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St. Paul,
Minn. – The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Minnesota
Department of Agriculture (MDA) published in the Dec. 23, 2014 “Minnesota State
Register” their proposal to delete one Minneapolis site – the Bassett
Creek/Irving Avenue Dump site ‒ from the State of Minnesota Permanent List of
Priorities (PLP), Minnesota’s list of state Superfund sites.
The main
feature of the Basset Creek/Irving Avenue Dump site, which covers about 35
acres just west of downtown Minneapolis (Hennepin County), is the city’s Impound
Lot. The site was an old dump that was used before the 1960s. As directed by
the MPCA, the Minneapolis Public Works Department has investigated and
remediated the site since the late 1980s. A Minnesota Decision Document,
approved on Oct. 17, 2013, summarized the investigation and cleanup work that
has been completed by the city. It recommended that no further action is
necessary to address environmental impacts at the site, unless use of the
property changes. Minneapolis intends to retain ownership of the site and
continue to use it as a vehicle impound lot. The site was added to the PLP in
1986. Most of the site is covered with asphalt. The city’s investigations have
demonstrated that the top four feet of soils that have not been capped meet the
applicable MPCA industrial reference values for lead, polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other potential
contaminants of concern. The MPCA recommends that the site be removed from the
PLP because the city has taken all reasonable and appropriate actions related
to the identified releases.
The
MPCA proposes to add these eight sites to Minnesota’s list of Superfund sites:
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Ace
Sign site, 300 W. 14th St., Willmar (Kandiyohi County) ‒ The building on this half-acre,
tax-forfeited property was contaminated with mercury, but indoor air levels are
now acceptable after a partial cleanup of the property in 2007, directed by
MPCA emergency responders. The partial cleanup also included removal of debris
and contaminated surface soils. Analysis of site soil samples last year by the
MPCA found mercury in near-surface soils. Since the site is in a residential
neighborhood, the main concern is potential direct exposure to any remaining
contaminated soils. The MPCA wants this site added to the PLP so it can access
funds for response actions that are protective of human health.
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Boyer
Lumber site, 1504 Fourth St. S., Virginia (St. Louis County) – This 2.75-acre
site has housed a snow rake manufacturer, a lumberyard and hardware store, and
a tool and equipment rental business. Environmental investigation began at the
site in 1990 in response to a release of heating oil from an underground
storage tank. In 2004, dioxins and the wood-treating chemical pentachlorophenol
(PCP) were identified at the site. Groundwater monitoring has shown there’s a
low-risk, stable groundwater plume. Since dioxins and PCP are present in the
soil at concentrations that pose direct-exposure risks, the impacted surface
soils need to be removed and disposed of off site. The site is being added to
the state Superfund list so funds will be available to complete the necessary
remedial actions.
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Bulinski
Point site is on the south side of Shagawa Lake, which is west of Ely, in St.
Louis County. This site is surrounded by mostly seasonal residences with
private wells. Elevated levels of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethylene
(TCE) have been detected in groundwater at the site. In 2002, the source of the
contamination was traced to a ditch, where it was believed PCE had been dumped.
Since 2003, the MPCA has treated the water from three nearby residential wells
with granulated activated carbon (GAC) to make it safe to drink. At two of
these wells, PCE and TCE have been detected above the health standards set by
the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The site is being added to the state
Superfund list so funds will be available to continue monitoring and treating
drinking water from wells near the site. In addition, an investigation will be
conducted to determine if vapor intrusion is occurring at residences near the
site.
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Clothing
Care Cleaners site, 612 11th Ave. N.W., Rochester (Olmsted County) – This site,
in a commercial area, is occupied by a single building. The former Clothing
Care facility occupies the western third of the building and a warehouse occupies
the rest. The part of the building occupied by the former cleaners sustained
heavy fire damage in 2000. Environmental investigations have found PCE and TCE
in the groundwater at the site. The MPCA wants to add the site to the PLP so it
can determine the potential risks the chlorinated VOCs pose to potential
receptors. Potential human health risks at the site are associated with vapor
intrusion. Potential down-gradient receptors include underground utilities,
Cascade Creek, and an industrial water supply well.
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Hoover
Dump site, in Bridgewater Township, about four miles southwest of Dundas (Rice
County) – This site, which covers about 17 acres, was originally a gravel pit.
Unrestricted waste disposal occurred there from about 1964 to the mid-1970s.
Waste material was placed in and around the former gravel pit and burned from
time to time. The MPCA has installed groundwater monitoring wells to delineate
the site. Residents near the site rely on their wells for water. Due to the site’s
remote, rural location, a municipal water supply is not available, nor is one
likely to become available soon. The water from one residential well near the
site contains vinyl chloride above the MDH Health Risk Limit. In 2001, the MPCA
installed a GAC filtration device to make the water from that well safe to
drink. This site is being added to the PLP so drinking water down-gradient from
the site can continue to be monitored and treated and additional investigation
can be done to determine the extent and magnitude of the contaminant plume.
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Lakeland
Groundwater Contamination site (Washington County) ‒ This site consists of a
contaminated groundwater plume from an unknown source. In 1986-87, MDH sampled
residential wells as part of a statewide effort to examine old dump sites. The
sampling found low concentrations of VOCs. The main VOCs of concern were 1,1,1-trichloroethane,
tetrachloroethane, TCE and cis-1,2,dichloroethene. The MDH issued drinking
water advisories for homes where the drinking water exceeded MDH health guidelines.
In response, the MPCA declared an emergency and used state Superfund money to
supply bottled water to affected homes. A new municipal water supply system in
Lakeland and Lakeland Shores Township was constructed in 1990-1991. All homes
with drinking water advisories were connected to the new system and the
contaminated residential wells were sealed. Sampling by MDH in 1996 and 1997
found no increase in residential wells over time and the plume appeared to be
stable. The site was taken off the PLP in 2000. However, last May, the MDH
reduced the Health Based Value for TCE from 5 parts per billion (ppb), the
allowable amount at the time of the 2000 delisting, to 0.4 ppb. Subsequent
sampling of wells by MDH in Lakeland and Lakeland Shores Township has shown
that several residential wells in the affected communities now exceed the new
Health Based Value for TCE. The MPCA proposes to re-list the site on the PLP so
funding will be available to further delineate the groundwater contamination at
the site, monitor additional residences, and provide for a safe, long-term
drinking water supply to affected residences.
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Merit
Enterprises site, 315 Hennepin Ave. S., Isle (Mille Lacs County) ‒ This site,
of about 1.5 acres, is in a mixed industrial/residential area, about a quarter
mile from Mille Lacs Lake. A metal-plating facility had occupied the site since
the 1950s. Before 1978, toluene and TCE were discharged to the sewer. Before
the facility was destroyed by fire in 2008, soil at the site was found to be
contaminated with chlorinated VOCs, which were in the groundwater at
concentrations above the MDH Health Risk Limits. Runoff from firefighting
activities carried some of the acids, bases, cyanide and metals used in plating
onto low-lying areas nearby. Elevated levels of mercury and nickel have been
found in the surface soils. Soil vapor samples also showed elevated levels of VOCs,
which could potentially enter nearby homes. The MPCA wants to add the site to
the state Superfund list so funds are available for further investigation and
to determine corrective actions, if needed.
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Precision
Plating site, 230 Girard Ave., Minneapolis (Hennepin County). Plating operations
at this site ceased in 2003 and the building was sold a year later. Soil at the
site is contaminated with TCE, c-DCE and vinyl chloride, and groundwater
contamination by metals and cyanide used in the plating process has been detected
across most of the site at concentrations in excess of the MDH’s Health Risk
Limit. This site is in a mixed commercial and residential area. The primary
risks are degradation of groundwater in the shallow aquifer and its potential
discharge to Basset Creek, a tributary of the Mississippi River, as well as
chlorinated VOC solvent vapor intrusion into buildings on and near the site. The
size of the groundwater plume and potential for vapor intrusion into buildings
needs further investigation.
In addition,
the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) proposes to add the former Cedar
Service, Inc. site in Bemidji (Beltrami County) to the PLP. The MDA has lead
state agency regulatory authority for agricultural chemicals, and this site is
contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP), a wood treatment and agricultural chemical. The PCP was
used to treat wooden poles from 1971 to 1980. In 1997 and 1999, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency completed emergency removal actions at the
site, including soil excavations and tank and sludge removal. Investigations by
the MDA indicate that significant PCP contamination persists in groundwater,
and this contamination is migrating off site, posing a threat to a food
production well. Corrective actions, including groundwater remediation and possible
soil corrective measures, are needed to address the contamination. Since there
is no known viable responsible party, the MDA proposes to add the site to the
state Superfund list to access funds for corrective actions.
A fact sheet about Minnesota’s Superfund
Program is available
on the MPCA website.
Broadcast version
The Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture propose to
add nine contaminated sites to Minnesota’s list of state Superfund sites. The
sites are located throughout the state. They include the Ace Sign site in
Willmar, the Boyer Lumber site in Virginia, the Bulinski Point site near Ely,
the Clothing Care Cleaners site in Rochester, the Hoover Dump site near Dundas,
the Lakeland Groundwater Contamination site in Washington County, the Merit
Enterprises site in Isle, the Precision Plating site in Minneapolis, and the former
Cedar Service site in Bemidji.
At the same
time, the M-P-C-A proposes to take the Basset Creek/Irving Avenue Dump site in
Minneapolis off the state Superfund site list because the site no longer poses
a threat to human health or the environment under its current use as the city
of Minneapolis’ vehicle Impound Lot.
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The mission of the MPCA is to protect and improve the environment and enhance human health.
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