MPCA to outline extent of contamination from former U.S. Steel plant
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will outline new information in Duluth Wednesday night about the extent of contamination at the former U.S. Steel plant along the St. Louis River.
Back in the 1980s, when clean-up began on the 600-acre site, engineers assumed contaminated sediments in the St. Louis River and a smaller creek would be covered up by new sedimentation.
The MPCA's Superfund project leader, Susan Johnson, said they were wrong.
"The covering isn't accumulating as fast, it's not accumulating evenly and it's certainly not accumulating deep enough," Johnson said.
Johnson said the agency will analyze the risks posed by the pollution — mostly from coal tar and oil — and may require U.S. Steel to undertake remediation.
The Duluth Port Authority wants to buy part of the land for redevelopment.
Tonight's meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Goodfellowship Community Center in Morgan Park.
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