St. Louis County asks LCCMR for Scandia Cemetery shoreline protection after human remains found; $325,000 startup request fails

St. Louis County told the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources on June 11 that urgent shoreline erosion along Lake Superior has exposed human remains at the historic Scandia Cemetery in Duluth, and the county requested $2,550,000 from the trust fund's emerging-issues account to design and build a permanent shoreline protection measure. The commission declined a startup appropriation.

Rachel Gregg, St. Louis County civil engineer and Scandia Cemetery project lead, told commissioners that in August 2024 a child discovered human bones on the Lake Superior shoreline next to Glensheen Mansion and that field surveys subsequently documented multiple exposed fragments. Gregg said historical shoreline retreat in the area is about 12 to 20 inches every 10 years, based on UMD studies, and the county proposed constructing a permanent concrete retaining wall with riprap scour protection to stop further erosion and permanently prevent exposure of remains.

Kevin Gray, St. Louis County administrator, said the county would serve as owner of the wall and would acquire permanent and temporary easements; he told the commission the county would provide required local match funds (the county committed to the 25% match required under LCCMR capital-construction rules). Gregg said the county seeks $2,550,000 to finish scoping, design, permitting, land acquisition and construction and said that if LCCMR provided funds now, construction could be accelerated by a year.

Commissioners debated three main alternatives presented by county staff: a concrete retaining wall (the county's preferred solution), riprap/rock armoring (similar cost, less excavation in some profiles), and retreat/disinterment relocating burials inland. County staff said disinterment of the most at-risk plots could exceed $200,000 for dozens of burials and that sliding or continued erosion could require repeated future relocation if retreat were chosen.

The project prompted broader debate at the meeting about whether the LCCMR's emerging-issues account is the appropriate place for cemetery infrastructure. Opponents noted the trust fund's constitutional purpose (protection, conservation and enhancement of natural resources) and raised concerns about precedent if private cemetery repairs were funded. Supporters noted the site's public shoreline, the ethical urgency from exposed remains, and climate-driven storm impacts on Lake Superior shoreline sections used by the public.

Commission actions: the commission voted 11-4 to table a larger Albright motion earlier in the meeting (a procedural motion to delay full funding consideration), then later considered a motion by Chair Albright to recommend $325,000 from the emerging-issues account to begin design and scoping work for the county. That latter motion failed on a roll call: yes 7, no 8. St. Louis County officials said they would pursue other funding avenues and that they had already committed to provide local match funding if a project moved forward.

Ending: The county did not receive the startup funding from LCCMR at this meeting. County staff said design and permitting are the critical near-term needs to position the project for other grant sources, and county officials indicated readiness to pursue alternate funders and to return with additional information or in a formal LCCMR proposal in the normal cycle if appropriate.