Projects and Research
St. Louis River Interlake/Duluth Tar Site Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
The St. Louis River flows through northeastern Minnesota, with the lower portion forming the State boundary with Wisconsin before discharging to Lake Superior between the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. This lower part of the St. Louis River is often referred to as the St.…
Restoring Coregonines
The Northeast Fishery Center is major partner in an international effort to re-establish sustainable populations of cisco and bloater in Lake Ontario.
Fox River/Green Bay Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
The Lower Fox River, located in northeastern Wisconsin, begins at the Menasha and Neenah channels leading from Lake Winnebago and flows northeast for 39 miles where it discharges into Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Paper companies using polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to make carbonless copy paper…
Sheboygan River and Harbor Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
The Sheboygan River and Harbor site is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, approximately 55 miles north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It includes the lower 14 miles of the Sheboygan River from Sheboygan Falls to the Sheboygan Harbor.
Industrial activities along the Sheboygan River…
Arrowhead Refinery, Hermantown, Minnesota Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
Overview
The Arrowhead Refinery is a former oil recycling facility located within the St. Louis River watershed in Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota. The facility was in operation from 1961-1977 and was situated on a palustrine forested, scrub-shrub wetland, surrounded by commercial,…
St. Louis River U.S. Steel, Duluth, Minnesota Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
The St. Louis River U.S. Steel Superfund Site, located in Duluth, Minnesota, is a former steelmaking and wire mill facility that began operations in the early 1900s. Historic operations released hazardous substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals, into the environment. The Site was placed on the National Priories List in 1983 and includes 19 Operable Units in both wetland and upland areas. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency leads remedial activities at the site. In 2016, U.S. Steel began working with U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office to develop a complimentary plan to clean up contaminated sediment under the authority of the Great Lakes Legacy Act; the project was completed in 2024.