Minnesota MPO Summer Workshop August 11, 2008

1. MIC Harbor Planning Minnesota MPO Summer Workshop August 11, 2008

2. Harbor Tour Route Wind Turbine Components Erie Pier SLRIDT Superfund Site Great Ships Initiative Hog Island Inlet

3. Harbor Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC) • 30 Member Committee Representing Harbor Stakeholders • Government – local, regional, state, & federal • Citizen – environmental groups • Industry Sectors

4. Harbor Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC) • Mission • Forum for Harbor Related Issues • Promote Harbor’s Economic and Environmental Importance • Provide Sound Planning and Management Recommendations to the MIC

5. Presentation Outline • Ballast Water Research • Accelerated Corrosion • Dredged Material Management • Contaminated Sediment Cleanup • Freight Movement

6. The Challenge of Ballast Treatment Technology Development Ballast Water Research • IMO standard difficult to measure against • No clear standard yet domestically • Tests on board ships are difficult to control and replicate • Shore based tests require special test conditions • Large tanks • Specialized analyses • High flow rates • Various conditions

7. The Great Ships Initiative:

8. The Great Ships Initiative: • An industry-led cooperative effort to resolve problems of ship-mediated invasive species in the Great Lakes - St Lawrence Seaway • Identify solutions as quickly, effectively and economically as possible through research, monitoring and implementation • Communicate results into domestic (US and Canada), and global (IMO) policy processes

9. Funders to Date • Canadian and U.S. Great Lakes Ports • City of Superior • St. Lawrence Seaway Development Organizations (U.S. and Canada) • U.S. Maritime Administration • U.S. Department of Transportation • University of Wisconsin-Superior (in-kind) • University of Minnesota-Duluth (in-kind) • Great Lakes carrier companies (in-kind) • NOAA • Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute

10. Accelerated Corrosion in the Duluth-Superior Harbor • THE PROBLEM • Advanced localized corrosion in submerged steel structures • Evident on all steel structures in the working harbor area - up to 7 miles upstream from Aerial Lift Bridge • Severity of corrosion is most severe in the upper 4 feet of submerged dock structure

14. Accelerated Corrosion in the Duluth-Superior Harbor Potential Causes Iron-oxidizing (Siderooxidans lithoautotrophicus) and iron-reducing (Rhodoferax ferrireducens) bacteria are present on corroding steel sheet pilings

15. Dredged Material Management

16. National Dredging Policy Principles Advanced dredged material management planning must be conducted on a port or regional scale by a partnership that includes the Federal government, the port authorities, state and local governments, natural resource agencies, public interest groups, the maritime industry, and private citizens.

17. National Dredging Policy Principles Dredged material is a resource, and environmentally-sound beneficial use of dredged material for such projects as wetland creation, beach nourishment, and development projects must be encouraged.

18. Erie Pier Confined Disposal Facility (CDF)

19. Erie Pier Management Plan • Sets management processes in place to facilitate a dredged material reuse program at Erie Pier • Describes testing procedures and reuse guidelines from both MN & WI

20. Updating of the Dredged Material Management Plan (DMMP) • DMMP must include 20 years of dredged material management strategies • We are currently compiling potential projects and strategies for the Army Corps for Engineers to study further

21. 21st Avenue Wetland Creation • Restores 75 acres of habitat in a freshwater estuary, a nationally scarce resource. • Placement of dredged material would cover (isolate) sediment at the site. • Provides recreational benefits in an urban area.

22. Mineland Reclamation • Mine Tailings Cover over 25,000 Acres in northern Minnesota. • Tailings are Infertile and Difficult to Re-vegetate. • Mining Companies are Required to Reclaim Tailings Basins and to Replace any Wetland that has been Disturbed by Mining Activity.

23. Sky Harbor Airport Site • Dredged material would be used as fill for runway realignment. • Yields approximately 250K yd3 of capacity.

24. CN Ore Dock - Lakehead Site • Fill needed to stabilize dock and create bulk material storage area • Site estimated to provide 800K yd3 of capacity.

25. Contaminated Sediment Cleanup St. Louis River/ Interlake/Duluth Tar Superfund Site Hog Island Inlet

26. St. Louis River/Interlake/Duluth Tar (SLRIDT) Superfund Site Dredge Areas Cap Areas Contained Aquatic Disposal End Dike

27. St. Louis River/Interlake/Duluth Tar (SLRIDT) Superfund Site

28. Hog Island Inlet • Aqua barriers used to drain inlet and sediments were removed in the dry • 56,000 cu. yd. of sediment removed to local landfill

29. Freight Movement in the Duluth-Superior Port

30. Wind Turbine Components • Pieces move into and out of the port • Components manufactured in North Dakota bound for Spain • Components manufactured in Denmark bound for Midwest wind generation sites • Cargoes handled by Lake Superior Warehousing

32. Questions and Comments