Northern States Power Faces $40M Cleanup Tab

WASHINGTON – In a major environmental crime case, Northern States Power Co. has agreed to pay $40 million to clean up the Ashland/Northern States Power Lakefront Superfund Site in Northwestern Wisconsin.

The 40-acre site, located on the shore of Chequamegon Bay in Lake Superior, has been contaminated with volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, and semivolatile organic compounds, such as naphthalene, due to more than a century of industrial use.

Under the agreement, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Northern States Power will design, construct and implement the cleanup plan for the on-land portion of the site.

The on-land cleanup is expected to cost approximately $40 million and will include removal of source material and impacted soil in Kreher Park and the adjacent bluff area, as well as recovery wells designed to remove pollution from the Copper Falls aquifer.

The United States will also require additional cleanup of sediments in Chequamegon Bay, and expects that Northern States Power and any other responsible parties will perform the rest of the cleanup.

As part of the settlement, Northern States Power will transfer approximately 990 acres of land along the Iron River to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and 400 acres within the reservation of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians to the Bad River tribe.

The state of Wisconsin will also transfer 114 acres of land to the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, which will be managed to preserve natural resources.