Superior joins $18M cleanup of Howards Bay contamination

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — The city of Superior has agreed to join a roughly $18.5 million project to remove contaminated sediments from Howards Bay to improve shipping and restore fish and wildlife habitat.

Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the Superior City Council approved agreements Tuesday to work with federal, state and private partners on the Howards Bay dredging project.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources official Joe Graham says the bay is contaminated with heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are cancer-causing compounds.

Superior's environmental regulatory manager, Darienne McNamara, says the city will provide about $2.6 million through in-kind contribution to the project since it's been cited as a source of the contamination.

McNamara says leaded gasoline used on roads in the past was washed into the bay through the city's storm water system.

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Information from: Wisconsin Public Radio, http://www.wpr.org