (SSLSWD) Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration US EPA Midcontinent Division NOAA Restoration Center, Great Lakes Region Oak Harbor, OH US Geological Survey (USGS) (419)-898-3631 University of Wisconsin Superior (UWS) www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/regional/greatlakes.html West Wisconsin Land Trust Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) Wisconsin Coastal Program Wisconsin Sea Grant 1854 Treaty Authority

Funded by: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2025 Great Lakes Restora ve Spirit Island protected. Priority restora on AOC-wide sediment Area of Recovery Ini a ve established. project planning & characteriza on analysis achieved and possible Naturally reproducing sturgeon iden fi ed in implementa on at 40th & complete. de-lis ng. Clough Island estuary. st protected. 21 Ave W. St. Louis River SLRIT clean up and restora on complete. Duluth Stormwater Implementa on Superior completes Framework Completed. stormwater sewer Na onal Audubon Society names estuary Overfl ow Tanks separa on. Important Birding Area. completed. Front Cover Photo Credits Left to Right: Working Harbor Piping Plover Habitat Improvement Project. Jack Ezell, Richard Hamilton Smith, Community Action Duluth Photo by Lynelle Hanson 2 11 Area of Concern to Area of Recovery St. Louis River Estuary

Area of Recovery by 2025 restoring the Area of Concern to an planning eff ort funded by the GLRI Introduction While parts of the upper estuary are logging industry. Iron, shipbuilding, Area of Recovery. which has involved input from over almost wilderness-like, the lower and the grain trade were major Th e Duluth-Superior Harbor is Th is report provides a summary of 100 partners. estuary was dredged and fi lled industries in the 1880s. Other America’s busiest . It is a Today, partnerships are strong and activities completed on the St. Louis State, federal and local agencies, to accommodate shipping traffi c industries included brewing, railway tremendous asset to the Twin Ports the potential is high for funding River over the past 24 years to restore the Fond du Lac Tribe, and other beginning in the 1860s. Th is created cars, iceboxes and refrigerators, fl ax, region - an area rich with natural restoration eff orts. Federal funding is and revitalize this unique resource. partners will release this consensus the largest industrial port on the shoes, cigars and cigarettes, and coke resources for commercial and through the Great Lakes Restoration framework “roadmap” this year. Great Lakes. Th e Duluth entrance from Lake Erie coal. Superior became recreational growth. Initiative (GLRI), and the Great Th ese eff orts have addressed the (now the site of the famous canal and a major petroleum-refi ning site. Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA) and state It will provide a multi-year signifi cant pollution and habitat Th is report celebrates many lift bridge) was constructed in 1871 Duluth-Superior is now a regional funding is through Minnesota’s comprehensive strategic action plan issues that led to the 1989 listing important actions that have taken to provide an alternative entrance to hub for a variety of transportation Legacy Funds and Wisconsin’s that will clearly identify actions of the St. Louis River as an Area place in the Area of Concern since the original Superior entrance. modes; highway, rail, pipeline, Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund. necessary to remove the nine of Concern (AOC), one of the 43 its formal designation in 1989. Th e air and waterborne shipping. Th e Benefi cial Use Impairments and most polluted sites around the Great St. Louis River estuary was heavily Th e estuary has experienced many Duluth-Superior Harbor is America’s ultimately delist the AOC – by 2025! Lakes. Th e ultimate goal is to “delist” impacted by historic land uses, “We have a really diverse changes over the past 150 years. busiest inland port with 1,000 vessels Future reports will highlight progress the AOC. dredging and the release of harmful fi shery and the quality is really Logging cleared the landscape visiting annually carrying $2 billion made towards the ultimate goal of chemicals. high… I would challenge you of vegetation for some time. It is in cargo and supporting 2,000 local delisting the AOC. Progress has been achieved to fi nd a higher quality fi shery estimated that between 50 and 100 jobs with a $210 million economic Over the years, nearly one-third of through collaborative eff orts near a quarter million people.” We look forward to a bright dams existed along the St. Louis impact. the St. Louis River Estuary has been between the local, state, and federal John Lindgren future that includes a healthy St. River during the 1800s to serve the fi lled or dredged. Th ese actions from agencies, Fond du Lac Tribe, the years prior to environmental Fisheries Biologist Louis River, an economically and MDNR AOC Coordinator ecologically sustainable asset for all. non-governmental organizations, regulation led to the loss of academia, and the general public. important habitat and a legacy of contaminated sediments. Th ere are also other state and local Th e Great Lakes Start Here! While we refl ect on the successful funding sources. Formal delisting of Th e St. Louis River is the second eff orts to correct some of these the Area of Concern is within reach! largest river fl owing into Lake legacy concerns over the past 24 Th e St Louis River AOC Superior, running 179 miles from years, we know much more work Implementation Framework is northeastern Minnesota through the remains. Fortunately, the time is ripe being developed this year. Th is is St. Louis River Estuary to its outlet for bold eff orts to fi nish the job of an exciting cooperative strategic at the Duluth/Harbor. Th e natural outlet is near Superior, Wisconsin.

AOC Milestone Timeline Th e St. Louis River Estuary is a 12,000-acre area located along the 1989 1992 1995 2002 2005 2008 river’s reach that runs between the St. Louis River AOC listed Nine Benefi cial Use St. Louis /Red River Lower St Louis River Hog Island -Newton MN & WI jointly cities of Duluth, Minnesota and under Great Lakes Water Impairments formally Streambank Protec on Habitat Plan completed. Creek remedia on developed BUI Superior, Wisconsin. Th is area Area protected 5,000 Quality Agreement. listed. Lake Superior Beach completed. Removal Targets. acres & 5 miles of includes shallow backwaters, bays Monitoring Program shoreline. Magney-Snively Duluth MN Legacy Funds ini ated. Natural Area Program established. and islands that provide ideal habitat designated. for many resident and migratory bird and wildlife species. It is a unique ecosystem with regional and global signifi cance. St. Louis River Estuary. Photo by Diane Desotelle 10 3 St. Louis River Area of Concern Achievements Current Eff orts

In the 1980s, 43 Areas of Concern Th ere is no clear documentation on • Th e cities of Superior and Duluth have done substantial work to Remediation and/or Restoration (AOC) were listed as the most pol- how industries and municipalities in control wastewater overfl ows that are due to excess stormwater Projects Underway in 2012: luted areas around the Great Lakes the Duluth-Superior area handled entering the sanitary sewer system. by the Canada-US Great Lakes Water their solid and liquid wastes prior to • Conceptual designs for 40th • Sediment quality studies and data management projects are being Quality Agreement. Th ese AOCs the 1970s. A number of industries Ave W. Duluth. 8 share a history of past industrial uses discharged directly and indirectly carried out by joint eff orts between Wisconsin and Minnesota. when, prior to environmental regula- into the estuary. Th e AOC contains • Beach monitoring programs by both states provide information and • Conceptual designs for 21st tion, dumping waste on land and in several sites that are known to con- education on the human health component at AOC area beaches. Ave W. Duluth. 9 water was commonplace. tain hazardous wastes and chemical contaminants from these discharges. • Education and information on preventing the spread of aquatic • Several hundred pilings Th ese past practices left “legacy” invasive species is provided to boaters and the public is provided by removed from Radio Tower pollutants in bottom sediment, which Th ese conditions led to a listing of both states. Bay. 3 degraded habitat for fi sh and wildlife, nine “benefi cial use impairments” • A collaborative multi-year eff ort to sample for the incidences of fi sh and contributed to human health (BUI’s) within the AOC. Th ese are • Restoration on Clough Island. 4 risks. Th e Agreement provides a issues that limit the use of the river tumors is underway. framework for the US and Canada to by humans and wildlife. Th ey are de- • Habitat protection measures have been taken including Wisconsin’s • Piping Plover habitat work together to restore the integrity scribed on page 5. In order to remove creation of the St. Louis River Streambank Protection Area in 1995; restoration on Minnesota and of the Great Lakes by addressing the (“delist”) the St. Louis River from the Canoeing on the St. Louis River. the purchase of Clough Island in 2010 as a State Conservation Area; Wisconsin Point. 12 14 15 environmental problems caused by list of AOCs, the issues leading to Photo by SLRA and Douglas County’s Hog Island restoration project. Th e MDNR and past practices. these BUI’s need to be resolved. • Conceptual designs for Pickle the MPCA are working on remediation and/or restoration projects Pond. 17 (i.e., 21st Ave W, 40th Ave W, Grassy Point, Radio Tower Bay) with Today, the St. Louis River AOC is one Clean Up Plans and Progress input from the WDNR, Fond du Lac Tribe, USACE, USFWS, City of Please see map on page 6-7 for of 38 remaining AOCs in the Great location of these projects. Lakes. Th e St. Louis River AOC In 1992, a Remedial Action Plan stakeholders, and citizens Duluth and other partners. encompasses portions of the St. Louis (RAP) was developed to recommend collaborated to produce the St. River watershed in Minnesota, the actions within the AOC that will Louis River Habitat Plan to facilitate Nemadji River watershed in Wis- lead to the removal of the BUIs. protection of the ecological diversity St. Louis River Area of Concern Progress consin and the western tip of Lake Uses will be restored through of the Lower St. Louis River in Superior. Th e Nemadji River runs 65 programs and measures to control accordance with the RAP. miles through Minnesota and Wis- pollution sources, restore habitat and consin and is the last tributary to the remediate environmental problems. Many important clean-up projects St Louis River. Actions to restore the have since occurred and today AOC, however, focus primarily on Th e goal of the RAP was to defi ne priorities for delisting the AOC the lower St. Louis River Estuary. problems and their causes, and continue to include remediation of recommend actions and timetables contaminated sediments and habitat Th e St. Louis River was also listed as to restore all benefi cial uses to the restoration. an AOC due to historic habitat loss AOC. Th e development of the RAP from the extensive fi lling of wetlands was a collaborative eff ort between the Since 2010, Wisconsin and and dredging of shallow aquatic Wisconsin Department of Natural Minnesota have been working habitat. In addition, the release of Resources (WDNR), Minnesota together on a strategic action plan harmful chemicals contaminated Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), to focus remediation and restoration the sediments and water in the river. Minnesota Department of Natural projects on the most important Since 1861, nearly 3,000 acres of Resources (MDNR), St Louis River sites. In addition, the states are wetlands have been fi lled, and 4,000 Alliance (SLRA) and many other jointly developing a data system to acres have been dredged or deepened agencies, stakeholders, and citizens. help assess, prioritize, design, and for navigation. implement these projects. Th e RAP was updated in 1995. In 2002, government agencies, 4 9 Area of Concern Achievements Benefi cial Use Impairment (BUI)

BUI 1. RestricƟ on of Fish ConsumpƟ on: BUI 4. DegradaƟ on of Benthos: Degraded BUI 7. Beach Closing and Body Contact: Contaminant levels in fi sh exceed state benthos (organisms living on or in the bo om of Poten al sources of microbial contamina on standards for mercury and polychlorinated a body of water) density, diversity, and species (i.e., fecal coliform) exist. High levels of fecal biphenyls in Minnesota and Wisconsin at richness have been found due to physical coliform is an indicator of detrimental health levels greater than other areas due to legacy disturbances or proximity to known pollutants. eff ects from total body contact recrea on such contaminants. as swimming and boa ng. BUI 5. RestricƟ ons on Dredging AcƟ viƟ es: BUI 2. DegradaƟ on of Fish and Wildlife Sediment dredged to maintain the shipping BUI 8. DegradaƟ on of AestheƟ cs: PopulaƟ on: Fish and wildlife management channels have been known to contain a variety The aesthe c values of some areas have been programs have iden fi ed degraded popula ons of toxic and/or bio-accumula ve contaminants impaired due to oil slicks, chemical residues, of fi sh and wildlife due to pollutants, habitat which may place restric ons on dredging. pellets or ro ng grain residue on the loss, and invasive species. water. BUI 6. Excessive Loading of Sediments and BUI 3. Fish Tumors and DeformiƟ es: Nutrients: Persistent water quality problems BUI 9. Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Fish tumors and lesions have been observed were iden fi ed including increased nutrients Extensive loss of fi sh and wildlife habitat due and studies are underway to understand if (par cularly phosphorus and nitrogen). to land altera ons, contaminated sediments, there is any correla on to contaminated Decreased water clarity due to sediments can invasive species, and high sedimenta on rates sediments. lead to reduced water quality in both the St. has impaired fi sh and wildlife management Louis River and Lake Superior. goals.

Sturgeon Recovery 1 Protection and Restoration

Lake Sturgeon were plentiful in the St. Louis River until the early 1900s, when Many habitat areas in the St. Louis their populations declined due to overharvesting, pollution and dam con- River Estuary have been signifi - struction. In 1983, the MDNR and WDNR began stocking sturgeon fry in the cantly impacted by past industrial river. In 2009, a project to improve habitat conditions for sturgeon-spawning practices such as making and was completed. Finally, in 2011, four young sturgeon were collected: the fi rst sawmills. Many habitat restoration evidence of sturgeon reproduction in many decades. Th is is a positive step projects funded by state and federal towards the recovery of this species in the AOC. agencies have been completed in re- cent years, such as the 1998 project at Grassy Point 7 that removed sawmill waste and provided recreational access and the Wisconsin Point DNR Shorebird Sanctuary Piping Plover habitat restoration. Harbor tugboat. 2010 project that restored the Tallus Photo by SLRA Photo by Diane Desotelle Island water access. 5 Other natural areas such as Clough Island 4 have been purchased or set aside by state agencies and non-profi ts to preserve critical shoreline habitats or provide recre- ation or cultural access to resources. Signifi cant eff orts have included the Red River Breaks Stream Bank Protection Area 2 by the WDNR and the purchase of Spirit Island by the Fond du Lac Tribe. 16

Please see map on page 6-7 for Green Heron on Clough Island. Removing pilings in Radio Tower Bay. St. Louis River Estuary. Sturgeon in the St. Louis River Estuary. Photo by Bob Rashid location of these projects. Photo by Diane Desotelle Photo by SLRA Photo by Th e Nature Conservancy 8 5 Area of Concern Achievements

Wastewater Treatment 10 Clean-up of Major Contaminated Sediments Prior to the 1970s untreated sewage and industrial waste was a signifi cant source of pollution in the St. Louis River. While the discharge of harmful chemicals by industries stopped decades ago, there are sites in the river where these Water quality conditions improved quickly aft er the start-up of Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) in legacy toxic chemicals still remain in the sediment. Several of these contaminated sites are being addressed by regu- 1978. In addition to WLSSD, improvements to the wastewater treatment facility in Superior, Wisconsin eliminated latory and resource management programs in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as federal programs. the daily load of pollutants to the St. Louis River. Th e state of Wisconsin teamed up with the EPA Upgrades to wastewater facilities, pipes and holding through the Great Lakes Legacy Act to clean up tanks have continued in recent years, and water the Hog Island/Newton Creek 13 inlet in 2005. quality (bacteria and nutrient levels, dissolved LEGEND Additional resources were secured to implement hab- oxygen, etc) has improved as a result. itat restoration in this area. Restoration Site I-35 L St. Louis River Estuary H Protection Site A In Minnesota, the Superfund site known as St. Lou- D Area of Concern T U is River Interlake Duluth Tar (SLRIDT) 6 was L K Infrastructure U T Hearding cleaned up and restored in 2011. Plans to address H Island E Projects U H A 21st clean-up of the contaminants at the former U.S. Steel L WLSSD R Ave.West B 11 10 O S 10 9 R Duluth Works are now underway via the Great Lakes U U Legacy Act. PROCTOR D Interstate P Island 8 E 40th Ave.West R I-35 Interlake Superior Wastewater Superfund 10Treatment Plant M I in Site 10 S n U e O Stryker Grassy S U PERIOR P so 6 E ta Bay P Point R o R I in O 12 t Knowlten 7 Pickle Pond R Tallas Creek Y H Island A 17 A Total $420,000,000 WLSSD wastewater treatment plant. Photo by WLSSD B R B 5 O 13 R Clough Wisconsin Island Hog Island– 14 Point S 4 Newton Creek Waterbird

I Dwight’s Habitat Point Stormwater Upgrades U State

O Natural

L 16 Area

SpiritSpirit 15 Shafer Beach Stormwater runoff from residential and commer- T IslandIsland

cial property owners, as wells as streets has been a N I

major contributor of nonpoint source pollution in A Superior Municipal Forest S the St. Louis River. Several municipalities, counties, Radio * preliminary esƟ mate of strategic investments made in the SLRAOC 1978-2013. 1 Sargent Creek Tower Dump Site Bay and other stormwater permit holders have formed Sturgeon 3 Spawning R ed R Pokegama Carnegie Habitat iver the Regional Stormwater Protection Team (RSPT). Break Wetlands State s Prot OLIVER ection Area 2 Natural Area Th e mission of the RSPT is to educate residents and municipalities on how to prevent stormwater run- off , thereby reducing the quantity of water and the Hog Island. amount of pollutants entering nearby waterbodies. WLSSD and the cities of Duluth and Superior have also worked to Photo by SLRA prevent the infl ow and infi ltration of stormwater into sanitary sewers which can cause sewage overfl ows.

Mercury Reduction Eff orts Mercury is a persistent toxin that accumulates in the food chain, leading to fi sh consumption advisories or hazards for wildlife that consume fi sh. WLSSD has successfully reduced mercury in wastewater by encouraging industries to use low to no-mercury chemicals and installing amalgam separators in dental offi ces. Th ey also run a Household Hazardous Waste facility to encourage residents to properly dispose of fl uorescent light bulbs and thermometers and other sources of mercury in the home. Th ese actions help reduce the amount of mercury entering the St. Louis River Dredging in the Harbor. Photo by Diane Desotelle and the larger environment. 6 7