GLIN==> St. Louis River Area of Concern Progress Report Now Available

News Release
For more information:           Julene Boe, SLRA  (218)-348-8767  or   
Nelson French, MPCA (218) 302-6625

  St. Louis River Area of Concern Progress Report Now Available

The St. Louis River Alliance has published a first-ever report of  
progress for the St Louis River Area of Concern.  This progress  
report highlights the achievements and progress that has been made to  
address the issues that caused the St. Louis River to be designated  
as an Area of Concern (AOC) on the Great Lakes.  The news is good but  
much work remains to be done to remove the Area of Concern designation.

  The St. Louis River was one of 43 Areas of Concern identified in  
the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement  
between the US and Canada in the 1980s. (see map)  The Area’s of  
Concern are areas that share a history of past industrial uses when  
prior to environmental regulation, dumping polluted waste in the  
water and on the land was common practice. The St Louis River AOC is  
one of the largest, encompassing portions of the St. Louis River  
watershed, all of the Nemadji River watershed.  It is shared with  
Minnesota and Wisconsin. Today, there are now 38 remaining AOCs.

Significant achievements outlined in the report include improvements  
to wastewater treatment systems, such as Western Lake Superior  
Sanitary District (WLSSD) and the Superior Wastewater Treatment  
Plant, improvement to control and reduce stormwater runoff, cleanup  
of major contaminated sediment sites as well as habitat restoration  
and protection efforts.

  The progress made to date is the result of decades of collaborative  
efforts between a large number of partners that include local, state,  
tribal, and federal agencies as well as non –governmental  
organizations and educational institutes.  It also reflects a  
preliminary estimate of strategic investment of more than $420  
million from 1978-2103 towards the above-mentioned improvements.

The progress report is being released in advance of an updated action  
plan for the AOC that will be released later this year.  The St.  
Louis River AOC Implementation Framework will outline a “road map” of  
multi-year strategic actions necessary to address the remaining  
issues before the AOC can be delisted.  The road map will provide the  
AOC Coordinating Team with the ability to strategically seek Federal  
funding for projects that is available through the Great Lakes  
Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and the Great lakes Legacy Act (GLLA)  
and leverage those funds with state funding through Minnesota ‘s  
Legacy Funds and Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund and  
other local resources. The goal is to move the St. Louis River from  
an Area of Concern to an Area of Recovery by 2025.

  The report was prepared by the St. Louis River Alliance on behalf  
of the Area of Concern Coordinating Team, of which the Alliance is a  
partner and includes:  Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Wisconsin  
Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural  
Resources and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Copies of this progress report are now available and can be obtained  
from the St. Louis River Alliance.  Report is also available on the  
Alliance's website, at  www.stlouisriver.org

Copies will also be available at an event held at Great Lakes  
Aquarium, Thursday, March 21, from 5:30-8:00pm.  This event is free  
and open the public.

For more information, email slrcac at stlouisriver.org or call  
218-733-9520.










Julene Boe
Executive Director
St. Louis River Alliance
Phone: 218-733-9520
cell 218-348-8767
jboe at stlouisriver.org


Visit the St Louis River Alliance at :   www.StLouisRiver.org




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