(Okoboji)– A heavily used boat ramp in Okoboji is off-limits until further notice.
Kevin Szcodronski, Chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resouces State Parks Bureau, tells KUOO news a massive clean-up of contaminated soil is underway at the Hattie Elston public boat ramp and parking lot across from Kum ‘n Go in Okoboji.
Szcodronski says the project is expected to take a couple of weeks to complete, but says it will depend on weather and other circumstances.
Szcodronski says the contamination is from years gone by. He says there used to be a marina in that area along with a railroad re-fueling station from back when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ran trains through the lakes area.
The state’s underground storage tank program is paying for the clean-up.
Szcodronski says contaminated soil is being excavated from the area. It will be back filled with clean soil and the parking lot re-paved.
Szcodronski says the D-N-R has been aware of the contamination issue since the late 1990’s when a similar assessment was done on the site of where the Kum ‘n Go Convenience Store is currently located. He says that study pointed to the state-owned land as the source of contaminated soil. Szcodronski says it took this long to get engineering reports back that detail what needs to be done to remediate the situation.
Szcodronski says they could have done the project this past summer but opted to wait until now so as not to have the boat ramp closed during the busy summer season.
