A project that addresses impaired sediment and restores aquatic habitat in a Lake Superior tributary has earned special recognition by the Western Dredging Association (WEDA).
The Spirit Lake Sediment Remediation Project, which removed and capped historically impacted sediment across 200 acres along the St. Louis River, is the 2023 winner of WEDA’s Environmental Excellence Award for Partnerships and Outreach/Education. The project site is within a Great Lakes Area of Concern (AOC) and is being completed under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Legacy Act, which provides funding for AOC de-listing efforts.
Barr served as engineer of record on a team that included EA Engineering, Science, and Technology; AECOM; and J.F. Brennan Company, in partnership with the EPA and its project partner, U. S. Steel Corporation. Our work included remedial investigation, a feasibility study, and stakeholder outreach, as well as facilitation, design, and construction quality assurance. Project construction began in 2020. The remediation phase concluded in 2022, and the project is in the final construction season for habitat restoration.
The project team received the award at the annual WEDA Dredging Summit & Expo in Las Vegas. In a statement announcing the award, WEDA said, “The partnership and outreach methods implemented at Spirit Lake demonstrate the success of a proactive and adaptive collaboration strategy with regulatory agencies, local residents, and other project stakeholders.”