St. Louis County Seeks State Grants to Stabilize Eroding Scandia Cemetery Shoreline

St. Louis County officials announced a renewed effort to secure state funding to stabilize about 300 feet of shoreline at Scandia Cemetery on London Road in Duluth, where erosion along Lake Superior has exposed graves and, in some cases, human remains. The county board passed a resolution regarding the effort, though the full resolution text and date were not included in the materials provided.

The announcement follows an emergent erosion problem on the Lake Superior shore at Scandia Cemetery quantified in county materials as about 300 feet of shoreline needing stabilization and described specifically as having exposed graves and, in some cases, human remains. The available records do not include the resolution’s sponsor, vote tally, or language authorizing particular grant applications or matching funds.

Separately, St. Louis County Public Works is seeking $10,244,532 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program for Fiscal Year 2025 to complete multiple slope stabilization projects along the scenic north shore of Lake Superior. The PROTECT application lists County State Aid Highway 61 (CSAH 61, also called North Shore Drive or the Scenic North Shore) and County Road 222 (Stoney Point Drive) as explicit project locations, but the application excerpts do not explicitly list Scandia Cemetery or the 300-foot cemetery shoreline.

The PROTECT grant narrative identifies appendices A through H as part of the submission: Location Information, Site Photos, Design Details, Detailed Cost Estimates, Detailed Project Schedule, Funding Assurance, Letters of Support, and Environmental Review. Location 1 in the PROTECT narrative focuses on restoration of an existing wayside rest along CSAH 61 and specifies constructing a reinforced concrete retaining wall anchored into ledge rock, placement of riprap for scour protection, and establishing vegetation. That location also mentions amenities including improved beach access, picnic tables, and informational panels presenting the natural, recreational, and scenic qualities of CSAH 61.

County materials therefore show parallel funding activity: a county-level push described as seeking state funding specifically for Scandia Cemetery stabilization, and a federal PROTECT application totaling $10,244,532 for north shore slope projects that explicitly cover CSAH 61 and County Road 222. The documents provided do not reconcile whether PROTECT funds would be applied to the Scandia Cemetery site or disclose a site-level budget allocation for the cemetery within the $10,244,532 request.

The county record supplied notes the exposure of graves and human remains but does not include documentation of coroner notifications, law enforcement involvement, reinterment actions, tribal consultation, or cultural-resource review. The PROTECT application lists an Appendix H Environmental Review, indicating environmental and regulatory steps are part of the federal packet, but the contents of that environmental review were not included.

Among other attached program extracts in the bundle were Missouri grant programs — Community Revitalization Grant Program (open Aug. 11, 2022; applications due Nov. 14, 2022), the Neighborhood Assistance Program (FY22 awards $762,875), and the State Services to Victims Fund — materials that appear in the files but are not shown to be connected to the Scandia Cemetery effort.

For now, St. Louis County’s resolution and the $10,244,532 PROTECT application represent parallel efforts to marshal state and federal dollars to address north shore erosion; specific funding amounts dedicated to Scandia Cemetery, a construction schedule, and environmental or cultural permits have not been released.