GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The owner of C. Reiss Coal Company stood with area leaders, and a top White House official, on Thursday to talk about the possibility of moving the coal piles by the Fox River.
“New beginnings are always exciting and we’re working the best we can together with the city and the county to make this happen,” said Keith Haselhoff with C. Reiss Coal Company.
It’s something all parties involved want to see get done — the coal piles located just off the Fox River, moving about two miles north, closer to the mouth of Green Bay.
Brown County and the city of Green Bay have plans to build a new, state-of-the art port terminal on the former Pulliam Power Plant site.
“It’s more than likely, hopefully you do it as efficiently as possible, right? So it’s probably a draw down of what we have there, and any new material would come in at the new site,” said Haselhoff.
However, the port of Green Bay says about $22 to 25M is still needed for the new port site.
“We have a $25 million RAISE grant that’s been submitted and we’re going to do our darndest to see that get approved,” said Dean Haen, director of the Port of Green Bay.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program, better known as RAISE, is through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The program helps communities across the nation carry out projects with significant local or regional impact.
Last year, FOX 11 learned the estimated cost of the new port project would be about $49M dollars. That’s up significantly from the initial estimate of about $30M.
“We’re a little bit short in terms of what we need to make this possible but everybody, from C. Reiss to the county and the port to the city, as I said to the governor’s office and the federal administration, Biden administration have been totally aligned in doing whatever we can to make this possible,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich.
The port of Green Bay says some work at the former power plant will begin this year.
An entrance road and fencing along the property will be installed. If a RAISE Grant is awarded, the site will be under full construction in 2025 and 2026.
Leaders expect to hear if they will be granted money through the RAISE program by late June.
If all goes to plan, leaders say there isn’t one solid answer, as to what could become of the freed up space, when the coal piles are moved. Some ideas include new apartments or condos and restaurants.
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