If you live in Marquette during the summer, then you’ve definitely spent your fair share of time relaxing on one of the many beaches this town has to offer. But I’m willing to bet that you’ve never heard of the Superfund site that is sitting right across from Lake Superior, across from one of those very beaches. Located on Lakeshore Drive, in between Wright and Hawley this Superfund site is actually in the process of being restored.

Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency, the city of Marquette was given $1 million in order to fix this site. The current Lakeshore restoration project is what the city of Marquette is doing to fix this superfund Site. Back in the early 1900s, this site was used to turn wood into charcoal for local mining companies. When this site was closed down decades later, it stained the ground and groundwater with chemicals that would haunt the land for years to come.

If you are unaware of what a “superfund site” is, a superfund site is basically a term for a location where chemical dumps have gotten so bad it has reached federal recognition. In the late 1970s, toxic waste dumps like Love Canal and Valley of the Drums were faced with backlash from the national public due to the harmful effects that the chemicals had on human lives. Thus, Congress established the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or more informally known as Superfund sites.

After living in Marquette for about three years, the first time I heard about this site was this past fall. I thought it was crazy that there was this toxic waste dump that I have been driving past on the weekly, without a second glance. I am more than elated that the city of Marquette has begun the process of fixing this problem, but I was a little peeved to learn that almost no one that I have spoken to on this topic has known of its existence.

I think that the knowledge that there is a chemical dump right in our backyard is something that the people of Marquette have a right to know, and that this should be talked about more.