Port Facilities

Duluth Seaway Port Authority
1200 Port Terminal Drive
Duluth, MN 55802

T: 218.727.8525
F: 218.727.6888  

Erie Pier was purchased by the Duluth Seaway Port Authority in the late 1970s from the Zenith Dredge Company for the purpose of constructing a Confined Disposal Facility (CDF). Today, the Port Authority operates the 89-acre Erie Pier as a recycling facility - termed a Placement and Reuse Facility (PRF) - and acts as local sponsor for all dredging projects in the harbor, working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

According to the Erie Pier Management Plan created by the Harbor Technical Advisory Committee/Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council, dredged materials are sorted at Erie Pier (based on size) into two grades: coarse and fine.

• The coarse material (i.e. sand) has been utilized in area road and other construction projects since the late 1980s. It meets Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Tier I standards, which permit its use in any upland location. Wisconsin DNR permits the use of this coarse material in public projects anywhere in Douglas County.
• The fine material - best described as "reclaimed soil" - has also been tested and found to meet MPCA Tier I standards for re-use, and is being utilized in a number of projects around the Twin Ports and Minnesota's Iron Range, as well as in a pilot project in Wisconsin.

Dredged Materials for Sale

If interested in acquiring any of the dredged materials from Erie Pier for an upcoming construction or land reclamation project, please contact:

Jim Sharrow, Port Authority Facilities Manager jsharrow@duluthport.com