Superior Sediment Remediation Projects

Superior Slips

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The Superior Slips Sediment Remediation Project is one of several projects to clean up and restore the St. Louis River Area of Concern. This project focuses on contaminated sediment in three industrial shipping slips at the Port of Superior: General Mills Slip, Oil Barge Dock Slip and Tower Avenue Slip.

Over a century of heavy industrial activities in the Port of Superior have led to environmental degradation of sediment in areas of the harbor. Sediment in these slips is contaminated with metals, mercury, organotin, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other compounds that are targeted for cleanup by 2026 as part of the overall effort to remove the St. Louis River from the list of most polluted sites on the Great Lakes.

The current activities for this project include:

Investigating and characterizing the nature and extent of sediment contamination
Developing and evaluating alternatives for remediating sediment contamination
Developing a recommended alternative to address the contamination.

Project Schedule and Opportunities to Get Involved

The Superior Slips Sediment Remediation Feasibility Study began in June 2022 and is projected to be completed in late summer 2023 with a set of recommendations for actions to clean up sediment in the slips.

The design of the chosen remedy is anticipated to occur in 2023 - 2024, and the work to clean up the polluted sediment is expected to take place in 2024 - 2026.

Project details, findings, and remediation alternatives will be presented at public engagement meetings that will be scheduled in spring and summer 2023.