AOC Projects in the Grand Trunk Area
Grand Trunk Wetland Habitat Restoration Project
The Grand Trunk Wetland (also known as the Bay View Wetland) is located at 1950 South Marina Drive. It is one of the last remnants of the Milwaukee Estuary's historical network of wetlands.
Planning for the wetland restoration began as a result of recommendations included in the Southeast Side Area Plan which was completed in the 2008. Restoration of the wetland is also identified as a catalytic project in the 2017 Harbor District Water and Land Use Plan. The Fund for Lake Michigan provided the initial funding for restoration planning. The documents that resulted from this process included the Bay View Wetland Master Plan (2014), the Grand Trunk - Bay View Wetland Restoration Data Gap Analysis and Environmental Summary Report (2017) and the Grand Trunk – Bay View Wetland Restoration Engineered Design Feasibility Report (2017).
In 2017, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) directed Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funds to complete the wetland restoration design, engineering, and project coordination. Between 2017 and 2021 the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) and the WDNR led a group of stakeholders who developed a wetland restoration design. The Grand Trunk design fits into the greater habitat restoration efforts within the AOC and will result in improvements for fish and wildlife.
Due to the site's historic uses and the discovery of contamination in the sediment the wetland will need additional remediation. The timeline for the project has been pushed back and the project will be coupled with a larger sediment cleanup project and accomplished through the Great Lakes Legacy Act. The creation of the Dredged Material Management Facility (DMMF) and the South Marina Drive Storm Sewer Cleanup are both a key drivers for determining the timeline of the wetland restoration.
Additional updates on project status will be provided here as they become available.
South Marina Drive Storm Sewer PCB Cleanup Project
The City completed a sediment assessment at 1950 South Marina Drive in the Skipper Buds Slip in September 2018. This assessment identified polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) at analytical concentrations that exceeded the 50 mg/kg Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) threshold. Between 2018 and 2021 the City and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource (WDNR) completed additional investigations in the Skipper Buds Slip to define the vertical and horizontal extent of the PCB impacts.
The City simultaneously conducted a series of sampling events in a storm sewer located immediately adjacent to South Marina Drive and the Grand Trunk Wetland. PCB contamination above the TSCA threshold was discovered in storm sewer.
A Notification for Hazardous Substance Discharge for PCB impacted sediment in the storm sewer was reported to WDNR on February 2, 2021. WDNR notified the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) of a PCB release and issued a Responsible Party letter to the City on February 15, 2021. The case was assigned a project management and DNR BRRTS Activity No. 02-41-587190 and DNR FID No. 341331430.
A series of meetings and conversations occurred between the City, WDNR, and US EPA to determine the regulatory requirements for investigating the extent of the contamination. The City submitted a Work Plan to the US EPA to delineate the PCB contamination and it was approved on July 22, 2021. The City began implementing the Work Plan in late summer 2021 and completed dye testing, outfall testing, water level monitoring, and sampled areas adjacent to the storm sewer.
Additional updates on project status will be provided here as they become available.
Storm Sewer Map