Damage response, Habitat restoration

Overview

The Arrowhead Refinery is a former oil recycling facility located within the St. Louis River watershed in Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota. The facility was in operation from 1961-1977 and was situated on a palustrine forested, scrub-shrub wetland, surrounded by commercial, residential, and public use. Facility operations generated approximately 7,000 cubic yards of highly acidic, metal-laden sludge, which was disposed of in a 2-acre unlined lagoon on the property and wastewater ditch in a wetland area. Analyses conducted by the State of Minnesota indicated that the ground water and surface water near the site were contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, phenols, cyanide, lead, barium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and selenium. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the Arrowhead Refinery site on the National Priorities List on August 1983. Analysis of monitoring wells and surface water by the State of Minnesota in 1983 confirmed that contaminants had migrated from the Site.

Settlement

The State of Minnesota, represented by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the Department of Interior, represented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, developed a claim for the natural resource damages at the Site and serve as co-trustees. The claim reflects the estimated costs associated with replacing and maintaining the lost or diminished habitat value of the equivalent of 30 acres of palustrine forested wetland and 40 acres of palustrine emergent wetland, giving a total of 70 replacement acres.

Restoration

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation completed the palustrine forested wetland restoration in 1997. To restore the natural resource injuries associated with the palustrine emergent wetland, the Trustees determined off-site wetland restoration will be required.

Restoration Plan

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepared a draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (draft RP/EA) that describes proposed restoration actions for the use of remaining settlement funds. The draft RP/EA was available for public review and comment until April 2, 2022; no comments were received and the Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment was finalized. Based on the selection factors outlined in the Final RP/EA, the Service has identified Alternative Three, Grassy Point Revegetation as the selected alternative.

Access the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Arrowhead Refinery Site

Administrative Record Index

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Library

Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Arrowhead Refinery Site

The purpose of this final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) is to describe how the Trustee for the Arrowhead Refinery Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR), the Department of Interior represented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the Servie),...

Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Arrowhead Refinery Site, St. Louis County, Minnesota

The purpose of this draft Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) is to describe how a Trustee for the Arrowhead Refinery Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR), the Department of Interior represented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, will utilize...

Facilities

two large white wading birds with red heads walk in a wetland
We are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office responsible for the following activities in Minnesota and Wisconsin: administering the Endangered Species Act; identifying sources of environmental contamination, assessing impacts of contaminants to fish and wildlife resources and helping to restore...

Contact

USFWS at Spirit Island
Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Ecological Services
Additional Role(s)
Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR),
Spill Response
Expertise
Habitat restoration,
Great Lakes
Bloomington,MN

Programs

A rocky shoreline of a river. The water is calm. Mist and green branches line the river.
The Ecological Services Program works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, we work with federal, state, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to...
Wading bird stands in oil damaged marsh.
We provide national leadership in the protection and restoration of fish, wildlife, and habitats that have been threatened or injured by oil discharges, releases of hazardous substances, or other emerging contaminants of concern.