Minnesota community members must pay for landfill cleanup

Almost 200 entities have been informed they may be liable to pay for the cleanup of the Freeway Landfill in Burnsville, Minnesota, after the site was turned over to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a report by the Star Tribune says. The EPA designated the site under its Superfund program, requiring anyone responsible for putting waste in the landfill to pay for its cleanup.

According to the report, 180 businesses—many that are construction companies—cities and school districts received a letter in February 2017 regarding the cleanup costs, which has been estimated to be around $64 million. The letter also called for detailed records on finances and any materials they put into the landfill.

The landfill stopped accepting waste in 1990, the report says, and now houses heavy metals and harmful chemicals. It is in danger of polluting groundwater in the area and the Minnesota River. Methane was also found on the 150-acre site.

Before being handed over to the EPA, officials attempted to convince the landfill owners to enroll the site in the Minenesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) Closed Landfill Program that provides an alternative to the Superfund program, the report says. 

Cities such as Apple Valley, Bloomington, Roseville and Burnsville, as well as Edina, St. Louis Parks and Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school districts, are being asked to divide mitigation costs amongst themselves.

Since the state believed the landfill would go through its cleanup program, it suggested digging up the landfill and adding a protective liner. According to the report, that potential solution is estimated to cost $64.4 million.