Spirit Lake in Morgan Park opens for public use

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - After years of decontamination and cleanup, Duluth’s Spirit Lake recreational area is open to the public.

The West Duluth body of water that branches from the St. Louis River was long considered toxic, due to decades of industrial activity.

What was once considered a toxic eyesore in Morgan Park is now something the community can enjoy year-round.

“Really what this does is reconnect Morgan Park with the river,” said Mark Rupnow, with U.S. Steel. “That connection has been lost for quite some time; this gives them a safe way to access the river.”

U.S. Steel operated a steel mill on this land from the early 1900s through the late 80s. Industry that polluted the land and water. So, in 2020 U.S. Steel began working with the Environmental Protection Agency to clean it up.

In that time, crews removed hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of contaminated sediment.

“We built two special contained disposal sites to place and safely cap that polluted sediment,” said Debra Shore, EPA Region 5 administrator.

She said after they were able to contain the harmful sediment, they could start remediating the site.

“There were 400,000 plants grown in the nursery that was built here on site to then restore this area with native plants,” said Shore.

She said this will provide a habitat for beneficial insects and birds while giving people something to do outside.

Shore said restoring Spirit Lake cost around $186 million, provided by the federal government and U.S. Steel, giving the land back to the public.

“We built over two miles of trail here for people to use and walk their dogs, ride their bikes, and really just recreate out here next to the river and kind of get back to that river,” said Rupnow.

Minor maintenance and restoration operations will continue through the fall.

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