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Marquette awards Cliff Stowe remediation contract to Orin Technologies under EPA grant
Summary
The Marquette City Commission voted 7-0 to award a contract for in situ remediation at the Cliff Stowe brownfield site to Orin Technologies, using an EPA grant that covers the work; residents urged cultural and environmental healing before further chemical work.
The Marquette City Commission on Sept. 8 voted 7-0 to award a contract to Orin Technologies of Verona, Wisconsin, for in situ remediation at the Cliff Stowe brownfield site, using a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup grant that covers the work.
The grant — awarded to the city on Sept. 11, 2023 — totals $964,250, City staff said during the meeting. The city issued an RFP on July 17, 2025; three firms submitted bids. TriMedia Environmental and Engineering Services LLC, which the city retained as a consultant, and the city’s outside environmental legal counsel reviewed the proposals and recommended Orin Technologies. The three proposals were summarized in meeting materials as: Regenesis Bioremediation — $519,976; Orin Technologies — $802,148; Taplin Group LLC — $5,077,659.40. Staff recommended awarding the contract to Orin Technologies “at a cost not to exceed $802,148.”
The city clerk read the background: TriMedia assisted the city in preparing the RFP; proposals were reviewed by the city, TriMedia and the city’s environmental legal counsel Foley, Barron, Metzger and Yip, PLLC. City staff said the recommendation reflected Orin’s complete RFP response, a bench study that remained under budget, and overall value for the cost.
Resident Margaret Brown, 404 East Magnetic Street, urged commissioners to consider the site’s long history of contamination and to include a cultural or spiritual “healing ceremony” before additional chemical work. She said the property has continued to leach contaminants and that remediation efforts in the past have not fully restored the site: “There’s never been one positive statement where you could say it’s remediated itself,” Brown said.
Commissioners voiced support for moving forward while acknowledging remaining uncertainty. Commissioner Davis moved to award the contract; Commissioner Larson seconded. The motion passed by voice vote, 7-0.
City staff said there is no fiscal effect to the city’s general fund: the remediation work will be paid from the EPA cleanup grant, as described in the meeting materials. Several commissioners noted the site is unlikely to be restored to a pre-industrial condition and described the contract as the next step in a multi-year remediation effort.
The city did not specify a projected construction or remediation start date during the Sept. 8 meeting; further schedule details will appear in forthcoming staff reports and the executed contract.
