EPA grant funds upcoming cleaning project in Marquette

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - A federal grant has been given to the city of Marquette to clean brownfield sites like the old Cliffs Dow property.

$960,000 ­from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be sent to Marquette to clean up the former Cliffs Dow property. This funding will allow the city to clean up the contaminated groundwater on the land.

Marquette City Manager Karen Kovacs said the city has decided to use a system that will go underground without having to dig up soil.

“This is meant to be something that is the treatment of that groundwater and on either an ongoing basis, but really something that is meant to be there for a number of years. It’s not put it in fix the problem and leave,” Kovacs said.

Kovac said the funding access is only the first step of the plan to address the former Cliffs Dow land. EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore said there are long-term benefits when it comes to this grant.

“The ability to assess a site and then get it cleaned up has leveraged millions more in investment. That puts property back on the tax rolls,” Shore said.

This area is also considered to be the new location for the Jacobetti Home for Veterans. Kovac said this grant is good news going into negotiations for the project.

“So we’re still working through plans right now and so there is a second phase of this application that we’re working through at this point, but hopefully we should have some more information in in the coming months on that,” Kovacs said.

Kovac said more updates about the Cliffs Dow land and regarding the new location for Jacobetti will be provided in the summer months.

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