It's seen as a critical step forward in the 30-year battle to delist the St. Clair River as an environmental hot spot.
The federal government is providing $250,000 over three years for detailed engineering and design work to address mercury-contaminated sediment in three areas near Stag Island.
Binational Public Advisory Council Co-Chair Kris Lee says cleaning up the 9 km stretch of riverbed will allow organisms at the bottom to thrive.
"It's kind of ticking off one Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) at a time," says Lee. "I started this in 1988, so it's been 30 years that we've been at it and we're coming closer to it, we only have a few more left to do. Certainly, one by one we're checking them off. The degradation of benthos will hopefully be checked off once the sediment is cleaned."
Lee is optimistic the government will move forward with remediation work and doesn't believe they would fund an engineering report otherwise.
She expects the cleanup will cost around $25-million in total.
The St. Clair River is one of 43 areas of concern listed by the International Joint Commission.
Other projects being funded under Ottawa's Great Lakes Protection Initiative include $100,000 for phragmites control on Walpole Island, and $60,000 for shoreline remediation for the Rural Lambton Stewardship Network.