CEDARBURG, Wis. — A contaminated former aluminum die-cast facility in Cedarburg is expected to begin cleanup later this year, but the cost of remediating the EPA Superfund site has risen $32 million from initial estimates — raising concerns among nearby residents and prompting discussions at the city level about funding.
The AmCast site closed in 2005. Its footprint is now the center of the Superfund site, located on Hamilton Road between Johnson Avenue and Park Lane.
It drew EPA attention for contamination in 2009. After more than a decade of planning, cleanup is now projected to be complete around 2033.
The state is responsible for 10 percent of the cleanup funding. Since the total project cost was initially estimated four years ago to be $40 million, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources committed the needed $4 million.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has since taken and studied samples to help determine specifics and the scope of the project, leading to a significant jump in costs, according to City Administrator Mikko Hilvo.
Watch: Cedarburg neighbor waits on EPA Superfund site cleanup as city weighs how to close $3.2M funding shortfall
The total cost is now projected at $72 million, and Cedarburg's Common Council is weighing whether to commit to covering the state's additional $3.2 million obligation — provided the state does not end up making up the gap itself.
Mike Loberg, who has lived near the site for 35 years, said the cost increase has left neighbors with unanswered questions.
"I think that's why they're looking for more money, and the question everybody has is exactly what has that money been spent on," Loberg said.
Loberg's property is part of the Superfund site boundary. While officials say there is no imminent danger, the EPA has conducted soil sampling on surrounding properties.
Loberg said he and other neighbors have a personal stake in both the cleanup and any future redevelopment of the long-dormant lot, which has sat largely quiet since the facility shut down more than two decades ago.
"It's good that you're out here," Loberg said. "There needs to be more public awareness of how important it is to people who live in the area that this gets taken care of."
That funding would not be due until the project is complete, roughly in 2033. The city expects cleanup to begin later this year, regardless of how the budget gap is ultimately resolved.
The project will next be discussed at the city's Common Council meeting in June.
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