City Subscriptions

City and Park Point Community Club Respond to USACE Cleanup Announcement

[Duluth, MN] The City of Duluth and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are urging caution for anyone using Park Point Beach between the shipping canal on the lakeside to 13th Street South as pieces of shredded aluminum cans have been found. The cans are believed to have been inadvertently deposited when dredge materials were placed on the far north beach section this past fall. Dredge material was placed on the beach after the Park Point Community Club and Park Point residents approached the City and other partners with shoreline erosion concerns exacerbated by high water levels.

The USACE issued a separate release stating, “Corps of Engineer officials take the situation very seriously and are developing a plan to mitigate the likelihood of encountering debris or placing debris fragments in the future.” The City will continue to partner with the USACE, among other government agencies, and the Park Point Community Club to inform the public about cleanup efforts.

“We are very appreciative of the partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on this project,” said Director of Parks, Properties, and Libraries Jim Filby-Williams. “Shoreline erosion and high-water levels have led to a complex situation that required a great deal of planning and creative solutions. This is a great example of how the City, other government agencies, and the public can work together to solve a problem brought forward by residents. We remain committed to working together to ensure that everyone can safely enjoy the beach on Minnesota Point.”

The Park Point Community Club and High-Water Committee issued the following statement regarding the cleanup:

“The Park Point Community Club is encouraged by the USACE's ownership of this unfortunate situation and their commitment to improving sediment testing and methodology designed to prevent similar situations in the future.

The Club's Erosion and High-Water Committee sought guidance and support from City leadership in 2019 to address the erosion of the very busy beach from south of the shipping canal to 13th Street. The City’s effective collaboration and planning with the USACE led to the completion of the 2020 beach restoration project.

The shredded cans and metal shards were first noted by neighbors in October 2020.  Since then, the Community Club has been and remains committed to providing volunteers to work side by side with the City and Corps to return the beach to a condition safe for public recreation and property owners alike.

Park Pointers join the City in taking great pride in providing active and vigilant stewardship of Lake Superior and its shores. Our efforts will continue as long as the cans and shards continue to surface on the beach and wash up on the shoreline,” Dawn Buck, Park Point Community Club President.

###