The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state and local partners have announced more than $37.6 million for restoration and remediation projects in the Maumee Area of Concern in northwest Ohio.

More than $34 million will support the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s dredging of approximately 121,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other pollutants from a one-mile stretch of the Lower Maumee River. EPA is providing $32.34 million through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, while Ohio EPA is contributing $1.75 million for sediment disposal.

The City of Toledo will receive $2.6 million to improve fish habitat in the Ottawa River through floating wetlands, rock shoals, fish shelves and woody habitat. Ohio EPA will receive another $1 million to evaluate cleanup options and design a project addressing PCB contamination in the Ottawa River.

The Maumee Area of Concern was designated in 1987 because of industrial pollution, untreated waste discharges, stormwater runoff and habitat degradation. EPA and its partners have completed 42 of 53 planned management actions, including removing more than 300,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and restoring more than 3,500 acres of habitat.