EPA, State, and Local Partners Announce $37.6 Million Investment to Restore Maumee Area of Concern in Northwest Ohio

EPA, State, and Local Partners Announce $37.6 Million Investment to Restore Maumee Area of Concern in Northwest Ohio

Funding will support dredging and habitat restoration in the Maumee and Ottawa Rivers

August 12, 2026

Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined state and local partners at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio, to announce more than $37.6 million in funding to support continued restoration and remediation efforts in the Maumee Area of Concern in northwest Ohio.

"When we clean up contaminated sediment and rebuild habitat, we don't just heal a watershed-we unlock opportunity," said EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel. "We've already accomplished so much, and it's vital we continue to deliver for the people of northwest Ohio."

The funding will be used to complete three projects in the Maumee and Ottawa rivers. This includes more than $34 million for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to dredge approximately 121,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other contaminants from a one-mile area along the Lower Maumee River. The dredged sediment will be placed in the Toledo Harbor confined disposal facility. EPA is providing $32.34 million from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for the project while Ohio EPA are providing $1.75 million to cover disposal.

"We are grateful to the U.S. EPA for its tremendous support of the Lower Maumee River Sway Bridge Project and for its continued confidence in the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority to lead important environmental initiatives throughout northwest Ohio," said Thomas J. Winston, President and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. "This significant investment builds on our ongoing work to restore and protect our region's natural resources, strengthen the health and vitality of our community, and ensure a cleaner, healthier Maumee River for generations to come."

Additionally, there is $2.6 million in funding for the City of Toledo to improve fish habitat in the Ottawa River by constructing floating wetlands, rock shoals, fish shelves, and woody habitat.

"For decades, contamination kept Toledoans from accessing their own river, but projects like this one have changed that - building the floating wetlands and berms that will bring calm-water kayaking, a better fishery, and hands-on learning for Ottawa River Elementary students right back to the Ottawa River," said Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. "Clean water is good for the fish, good for the environment, and good for quality of life, and this investment helps us deliver all of the above for our neighborhoods."

EPA is also awarding Ohio EPA $1 million to evaluate cleanup options and design a project to address an area of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in the Ottawa River approximately 8 river miles upstream from Lake Erie.

"Ohio EPA is proud to partner on projects that protect and restore Ohio's waters while addressing environmental challenges that have existed for decades," said Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director John Logue. "This investment will help advance meaningful restoration work in the Maumee and Ottawa Rivers, creating cleaner waterways, healthier ecosystems, and stronger communities across northwest Ohio."

The Maumee Area of concern is one of the largest areas of concern in the United States, covering 787 square miles in northwest Ohio, including 1,900 miles of streams and 45 miles of Lake Erie shoreline. It was designated as an area of concern in 1987 by the U.S. and Canadian governments because of decades of industrial pollution, untreated waste discharges, stormwater runoff and habitat deterioration. This degradation resulted in 10 beneficial use impairments-official restrictions on normal uses of the water, including swimming, eating fish, or accessing beaches.

To date, EPA and partners have completed 42 of 53 planned management actions in the Maumee Area of Concern, including the removal of more than 300,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and the restoration of more than 3,500 acres of habitat. This effort has enabled EPA to remove four beneficial use impairments, including fish consumption advisories and limits on dredging activities. Once all of these restrictions have been removed, the area of concern can be delisted.

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