St. Louis River Area of Concern Updates: 2020 Remedial Action Plan is now Available
In the Fall of 2020, Minnesota DNR led an AOC project that used clean dredge material to expand Interstate Island in the St. Louis River Estuary between Duluth and Superior. This project restored important habitat for Common Terns and helped address degraded fish and wildlife populations in the AOC./ Photo Credit: Matt Steiger, Wisconsin DNR
The 2020 St. Louis River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan (RAP) update is now available, incorporating stakeholders’ feedback we received on the draft shared recently. The document is available online here.
The RAP is updated annually to summarize progress made in the AOC over the last year and share the path forward with our partners and stakeholders. The RAP includes a summary of the status of management actions and tracks progress on projects that are important for reaching our delisting targets.
Nine environmental problems, called beneficial use impairments in the AOC program, were identified for the St. Louis River AOC, along with management actions to address those problems. Delisting targets are specific goals and objectives established for each impairment, with measurable indicators to track results of pollution cleanup and restoration efforts. Once all impairments have met their targets and are removed, the AOC can be formally delisted.
At this time, 50% of the 80 management actions have been completed and three of the nine impairments have been removed for this AOC.
The four coordinating agencies that work together to publish the annual RAP are:
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
We’re excited to share the progress that has been made and to share next steps in cleaning up and restoring these waters. For more information, visit the St. Louis River AOC website or contact Matt Steiger, SLRAOC Coordinator, at
matthew.steiger@wisconsin.gov or 715-559-9523.
The St. Louis River AOC was designated 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 clean up pollution in AOCs and restore waterways.
