Comments Accepted Through April 26
A draft of the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC) Remedial Action Plan update is available for public review and comments through April 26. The draft document is available on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)’s St. Louis River AOC webpage.
The Remedial Action Plan update provides an opportunity for St. Louis River AOC stakeholders to review pollution cleanup and habitat restoration progress over the last year. It also identifies the remaining actions that need to be completed before this AOC can be proposed for delisting, along with the anticipated schedule to do so.
Nine environmental problems, called Beneficial Use Impairments, were identified for the St. Louis River AOC, along with management actions to address each problem. Delisting targets are specific goals and objectives for each impairment, including measurable indicators to track results of pollution cleanup and fish and wildlife habitat restoration efforts. Four impairments have been removed so far. After the remaining five impairments are removed, the St. Louis River AOC can be removed from the list of most polluted sites on the Great Lakes.
The St. Louis River AOC was listed as one of 43 sites on the Great Lakes with significant environmental damage by the United States and Canada in 1987. Federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, first launched in 2010, helps communities clean up pollution and restore waterways.
We are excited to share the progress in the St. Louis River AOC over the past year and present this opportunity for stakeholders and partners to provide feedback on the update.
Please provide feedback by April 26. Questions and comments can be sent to Matt Steiger, DNR St. Louis River AOC coordinator, at 715-559-9523 or Matthew.Steiger@wisconsin.gov.
After considering the comments, a final Remedial Action Plan will be shared and posted on the DNR’s St. Louis River AOC webpage.
The four coordinating agencies that work together to publish the annual Remedial Action Plan are:
- Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
