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Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup Program:
Selected VIC Success Stories

Success Stories

Con Agra Site

Before

Before

After

The Con Agra Site (VP 13741) located in St. Louis Park, was a 2003-04 redevelopment of a site previously used for lithium ore processing by the Lithium Corparation of America, which disposed of lithium tailings both on and off site. During redevelopment, groundwater was extracted and pumped to the sanitary sewer and lithium contaminated soils were either removed or placed under permanent cover which allowed for the construction of a new 80,000-square foot office/warehouse building. A Certificate of Completion was issued for the Site in June 2004.

GNB Berry Street - Emerald Gardens Site

Before

After

This site consisted of a former lumber warehouse, lead storage battery manufacturing facility, auto repair and wrecking facility.

Wellington Management, Inc. entered the VIC Program and obtained no action determination from the MPCA for excavation, stabilization, and disposal of about 5,600 tons of contaminated soil.  The Emerald Garden 108 unit condo complex was built in 2003.  This was a $28.4 million project with $2.5 million city-backed tax-increment financing, remaining 91 percent financed privately.  The Condos are now on the St. Paul tax roll with average condo price between $174,000 and $350,000.

Former Lewis Bolt & Nut Metal Workings Site and Former Metal Coatings Site

Buildings:

• Asbestos

Soil:

• Solid waste included concrete from old foundations,
• A concrete vault with drums full of metal-contaminated soils
• 5 underground storage tank basins
• Significant petroleum product impacts
• Metals, including lead and zinc
• PAHs and low pH soils

Groundwater:

• Low level VOCs
• Low pH perched groundwater

Action:

Real Estate Recycling (RER) purchased the property from Lewis Bolt & Nut and the tax forfeit Metal Coatings site from Hennepin County. After a thorough investigation and Remedial Action Plan (RAP) approval by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), RER demolished the old structures and implemented the RAP in a two month period. Steel from the old buildings was recycled and all concrete was crushed and recycled on site. Implementation of the approved RAP gives liability protection to RER, lenders and any future owner of the property.

Outcome:

• Comprehensive remediation, Certificate of Completion from the MPCA
• Abandoned and tax-forfeited sites redeveloped into a new, state-of-the-art 140,000 square foot office/warehouse facility
• 140 new jobs
• Tax base increase of over $5 million

Former Doc’s Auto Salvage: Reuse of a Small Urban Brownfield through Interagency Partnerships

Before

After

Through innovative interagency cooperation and partnerships, Hennepin County, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Metropolitan Council and the U.S. EPA have facilitated the reuse of a long-idle brownfield located within a federally-designated urban Empowerment Zone in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Former Doc’s Auto Salvage property historically was occupied by a drum-reconditioning facility, a service station and a scrap yard. From the mid-1970s until the early-1990s, the scrap yard was cited on numerous occasions for unlawful disposal of hazardous waste and illegal discharges of contaminated stormwater. In 1995, the business closed and the 1.1-acre property forfeited to Hennepin County. Due to pervasive contamination, the property was added to the Minnesota State Superfund List in 1997.

Given its small size, known contamination, and location in a blighted neighborhood, the property remained vacant for several years. The dilapidated buildings on-site attracted homeless persons, despite attempts to restrict access. During this time, campfires set in buildings resulted in several significant fires on-site.

To expedite site cleanup and redevelopment, Hennepin County and the MPCA developed a unique Joint Powers Agreement (JPA), which allowed the two agencies to combine resources to cleanup the property using Superfund monies. At the MPCA’s request, the U.S. EPA completed a removal action, resulting in the expedited treatment and disposal of 3,670 tons of lead-contaminated hazardous soil. Hennepin County, with the assistance of its consultant Bay West, Inc. and the MPCA, completed an extensive site assessment and directed and contracted for building demolition and the removal and disposal of drums, solid waste, and approximately 2,600 tons of contaminated soil within the redevelopment timeframe. Ground water contamination was also characterized. Hennepin County enrolled the property in the MPCA’s Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup program to obtain liability assurances for the Metropolitan Council, the future owner. After securing a Prospective Purchaser Agreement from the U.S. EPA, the Metropolitan Council purchased the property to construct a $3-million transit control center, which opened in 2002 and employs 30 persons. Hennepin County, the MPCA and the U.S. EPA are enthusiastic about applying this partnership approach to similar brownfield sites.

I-494 & Penn Site

Before

After

The I-494 & Penn site, also known as the Best Buy Campus (Site), is located on the northeast quadrant of Interstate 494 (I-494) and Penn Avenue South in Richfield, Hennepin County, Minnesota. The Site comprises approximately 44 acres of land that formerly supported mixed residential, commercial, and light industrial buildings. These buildings were demolished and response actions to address contaminated soil and ground water were completed prior to construction of the new campus.

Environmental assessments, as well as the results of previous investigations at some Site parcels and several pre- and post-demolition soil and ground water investigations, were completed at the Site between April 2000 and January 2003. Ground water sampling also was completed on off-site locations south and east of the Site. Soil and ground water investigations identified the presence of contamination at the Site. Response actions consisting of contaminated soil excavation and disposal and ground water monitoring were also completed during that period. Cleanup goals for soil were as follows: MPCA residential soil reference values (SRVs) for metals, semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); and MPCA soil leaching values (SLVs) for chlorinated solvents in soils.

Demolition of former roads and structures and construction began in April 2001. Several contingency actions—including contaminated soil excavations, monitoring well sealing, and sampling of sources of clean fill required for construction and final grading—also were implemented during grading and excavation work at the Site. Excavated contaminated soil was disposed of at BFI, a RCRA Subtitle D landfill located in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.

Between 2000 and 2002, several rounds of ground water samples were obtained from both temporary well points and permanent monitoring wells. Chlorinated solvent compounds were detected in shallow ground water samples obtained from the Site; only the concentrations of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in the samples from monitoring wells on the extreme southern and southeastern portions of the Site exceeded the Health Risk Limit (HRL) for drinking water established by the Minnesota Department of Health. Reported concentrations of PCE in the samples from these monitoring wells indicate that the concentrations of PCE have been stable over time. Ground water sample results obtained to determine the vertical profile of the plume indicate that the plume is limited to shallow ground water (the plume is less than 30 feet thick). Deeper aquifers have not been impacted, and the downgradient extent of the plume was delineated by a ground water investigation of the former Montgomery Ward property located approximately 500 to 600 feet south of the southeastern corner of the Site. Downgradient wells without sealing records are not impacted by the PCE plume, as they are located more than 1,700 feet from the Site.

Hans Foreign Auto Parts Site

Before

After

This seven acre parcel was a former auto salvage yard located in the city of Osseo city limits. The property was also occupied by an automotive cleaning business, automotive glass business, automotive repair shop, feed mill elevator and a couple of unoccupied houses. The city of Osseo was eager to redevelop the property for commercial purposes. The city purchased the site and sold it to a developer, who constructed two office/warehouse buildings. The city received $1.6 million from the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED) for investigation and cleanup of the property. The new building and tenants have increased the net tax base in Osseo by $126,000 and created 135 jobs for the community. In 2001, an excavation was conducted to remove petroleum and heavy metal contaminated soil from the former auto salvage operation. Impacted soil was excavated from a former gasoline and steam engine cleaning area, former heavily stained parts storage area, and a former car shell storage area. In 2001, a No Further Action Determination was issued for the release at the property.