Marinette County will pay to install a new sanitary sewer line at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Marinette Campus, but intends to seek reimbursement from the parties involved.
The Marinette Eagle Herald reported that a capped or blocked sanitary sewer line was discovered on the UWGB campus in Marinette and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued a letter to the county and to Aurora Bay Care Medical center informing them of unpermitted discharge of wastewater. Its believed that the sewer line was capped when the former Bay Area Medical Center was demolished in March 2022.
Aurora acquired Bay Area Medical Center including the former hospital site in 2019 and subsequently sold it to the city of Marinette in April of this year so it could be redeveloped. COunty officials have indicated that the city of Marinette and Aurora have not stepped up to resolve the issue and there is urgency since the UWGB Marinette campus opens for classes Sept. 7.
The county is expected to hire Degroot Construction Inc., Green Bay, at a minimum cost of $100,000 to install a new sanitary sewer line to the campus. Officials said they would seek reimbursement for the costs when the project is complete. Work will start Sept. 7 and is expected to take five days.
According to the DNR letter, “Preliminary information indicates that the discharge has occurred on the Aurora Medical Center Bay Area site, in the approximate location of where the main building was previously located. The Aurora site is adjacent and to the west of the campus site.”
It is uncertain where the wastewater was discharged and investigation into the matter continues. It’s possible there were violations of state statutes and administrative codes.
