PROJECT BACKGROUND:

Dubuque, Iowa underwent a transformation with the redevelopment of its port and waterfront area. Situated on the banks of the

Mississippi River, Dubuque’s once vibrant industrial and manufacturing port area fell into decline and disrepair. The city’s efforts to

redevelop the waterfront have turned the area into America’s River Campus, complete with entertainment and recreational venues such

as the Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark, a riverfront casino, plaza, amphitheater, as well as open space and natural recreational

areas. The city is bringing an innovative technology to bear at a vacant lot used for parking; it is using a Brownfields Cleanup grant to

address a petroleum plume—resulting from former use as an above-ground petroleum storage tank yard— that is contaminating a fiveacre area between the hotel and the riverfront casino. Petroleum hydrocarbons exist in the soil and ground water and in order to return

this property to productive use, cleanup was deemed necessary. Its proximity to the Mississippi River underscores the importance of

addressing the ground water contamination.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• A $200,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant is being used to clean up a petroleum plume

on the property.

• The innovative cleanup remedy—Multi-Arrayed Vacuum (MAV) extraction—has been

successful in injecting 9,000 gallons of peroxide for treatment and extracting 1,100 gallons

of petroleum hydrocarbons from soil and ground water.

• The cleanup is occurring in situ (i.e., onsite), therefore the technology has minimal impact

on the property and the parking lot is still in use while cleanup continues. Cleanup is

expected to be complete in 2009.

• The project received the 2005 EPA Region 7 Phoenix Award for “Recognition for

Excellence in Brownfield Redevelopment” for the entire America’s River Campus project.

The city has successfully implemented a redevelopment vision that is a nationally

recognized model for redevelopment.

OUTCOME:

Using the MAV extraction technology to address the petroleum plume is helping to protect the natural environment on the waterfront

campus and the Mississippi River, and allowing for additional riverfront development. Once cleanup is complete, the parking lot may be

used to expand the Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark or to connect the various establishments present on the entire 64-acre

waterfront property. Cleanup of the five-acre petroleum plume is essential to the redevelopment goals of the Phoenix Award winning

America’s River Campus. For Dubuque, the overall project represents a major shift from underused industrial waterfront to land that

enhances the beauty of the Mississippi River, the economy, and the quality of life for residents.

Innovative Cleanup Technology used on

Petroleum Plume along Mississippi River

brownfields at-a-glance

PETROLEUM PLUME REMEDIATION SITE

Dubuque, IA

Cleanup Grant

EPA-560-F-06-251

October 2006

For additional data and geographic information for this

and other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s:

Envirofacts - www.epa.gov/enviro/html/bms/bms_query.html

Enviromapper - www.epa.gov/enviro/bf

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 7 at (913) 551-7003

ADDRESS: 3rd and Bell Streets, Dubuque, IA 52001

PROPERTY SIZE: 5 acres

FORMER USE: Petroleum Storage

CURRENT USE: Parking Lot

EPA GRANT RECIPIENT: PROJECT PARTNERS:

State of Iowa, other federal partners and

private property owners

The City of Dubuque received a

$200,000 EPA Brownfields

Cleanup Grant.

Cleanup work on the petroleum plume beginning

at America’s River Campus in Dubuque, Iowa