Superfund update could delete 3 area sites
A proposal to update the state's Superfund list could delete three sites in the lakes area.
Late last week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a proposal to update its Superfund list, also called the agency's Permanent List of Priorities. Public comment is being sought on the proposed changes through July 30.
The MPCA proposes adding one site and eliminating 12, including one in Brainerd, one in Motley and one in Oak Lawn Township.
* The southeast Brainerd groundwater contamination site -- the Seventh-day Adventist Church and school on Oak Street -- was picked for removal with the MPCA noting there is no human health risk because they are receiving municipal water.
Carbon tetrachloride was detected in 1994 in a well of the church and school.
"Low levels of chloroform were also found," the MPCA reported. "Bottled water was provided to the school and the well was removed." The church and school were then connected to the municipal water supply in 1998.
The MPCA stated investigations in 1998 and 1999 "could not confirm the contamination source for carbon tetrachloride or chloroform."
In 1999, MPCA staff determined the "contamination plume was stable or declining. ... No other wells have been affected. Therefore, no further action is necessary."
Neither the pastor nor an elder from the church was available for comment this morning.
* The Crow Wing Sanitary Landfill Oak Lawn Township consists of a closed and unlined sanitary landfill. The 26-acre landfill operated from June 1974 until October 1991. The MPCA data on the former landfill stated the site was identified as a potential public health and environmental threat in 1981.
"However, the risk was considered low," the state agency reported. "... Most closure activities were completed in 1992. Installation of a gas-venting system and final grading and seeding of the landfill was completed in the spring of 1993. ... Gas levels from the landfill have decreased.
Groundwater monitoring continues at the site."
The groundwater quality "improved significantly because of the final cover and landfill-gas-control installations," the MPCA reported, noting volatile organic compounds were the main contaminant. The MPCA is recommending any further action at the site should be coordinated through its solid waste program, not the Superfund.
* The Killian Landfill, Motley, which was ordered to close in 1985, is also on the list of sites proposed for removal. The MPCA installed seven monitoring wells at the site. The state agency reported an agreement with the landfill owner to move the site to the Closed Landfill Program. In that case, the MPCA takes on the responsibility for the site's long-term monitoring and maintenance.
If the changes are approved after the public comment period, the state will have 81 sites on the Superfund list.
Public comments or requests for additional information may be directed to Gary Krueger at the MPCA at (800) 657-3864. Written comments -- mailed to Krueger at 520 Lafayette Road N., St. Paul, MN, 55155-4194 -- will be accepted through July 30. More information is available online at www.pca.state.mn/cleanup/index.html.